I just replaced my brakes,i had to bleed the front disc in order to depress the piston. my braking no longer has the screeching sound, but I cannot seem to get the air out..the pedal does not have great STOPPING POWER. how many times do you have to bleed the brakes, and are the brake lines independently operating from the master cylinder? I bled the brakes on the front one at a time,,,can anyone advise...thanks
the piston. my braking no longer has the screeching sound, but I cannot seem to get the air out..the pedal does not have great STOPPING POWER. how many times do you have to bleed the brakes, and are the brake lines independently operating from the master cylinder? I bled the brakes on the front one at a time,,,can anyone advise...thanks
WHat kind of car? Anti-lock brakes? How did you bleed it?
In all the cars I've seen, one reservoir in the master cyl is for the front 2 wheels, and the other reservoir is for the rear wheels.
I just bled my brakes in a trans am. I only bled the front brakes, so I only drained and filled one of the reservoirs. No problems with air.
There are some cars that one resevoir is for one front wheel and one rear wheel (opposite sides) and the other for the opposite front wheel and opposite rear wheel. For example: Front right and rear left. There is a bleeding sequence that should be followed. For my car (89 Firebird) it was right rear, left rear, right front, left front.
-Bruce
Not true, many imports are that way including most (all?) WCVWs and also Renaults (just two that I know of off the top of my head as I've actually worked on them, I'm sure there are more.)
nate
the piston. my braking no longer has the screeching sound, but I cannot seem to get the air out..the pedal does not have great STOPPING POWER. how many times do you have to bleed the brakes, and are the brake lines independently operating from the master cylinder? I bled the brakes on the front one at a time,,,can anyone advise...thanks
You say you don't have great stopping power. If this means you have to press the pedal harder than you remember to get it to stop, but the pedal is firm, this is not uncommon as the new pads have to wear in, especially if you did not turn the rotors. If the pedal is spongy, they you have air in the system and need to bleed it again. If you let the master cylinder go dry while bleeding, you may have to disconnect the lines and bleed the master cylinder seperately (I've never had to do this, but it supposedly is required when installing a new one).
stepped on the brake pedal to the floor...any ideas would help
The trick is NOT to let the pedal touch the floor. Almost guaranteed to create air bubbles. If you are lucky and the bubbles haven't gotten into the ABS hydraulic control, you might be able to back bleed from the wheels. Or carefully pump up the brakes and get to a qualified mechanic immediately and stop risking your and everyone else's life by doing your own brakes unless you know exactly how to do it... and have the factory procedure to follow.
Dennis
thanks, I will try again...
my son stepped on the brake pedal to the floor...any ideas would help
I don't agree. The trick is not to let the pedal back up until the bleeder screw is closed. The pedal can touch the floor, you just have to continue to keep pressure on the pedal. Once the bleeder screw is closed, you need to pump the pedal back up until it's firm again, then repeat until you don't see any more bubbles.
-Bruce
For over 30 years I've used a 'brake bleeder kit' with no problems. It consists of a small plastic bag with a small vinyl tube stuck in the bottom, and a hook with a suction cup at the top of the bag - to stick it onto the fender above the wheel you're working on. The other end of the tube (coming out of the bag) simply attaches to the brake bleeder valve nipple. You loosen the bleeder valve a turn or so, slowly pump the brake pedal a few times to get all the air and old brake fluid out of the line to that wheel, then close the valve. All a one man operation, and no chance for air to re-enter the brake line. Go to any auto parts store and pick one up!
den wrote:
stepped on the brake pedal to the floor...any ideas would help
of a small plastic bag with a small vinyl tube stuck in the
the fender above the wheel you're working on. The other end of
nipple. You loosen the bleeder valve a turn or so, slowly pump the
to that wheel, then close the valve. All a one man operation, and
pick one up!
I won't argue with 30 years of success but I see possible problems with your approach.
One is that if you put the bag higher than the bleeder (as I think you are suggesting), the weight of the brake fluid in the uphill part of the tube and the slight reverse suction can draw air back in as you release the brake pedal. The second issue is that some brakes suck air in around the bleeder screw threads when you let go of the pedal. I use a similar arrangement myself but I position it below the level of the wheel cyl/caliper. But, I always finish up with an assistant doing a final pump with me bleeding at the brake.
Another important issue these days is that you have to use the correct bleed order for _your_ car. With ABS it seems to vary a bit.
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