I just replaced my stock front brake line with a stainless steel line, and I finished up bleeding the fluid...or so I thought...
I'm pumping and pumping the brake lever, but it's not getting any response at the caliper. I'm guessing that I haven't filled the space behind the pistons with fluid yet. am I correct in this assumption, or did I do something wrong? I followed Kerry's guide along with Phaedrus' how-to, but it just seems like something isn't right.
Any suggestions? I'll be pumping that brake lever...
cmon, i see you folks looking, someone HAS to know more than i do...
The instructions that came with my Russell line (which is not yet installed -- just got it this week) said to leave all the banjo fittings loose, then bleed each one starting at the master cylinder and then to the caliper fitting, and finally the bleeder at the caliper. Did you do that?
Are you using a Mity Vac or just squeezing the lever?
Sometimes it is a pain.
If you're using a cheapie brake bleeder tool (essentially a vinyl hose with a check valve on the end), make sure that the container that the old fluid drains into is HIGHER than the caliper body. It won't work well (or at all) otherwise. The rest is quite simple:
1) Open the bleeder screw 1/4 turn (keep a box wrench around the screw so it can't fall off).
2) Squeeze the brake lever--and hold--while the bubbles/fluid moves through the tubing. Keep holding.
3) Tighten the bleeder screw BEFORE releasing the brake lever.
Repeat the sequence until the lever firms up. Do it a bit more, just to be sure, then clean up. Watch the fluid reservoir while doing this, of course. Keep it topped up as necessary or air will get back into the line.
trumpetguy - I have the Russell line also, but I understood mine to mean that I keep the lower banjo bolt (at the caliper) loose and pump the lever until brake fluid flows out that fitting, so I did that. Then to use the bleeder valve/screw to finish up, which I did until there were no more bubbles. I'll try it all again.
dgyver - just the lever.
Flywheel - using Kerry's method of a 1/4in line to a water bottle, but I made sure I kept fluid at the opening so that no air could enter...I'll try it again.
**my laptop is about to run out of battery...awesome. thanks for the help guys. when I get home, I'll post up my results. I really appreciate the suggestions.
-mike
When I put on a new brake line it took forever to pump up the system and bleed it. If I were to do it again, I'd try to fill the line as much as possible before instaling it with a syringe or something. Try pumping the lever for a while (like 25 pumps or so at first) with the bleeder closed, and then once you feel a little pressure, crack the bleeder to let the fluid + air out. It will eventually start getting firmer and firmer as the line and caliper fill back up.
I left my master cylinder cover off while doing this, since you don't want the level to get low and sucking airr, since that defeats the whole purpose of bleeding the brakes. The fluid can squirt out though so put a rag over the resovour. Once you start getting some pressure built up at the lever, and you're still getting bubles when you open the bleeder, walk away and have a beer or two and allow the bubbles to settle out of the brake fluid for 20 minutes or so. Then continue bleeding untill you don't get any more bubles.
I find that it helps to have a piece of cleer tubing on the bleeder going into a jar to catch the fluid. That way you can watch for bubles easier and if you don't close your bleeder fast enough, you still wont get air in your sytem.
get some brake cleaner too so you can wipe the fluid off of your disk and pads, it's hard to avoid the little spills. Safety glasses aren't a bad idea either, especially if you finish the six pack.
Get a six pack and finish your job :cheers:
Have fun.
Ok, thanks again everyone, I got it. I think it was in Kerry's how-to that I saw something along the lines of "once you stop seeing bubbles come out of the bleeder valve, you can stop opening and closing it every time you pump the brake lever" and took it to heart. I guess the bubbles disappeared for a second, got my hopes up, and so I just left the bleeder valve open and kept squeezing the brake lever over and over...it's ok, I know what I'm doing... :icon_confused:
Anyway, after reading the suggestions here, I loosened the banjo bolts to make sure fluid was seeping out of them (it was) and then tried the squeeze-lever - loosen-bleeder - tighten-bleeder - release-lever - repeat method, and it worked. There were some tiny, tiny bubbles still coming out once in a while when I called it quits for the night (I had to get back home and now I'm going to bed) so I'll give it another shot before I ride it.
On a side note, one of the screws securing the reservoir cap was stuck, and ended up biting the tip off one of my Craftsman screwdrivers :o and then stripped out when I tried my grandfather's old generic screwdriver. I got the bright idea to drill out the middle of the screw, hoping it would relieve pressure or something, but that didn't really help (that I could tell). So I looked around my grandfather's garage and found a thin flathead screwdriver that either he sharpened or was just unusually sharp. I managed to scrape a little groove near the circumference of the screw and eventually tapped it loose. Jeez, tonight just wasn't my night.
Again, thanks for the help folks, I really appreciate it :thumb: