How to Bleed Brakes Not Your Wallet

Brake system bleeding can be accomplished in one of three ways at this time:

The use of pressure to bleed the wound.

Using a reservoir of brake fluid, apply a positive air pressure force to the fluid’s opposing side, causing it to flow into the brake system.

Vacuum Bleeding is a technique used to remove blood from wounds. This is the stage in which you fill the reservoir with fluid and then apply a vacuum at the bleeder nipple in order to draw fluid out of the system.

• A member of the family is bleeding.

This is the stage in which you recruit the one family member or acquaintance who owes you a favor and instruct them to continually stomp on the pedal until the entire system is bled out. The method that I’ve devised is a combination of the first and third ways that have been discussed above. The pressure bleeder should be used to flush the system, and then a family member should stomp on the pedal to release the proportioning valve, as described above. You will be the one stomping on the brake pedal if the family member is in serious financial trouble, and they will be the ones who leak brake fluid all over themselves.

In order to properly bleed your brakes, you must first completely fill the system with brake fluid. A colored brake fluid, according to some, should be used in order to tell when new brake fluid has been pumped through the complete system. I employed a pressure bleeder, such as the Ezi-Bleed System, to relieve pressure. The device works by using air from the spare tire to pressurize a container filled with brake fluid, which then releases the pressure. Tire pressure should be 20 psi, bottle should be filled and attached to top of reservoir and then the bottle should be connected to spare tire. This will increase the pressure in the system. Please keep in mind that brake fluid is extremely corrosive and will easily damage paint. Bleeding your brakes is a nasty job; keep your hands away from the paint and avoid bleeding the system in a confined space such as a garage. It is just too likely that you may spill anything on yourself and then lean on your automobile to risk it.

Now is the time to start bleeding the system. Begin with the right rear caliper, which is the one that is the furthest away from the master cylinder on the vehicle. It will be necessary to remove the rear wheels of the vehicle in order to readily access the rear caliper. The front wheels can be rotated in order to gain access to the brake calipers. Attaching a hose to the bleed nipple on the right rear caliper and placing it in a jar, then opening the valve with a 7mm wrench, was the method for bleeding the caliper. This is can be opened by twisting it in the opposite direction of the clock. Exhaust the fluid as long as there are no bubbles remaining. It is necessary to find someone who will press on the pedal frequently in order to drive fluid through the system if you do not have a pressure bleeder in place. Alternatively, you might purchase a check valve and insert it on the nipple while stomping on the pedal. This will work for putting fluid into the system, but you will still require the assistance of a second person to ensure that the proportioning valve has been correctly bled. For rear calipers with two bleed nipples (some have one, others have two), bleed the lower nipple first (some have one, others have two).

When there are no more air bubbles coming out of the caliper, move on to the next one. Bleed them in the following sequence:

• Rear Brake Caliper on the right

• Rear Caliper on the Left

• Front Caliper on the right

• Front Caliper on the Left

It is necessary to repeat this process until there are no more air bubbles emerging from any of the calipers. Be careful not to run out of braking fluid in your reservoir, or you’ll have to start over from the beginning. It is recommended that you start with around one gallon of brake fluid. It’s a good idea to have a large quantity of gas on hand, depending on your car and the mistakes you might make.

As a last step, ensure that all of the bleeder valves are tightly closed. Disconnect the pressure system from the reservoir using the appropriate connector. Now, instruct your family member to repeatedly press down on the brake pedal for at least five times, and then to hold the pedal down. Then, using the bleeder valve on the right rear caliper, let the air out. As a result, the system should lose pressure and the pedal should become unresponsive. When the fluid no longer comes out of the bleeder valve, close the valve and instruct your family member to take their foot off of the accelerator pedal. Do not allow them to remove their foot from the pedal until the valve has been completely closed. This motion should be repeated at least three times for each valve. This complete technique should be repeated for all of the valves in the same order as it was done for the first one.

After that, let the automobile sit for approximately 10 minutes. The bleeding procedure should be repeated at each corner. The pedal should now have a substantial amount of resistance.

As a last resort, check to see that your rear calipers or drum shoes are properly adjusted before continuing on. In addition, you may require a new master cylinder, have a leaking caliper, or have old squishy flexible brake lines that need to be replaced.

Make certain that any brake fluid that has been spilled on painted surfaces is thoroughly rinsed away with water.

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