I'm gnna gravity bleed my brake lines this weekend

[KissMy]

Natural Citizen

I got this one man bleeder at AutoZone for $12 and imo this is the way to go.

I'll find a link to the directions if you are interest...I've only used it once...but the whole process took about 30 minutes by myself.

It's OEM Tools part #25036

View attachment 552114

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Quick link...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/OES-25036

Yes, those work good. The check ball keeping the fluid from reversing. The secret is to wax the threads of the bleed screw to prevent air from being sucked in past them.

 

[JohnDB]

Usually I bleed them as I compress the caliper to change pads. This keeps the ABS systems from being affected.

Never heard of gravity bleeding before.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Natural Citizen

I got this one man bleeder at AutoZone for $12 and imo this is the way to go.

I'll find a link to the directions if you are interest...I've only used it once...but the whole process took about 30 minutes by myself.

It's OEM Tools part #25036

View attachment 552114

View attachment 552113

View attachment 552112

Quick link...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/OES-25036

I think I have something like that some place. I never opened it, though. It's probably out there in a drawer some place. Think I had a 20 Federal Reserve Note credit at Auto Zone and picked one of those up with some other junk just to use the 20. You know how they give you a 20 Federal Reserve Note credit when you make fiver purchases over 20 Federal Reserve Notes?

Anyway. I'm gonna swap out the brake hoses for new braided ones over the winter, so will probably end up pressure bleeding them then, like kissmy had mentioned, just because I don't want any air trapped in the ABS system. some of those lines twist and turn quite a bit there in that area.

Mainly I just wanted to gravity bleed em over the weekend to have something to do. Plus I've never done it before, so something new to try. I've heard a lot of fellers say they've gravity bled em, even with the ABS system and never had a problem. I donlt really drive it that much anyway. It's just a toy, really.

And then when I do replace the brake hoses over the winter, I'll have pretty good fluid in there to start with. I'm gonna go with DOT 4 this time around and then flush it right properly when I replace the hoses over the winter and refill with Dot 4 again. I know that DOT 3 and Dot 4 can be mixed, but two rounds of bleeding the old stuff out should leave me with nothing but the DOT 4.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Yes, those work good. The check ball keeping the fluid from reversing. The secret is to wax the threads of the bleed screw to prevent air from being sucked in past them.

Think I put some anti-seize on the threads last time I had em loose, like you said, to keep the air from being sucked in there.

 

[Natural Citizen]

never say never,,,
I've done it hundreds of times..
check my comments for proper instructions,,

That's why I don't really mind trying it out. I've heard a lot of people say they've never had a problem with the ABS system after gravity bleeding.

I don't even think the ABS has ever kicked in on it to be honest.

Should probably hit a gravel road some time and test it out.

 

[Natural Citizen]

why just why? i am not going back to a wringer washer....why the hell would you gravity bleed your brakes...

(child abuse...pump damn it ....pump)

Bones, just the fact that you know what gravity bleeding is, I find impresssive. And apparently you kw what manual bleed is, too, since you said about pump it instead.

It figures you would, though, being out in the sticks. You've probably done your fair shair of helping out I imagine.

That's good.

 

[progressive hunter]

That's why I don't really mind trying it out. I've heard a lot of people say they've never had a problem with the ABS system after gravity bleeding.

I don't even think the ABS has ever kicked in on it to be honest.

Should probably hit a gravel road some time and test it out.

A question I have is why do you need to bleed them??
did you change something or have a squishy peddle??

 

[JohnDB]

A question I have is why do you need to bleed them??
did you change something or have a squishy peddle??

He is replacing the lines from the cylinder to the caliper...

Braking systems really should be flushed and bled out every so often....small particles from brake lines linings, pump, and the ABS system itself will jam things up causing calipers to stick or your ABS to not function properly.

Just always be ready with the emergency brake when firing it all back up.

 

[Natural Citizen]

A question I have is why do you need to bleed them??
did you change something or have a squishy peddle??

The grommets on the master cylinder reservoirs were leaking. There's a separate reservoir for the front brakes and a separate reservoir for the rear brakes.

The master cylinder is effectively new. Like a year old. Maybe a year and a half. Something like that.

But I had some shop install it when I was laid up in the hospital when my thyroid sent my heart into overdrive. I never let people work on my cars, especially this one, but that was just a convenient exception. Didn't really think a shop would screw up something as simple as a master cylinder, but I guess I was wrong. They didn't seat the reservoirs all the way onto the grommet. And they wer all distorted, too. They probably just tried to push and twist em on by hand.

Anyway, I pulled the reservoirs and installed new grommets the right way and bench bled and reinstalled the master cylinder a while back but just haven't messed with bleeding the lines.

The brakes failed inspection a few months ago, so I went home and gave em a quick bleed and ran it back the next morning and it passed, but I never did anything more with it since.

 

[progressive hunter]

The grommets on the master cylinder reservoirs were leaking. There's a separate reservoir for the front brakes and a separate reservoir for the rear brakes.

The master cylinder is effectively new. Like a year old. Maybe a year and a half. Something like that.

But I had some shop install it when I was laid up in the hospital when my thyroid sent my heart into overdrive. I never let people work on my cars, especially this one, but that was just a convenient exception. Didn't really think a shop would screw up something as simple as a master cylinder, but I guess I was wrong. They didn't seat the reservoirs all the way onto the grommet. And they wer all distorted, too. They probably just tried to push and twist em on by hand.

Anyway, I pulled the reservoirs and installed new grommets the right way and bench bled and reinstalled the master cylinder a while back but just haven't messed with bleeding the lines.

The brakes failed inspection a few months ago, so I went home and gave em a quick bleed and ran it back the next morning and it passed, but I never did anything more with it since.

I see,, my method still applies,,

wouldnt hurt to open the bleeders for a few minutes to insure a good flow,, and then one by one pump the brakes a few times then open a bleeder until no bubbles then close and repeat as needed on all four,,

its a must to have the caps off the master for the fluid to flow, just dont pump the peddle hard or fast when you pump it,,

like I said I've done this hundreds of times and it works just fine,,, abs shouldnt be a problem since its not running and the fluid will run through it freely,,

 

[Natural Citizen]

I see,, my method still applies,,

wouldnt hurt to open the bleeders for a few minutes to insure a good flow,, and then one by one pump the brakes a few times then open a bleeder until no bubbles then close and repeat as needed on all four,,

its a must to have the caps off the master for the fluid to flow, just dont pump the peddle hard or fast when you pump it,,

like I said I've done this hundreds of times and it works just fine,,, abs shouldnt be a problem since its not running and the fluid will run through it freely,,

Yeah, I'm going to. Probably tomorrow morning.