brake bleed sequence

What is the standard brake bleeding sequence including the master cylinder?

Master should be bench bled. Bled totally independent of the system.
Generally done with master in a vise, but can be done with an assistant if
the master is already in the car. There is a kit, plastic fittings & hoses
that connect to the master. Fill the master with fluid, submerge the hoses &
pump the master till all air bubbles stop. Connect master to the system, top
off with fluid & begin bleeding at the farthest wheel first. Right Rear,
Left Rear, Right Front & Left Front. Check Fluid level in master after each
wheel to insure master never goes dry.

MIke

The logic I've always heard is "furthest wheel from the master cylinder
first." (After the master cylinder itself.) I guess this might mean
a mirror image of our procedure when dealing with home-market cars from
right-hand-drive countries.

As you aptly mention, the shop manual supersedes conventional wisdom.
Speaking generically without regard to any particular make/model/year,
it should especially be consulted with regard to antilock systems, just
to see if they have managed to complicate even this fairly simple task.


The original poster is probably well aware of this, but it seems worth
mentioning anyway: after putting it all back together he should
start the engine in park or neutral, verify a normal pedal feel, and
make those first few stops from low speed under the most forgiving
conditions available. That "Earl said it's sorta like steppin' on a
plum" feeling is deeply ingrained in muscle memory, as it probably is
for a lot of us, and I'm glad I went through this embarrassment in the
privacy of my own driveway before assaulting the public roads!

I'd further recommend the Mityvac hand vacuum pump
(http://www.mityvac.com) or something of that nature to the home
mechanic, though there are various pet procedures for solo
brake-bleeding and some of them are cheaper. Maybe the tube-and-jar
method works if you're more coordinated than me or something. It comes
with a thick booklet about other ways the ability to pull a bit of
vacuum on demand can be useful, mostly underhood.

Cheers,
--Joe

In article .com>,
"Ad absurdum per aspera" > wrote:

> The original poster is probably well aware of this, but it seems worth
> mentioning anyway: after putting it all back together he should
> start the engine in park or neutral, verify a normal pedal feel, and
> make those first few stops from low speed under the most forgiving
> conditions available. That "Earl said it's sorta like steppin' on a
> plum" feeling...

<SNORT!>

And I thought I might be the last C.W. McCall fan left on earth

"We went down and 'round and 'round and down till we run outta ground
and bashed into the side of the feed store, in downtown Pagosa
Springs..."

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my
ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd> for more info

> And I thought I might be the last C.W. McCall fan left on earth
>
I looked at Earl an' his eyes was wide
His lip was curled and his leg was fried
And his hands was froze to the wheel
Like a tongue to a sled in the middle of a blizzard
And I said Earl I'm not the type to complain
But the time has come for me to explain
That if you don't apply some brake real soon
They're gonna have to pick us up with a stick an' a spoon

Snip>


That "Earl said it's sorta like steppin' on a
plum" feeling is deeply ingrained in muscle memory,

unsnip>

Wolf Creek Pass, I love the tune, "sorta rolled around and lit the cuff
of Earl's pants", "But them chickens were stacked to 13'9". Hoo boy,
what a ride!!!!!

Seroiusly, don't end up in the side of a feedstore in downtown Pegosa
Springs, by not adequately testing the brakes after the bleeding, Like
ad states.


--
Knifeblade_03
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Ad absurdum per aspera wrote:
> The logic I've always heard is "furthest wheel from the master cylinder
> first." (After the master cylinder itself.) I guess this might mean
> a mirror image of our procedure when dealing with home-market cars from
> right-hand-drive countries.
>
> As you aptly mention, the shop manual supersedes conventional wisdom.
> Speaking generically without regard to any particular make/model/year,
> it should especially be consulted with regard to antilock systems, just
> to see if they have managed to complicate even this fairly simple task.
>
>
> The original poster is probably well aware of this, but it seems worth
> mentioning anyway: after putting it all back together he should
> start the engine in park or neutral, verify a normal pedal feel, and
> make those first few stops from low speed under the most forgiving
> conditions available. That "Earl said it's sorta like steppin' on a
> plum" feeling is deeply ingrained in muscle memory, as it probably is
> for a lot of us, and I'm glad I went through this embarrassment in the
> privacy of my own driveway before assaulting the public roads!
>
> I'd further recommend the Mityvac hand vacuum pump
> (http://www.mityvac.com) or something of that nature to the home
> mechanic, though there are various pet procedures for solo
> brake-bleeding and some of them are cheaper. Maybe the tube-and-jar
> method works if you're more coordinated than me or something. It comes
> with a thick booklet about other ways the ability to pull a bit of
> vacuum on demand can be useful, mostly underhood.
>
> Cheers,
> --Joe

I ALWAYS step on the brakes as hard as I can (with the engine running,
if the car has PB) before even taking the car down off the jackstands,
after doing any substantial amount of brake work. If you're going to
blow a line/hose/whatever, better to do it in your driveway than in a
panic brake situation.

I'm not a big fan of the Mityvac, but I love my Motive Products
pressure bleeder, I've used it on everything from Porsches to
Studebakers. Makes bleeding easy and a one man job. I always use a
length of windshield washer tubing over the bleed nipples, dangling
into an empty 20 oz. bottle, to a) keep the brake fluid from eating the
paint on the backing plates (yes, I am one of those guys who cleans and
paints everything that I work on.) and b) allow me to see air bubbles,
or lack thereof, coming out of the wheel cylinders. I also put vacuum
caps over the bleed screws after I'm all done to keep them from rusting
and seizing (if you want to be elegant, your friendly local VW dealer
sells little rubber caps for just this purpose, which are a little more
substantial and also easier to R&R with your fingers.)

good luck,

nate

(just bled the brakes AGAIN in my '55 Stude last weekend after swapping
from a 3.31:1 open rear to a 3.73:1 limited slip... I bet I have the
cleanest brake fluid of anyone I know! And what's worse, I still have
to detail the LF backing plate, which means I'll have yet another bleed
to do in the future!)

I always put the snorkel into the bleeder hole and blast out any brake fluid
then blast that with air then cap it to keep it from rusting.


"N8N" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Ad absurdum per aspera wrote:
> > The logic I've always heard is "furthest wheel from the master cylinder
> > first." (After the master cylinder itself.) I guess this might mean
> > a mirror image of our procedure when dealing with home-market cars from
> > right-hand-drive countries.
> >
> > As you aptly mention, the shop manual supersedes conventional wisdom.
> > Speaking generically without regard to any particular make/model/year,
> > it should especially be consulted with regard to antilock systems, just
> > to see if they have managed to complicate even this fairly simple task.
> >
> >
> > The original poster is probably well aware of this, but it seems worth
> > mentioning anyway: after putting it all back together he should
> > start the engine in park or neutral, verify a normal pedal feel, and
> > make those first few stops from low speed under the most forgiving
> > conditions available. That "Earl said it's sorta like steppin' on a
> > plum" feeling is deeply ingrained in muscle memory, as it probably is
> > for a lot of us, and I'm glad I went through this embarrassment in the
> > privacy of my own driveway before assaulting the public roads!
> >
> > I'd further recommend the Mityvac hand vacuum pump
> > (http://www.mityvac.com) or something of that nature to the home
> > mechanic, though there are various pet procedures for solo
> > brake-bleeding and some of them are cheaper. Maybe the tube-and-jar
> > method works if you're more coordinated than me or something. It comes
> > with a thick booklet about other ways the ability to pull a bit of
> > vacuum on demand can be useful, mostly underhood.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > --Joe
>
> I ALWAYS step on the brakes as hard as I can (with the engine running,
> if the car has PB) before even taking the car down off the jackstands,
> after doing any substantial amount of brake work. If you're going to
> blow a line/hose/whatever, better to do it in your driveway than in a
> panic brake situation.
>
> I'm not a big fan of the Mityvac, but I love my Motive Products
> pressure bleeder, I've used it on everything from Porsches to
> Studebakers. Makes bleeding easy and a one man job. I always use a
> length of windshield washer tubing over the bleed nipples, dangling
> into an empty 20 oz. bottle, to a) keep the brake fluid from eating the
> paint on the backing plates (yes, I am one of those guys who cleans and
> paints everything that I work on.) and b) allow me to see air bubbles,
> or lack thereof, coming out of the wheel cylinders. I also put vacuum
> caps over the bleed screws after I'm all done to keep them from rusting
> and seizing (if you want to be elegant, your friendly local VW dealer
> sells little rubber caps for just this purpose, which are a little more
> substantial and also easier to R&R with your fingers.)
>
> good luck,
>
> nate
>
> (just bled the brakes AGAIN in my '55 Stude last weekend after swapping
> from a 3.31:1 open rear to a 3.73:1 limited slip... I bet I have the
> cleanest brake fluid of anyone I know! And what's worse, I still have
> to detail the LF backing plate, which means I'll have yet another bleed
> to do in the future!)
>

Some cars have Dual Diagonal brakes. Left Front and Right Rear
on one circuit Rt Ft + LR on other. Theory, if you blow out a
hydraulic system, you still have one front, and one rear brake.

Gravity bleeding rocks, jack up front, open rear bleeder, let
gravity expel the air. Close rear bleeders, jack up rear, open front
bleeders. Takes about 10 minutes per end to get air, but it does go !

Paul wrote:
> Some cars have Dual Diagonal brakes. Left Front and Right Rear
> on one circuit Rt Ft + LR on other. Theory, if you blow out a
> hydraulic system, you still have one front, and one rear brake.
>
> Gravity bleeding rocks, jack up front, open rear bleeder, let
> gravity expel the air. Close rear bleeders, jack up rear, open front
> bleeders. Takes about 10 minutes per end to get air, but it does go !

doesn't work with bottom hinged pedals master cylinder needs to be a
couple inches higher than the wheel cylinders...

nate

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