ive finally got all my lines ran and started to bleed the brakes but im not getting anything (even air?) to come out of the rear calipers . ive got fluid up to the T where the rears split but when its all back togather , nothing. im wondering if i should try one of those vac. pumps or something? im never used one but ive been told it might help . i guess i should tell you guys the set up im trying to bleed, its a 55 2nd series chevy truck with the M/C mounted under the cab . ive got a 77 vette m/c going to the stock camaro disc's up front ( 78 subframe)and ive got fluid up , out back im going to a set of wilwood disc's (thats another question , they have 4 bleeders on each caliper , do they all need to be bled? which one first?) any advice would help , i F'ing hate working on brakes! FINK
I think there are bleeders at both ends, on both sides of each caliper, you need to bleed both upper ones on each caliper, do the one opposite from the hose first. Start farthest away from the m/c and work closer. Might need to bench bleed the master to get it started, if you haven't yet.
i usually crack all the bleeder screws and walk away for a bit till the fluid starts to drip, then its time to presure bleed
thats what i do to start the flow of brake fluid then maybe rap the side of the caliper with a wrench to jar loose any air bubbles and then you can use an old jar and a length of tubing in the jar and submerge it in brake fluid to cover the tube and then pump it a few times.
No, at least It hasn't worked for me. I did brake jobs on a daily basis for several years and never even heard of gravity bleeding until I joined this board. How exactly are you bleeding the brakes? The standard method when one pumps the brakes is to have all bleeders tight, have your helper "slowly" pump the brake pedal and then hold it down while you open the bleeder screw and keep the pedal held down until you have tightened the bleeder screw and tell them to "pump it again". When working by myself I have had pretty good luck using my Mity-Vac vacuum pump with the brake bleeder kit on it. Here is a link to an inexpensive pressure tank you can make yourself that you could pressure bleed the brakes with. http://www.bmw-m.net/TechProc/bleeder.htm You would have to get and extra Master cylinder cap that matched your master cylinder and would have to get a different cap for each style of MC you wanted to use it on but it sure would be a helpful tool for the guy who works alone in his garage most of the time.
one thing to remember is your master cyclinder is lower than your brakes so it will take some time to bleed, I just did my A bone with the master c under the body...Dave www.myspace.com/daveloweswr
Have you got Full travel , if the pedal hits the floor/toe board before you bottom out the piston in the m/c your never going to bleed it or have an effective / safe system . If you loose 1 cylinder ie the front hose bursts you'll get NO brakes if the pedal hits the floor before you bottom out. Believe me I did an extensive test to prove a dual system works. It ONLY works if the pedal has full throw of the dual pistons.
I'm sorry Dave but that comment makes no sense at all. What may be a problem is the location of the bleeder screws on the Calipers if they happen to be in a non-stock position.op Most of the problems I have seen with bleeding brakes are either due to components installed in the wrong position such as a caliper installed where the bleeder screw is down instead of up or an improper method used when attempting to bleed the brakes. Usually the helper pumps the pedal too fast or lets off the pedal before you have the bleeder screw tight.
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