Any tips on bleeding the brakes on my 50 Silver Streak? Everything from the Master cylinder to the Wheel cylinders is new. The master is a stock unit mounted down low on the frame and it does not have a reservoir, just what the master itself will hold. I do have a vacuum bleeder but with the small capacity of the master I don't think it will work well.
I don't know nothin about a Silver Streak (is that a Buick?), but I do recommend getting those Speed Bleeders. I never thought they would work, until I tried them. They make it much easier. How can you have a master cylinder with no reservoir? What kind of manufacturer would punish their mechanics like that?
Did you bench bleed the master first? If you don't you'll be bleeding the brakes til the cows come home.
There is a reservoir, it’s just small. Bench bleed the master make sure the brake shoes are adjusted correctly, master cylinder push rod as well all lines routed correctly,wheel cylinders mounted right ,etc, etc. Either have helpsnd pump, pump, pump. HOLD! bleed each and every wheel. It works but is slow. Use a vacuum bleeder Or a pressure bleeder.
Use a LARGE syringe and a foot of 1/4" hose lid off of the master open the bleeder furtherst from MC fill syringe with B F fill to the MC till your done . don't bench bleed the master, its just annoying.
Hook up your vacuum bleeder to the farthest wheel, put some teflon thread sealer on the bleeder threads and crack it open about a quarter turn and slowly pump and let off, keep the master cyl full. Repeat at each wheel getting closer to the master cyl until you get a firm pedal. Unless you have a leak this method should only take about 15 minutes depending on how fast you work. Don't let the master cyl go dry!!
You should not need thread sealer on brake bleeder.... It is a "needle & seat " type connection…. LynnW
I still use clear tubing on the bleeder screw and a jar of fluid on the floor for air lock. Always works.
make sure all the fittings are TIGHT. Get a helper to pump, pump, pump. HOLD! bleed each and every wheel. It works. refill the master cylinder after a few of those pump pump pump cycles, don't let it run dry.
I use the vacuum bleeder technique, and use a large squirt bottle pump like you would find on any larger spray bottle, such as a Febreeze bottle. I have the brake cylinder bleed line attached to a gl*** reservoir , and attach the pump to the other fitting I have soldered into the cap of the reservoir. (it would be easy to make a plastic waste reservoir from any plastic container) Pump, and check the master cylinder frequently until you get an idea of how many pumps you can go before you need to replentish the master cylinder. Start with the longest line in the system and work to the shortest. It is quick, works like a charm even on systems with a restricter valve, and painless. One time around and the job is done perfectly. Bob
Another vote for speed bleeders. They make the job super easy Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I alway seem to go into brake bleeding with a little trepidation for some reason. But never really had cause to as my brakes seem to bleed easily. i use the simple one man bleeder thats a cheap simple system slip a tube over the ****** and it flows into the bottle with a magnetic base. Pump till i can see a decent amount in the jar , lock that one off and move around one closer to the Master cyl.. Even flathead systems with low mounted M/Cyl seem to bleed ok, as long as you do the prep work correctly first.
You do if you're vacuum bleeding, it helps the vacuum pull the fluid though the system, any air leaks around the bleeder threads just slows the process down.
And I was taught never to pump the pedal up as it can cause more air bubbles. Just one stroke per bleeding cycle. I taught a lot of people my method over the years, even my mom, sister and late wife were good on the pedal. Usually I go around the car twice and its done. When I worked in a shop I used an Ammco pressure bleeder... have to get my mitts on one... and one guy could do most of it alone, on drum brakes always. On front discs I used a helper to push the front pads out with the car running.
If you're not in a hurry the "gravity method" works pretty well, ***uming a primitive system that just needs a flush with fresh brake fluid. Once a year is not too often. Just keep the master topped off. Tapping and rapping the brake lines along their length helps keep the juices flowing if things stop for some reason, dislodges air bubbles.
by "pump" I don't mean as fast as you can...just push and release it slowly, about two seconds per. Hold it down on the third stroke. Once you get enough air out that it has a little bit of pedal, no more pumping is needed.
LOVE my MightyVac vacuum pump for SOLO brake bleeding, and it also comes in handy for checking vacuum advance units. Only takea a minute at each bleeder to pull fluid through a fresh system! When the cup on the pump fills, time to refil the master cylinder. Good Luck, Tim
LOVE my MightyVac vacuum pump for SOLO brake bleeding, and it also comes in handy for checking vacuum advance units. Only takea a minute at each bleeder to pull fluid through a fresh system! When the cup on the pump fills, time to refil the master cylinder. Good Luck, Tim
On a full rebuild of the system (everything void of any brake fluid) I'll bleed the closest wheel cly to the master first and work my way to the farthest then work my way back to the closest to finish. It sound **** but why?
That’s the way I always did it, if I had help. When I was on the line doing a brake job, time was money and no help, I’d do one wheel at a time, complete, then open the bleeder. While working on the other wheel, I would watch the previous one and when fluid started draining out I would close the bleeder. Repeat for each wheel. When done the system is bled and I have a hard pedal. ( that works only on high mount master cylinders, most of the cars that came into my line were high mount master cylinders) Bones
I was wondering if anyone else used this method. Did the pump,pump,pump thing most of my life until an old timer showed me this method . Wont ever go back now. crack bleeder, push pedal down, tighten bleeder before flow stops(just guess if you don't have fluid yet). so much easier and quicker.
I use a Motive pressure bleeder. Pump up 10psi and walk around bleeding each wheel. I made a flat plate with a hose fitting to clamp on top of master cylinder. The one I have is smaller than this picture. Finds leaks real quick also. John
I did many brake jobs on the clock, you learn what works and what does not work. We had a pressure bleeder but sometimes bled them the old fashioned way. It took no more than 5 minutes to go around the car and get a great pedal. I just did mine a few weeks back and had a "professional" mechanic at the pedal, he pumped the **** out of the pedal, I had him stop and do it my way. Humor me man...
Thanks for the tips. This is a new system and doesn't have any fluid at all in it. I think I will try the gravity method so I can keep an eye on the master cylinder and keep it filled.
It's better to use a solid stroke and hold, than it is to pump, pump, pump, hold. The latter can aerate the fluid, making it more difficult and time consuming to evacuate all of the air from the system.
DAMN this brings out some good advice and some real shaky comments. True: If you didn't bench bleed the master cylinder it will take a lot longer to get the air out of the system. Not he end of the world but time consuming. It isn't near as big an issue on a stock single piston master cylinder as it is on a dual master cylinder and I don't actually remember bench bleeding single piston master cylinders. On the other hand I do remember learning that it was necessary after the dual piston ones came out on all cars in 1968. Pressure bleeders work great but most folks who don't do a lot of brakes don't have one. You can make one out of a 1 gallon pump up weed sprayer pretty easy by following online instructions though. You don't need a **** ton of pressure as about 15 lbs of pressure is all you want and what the pro pressure bleeders run on. If you have your helper pumping the brakes you want them to pump slowly as that helps avoid getting some of the air in. The guy who thinks he needs to pump the pedal fast is probably getting as much air in as he is out. Pump slowly and hold until the person bleeding the brakes tells you to pump it again. One problem I have had with helpers in shops is that some want to let off the pedal as soon as it goes to the floor when you open the bleeder and that ****s air back in. They have to hold it until you tell them to pump it again. As several said, stay on top of keeping the reservoir on the master cylinder full. It's time consuming to stop and top it off but pretty soon you figure out how many times you can open a bleeder before needing to fill it again. I usually use my hand vacuum bleeder to get most of the air out before calling my wife out to help finish the job now days (she hates to pump brakes because it is being told to do something a certain way) It doesn't get all the air out but speeds up the process. I've never used "speed bleeders" as they came about after I moved away from doing brake work on a daily basis. Won't hurt if you want to spend the money though. They aren't needed unless you are using some type of vacuum bleeder.
Sounds as if it has been explained many times over already , nothing to add except some tunes playin , something like STROKIN or STROKE ME , the pedal will get hard as a rock
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