What does it mean to bleed the breaks, and how do you do it?

 

you basically make sure there is no air in the brake lines, if there is air in there it causes brake failure, i think it is becuase of the hycraulics.......I have not bled brakes before so I cannot explain how to do it. Feel free to correct me.

 

thanks for the reply madrx... bump, usefull posts pls

 

there are two "nipple" things on your rear BRAKEs, one on your front. if you completly remove the rear calipers, you must bleed the bottom nipple, if the brake fluid was low or something, bleed the top nipple. on the front caliper, the nipple is near the top of the caliper. you bleed them by attaching a hose(silicon vac line works good) to the nipple, and placing the other end into a cup or something. you then take an 8mm and loosen the nipple, then have someone repeatedly apply the brakes until only fluid(no air bubbles) come out of the hose. then tighten the nipple and take off the hose. you bleed the caliper farthest from the BRAKE cylinder first, starting with the passenger side rear, then the driver side rear, then passenger side front, then driver side front. while doing this, keep checking the BRAKE fluid resivour, as you will need to refill it several times during this process.

hope this helps.

also, notice how i spelled BRAKES

 

Thanks a lot for the reply man, it does help... and i know how to spell brakes, i just spell it retardedly sometimes. i dont know why

 

i... i just dont know how to put it into words

brakes not bled = slam into car/curb/tree/ditch/cow/barn/cat/ect...

 

i do it a little different....everyhting is the same up to the pumping of the pedal. After you put the hose on you have somebody pump the brakes and hold the pedal down. While they are holding it you loosen the nipple and their foot will go to the floor (there will be no pressure on the line. Then you tighten the nipple and then they can release. Then you repeat this. I thought that if you didn't do it this way, air would be sucked back into the line when they released it.

 

hahahahhaha... thats some funny sh*t. not to be a d*ck but u guys are in trouble if u dont know the first thing about bleeding brakes. reading a book on basic auto repair could prove to be handy if u are intending to work on your vehicle, b/c if u inproperly install some performance parts (like upgraded calipers or ss brake lines) not only are u putting your life at risk, but you're also endangering innocent drivers. be safe. peace

 

Thats how i always did it. i thought the same thing

 

very true, bu t I have never had to bleed my brakes.....when my brake master cylinder broke I had my mechanic fix it and he bled them.

 

Bleeding the brakes is basically replacing the all of the old brake fluid with new brake fluid. It should be done yearly as brake fluid absorbs moisture and contaminants, both of which reduce its effectiveness.

If you have never done it, then either pay someone to do it for you, or (better) get someone who's done it a few times before to help you.

These are your brakes, so you should not take the chance that your inexperience leaves you with no way to stop (entirely possible). There are complete how-tos in both the Haynes manual and FSM.

 

yeah. unless you have speedbleeders you need a budy to do it anyway. one to pump the brakes and one to open the nipples. tedious work, but essential for safety. plus youle get better brake feel once its done properly

 

dont forget to hold your foot to the floor on the brake while you tighten the 8mm back up!this is important :p otherwise you will have to repeat everything again!

 

isnt it when your trying to break the caliper bracket free and then oops there goes your knuckles?

 

You should put a little brake fluid in the container the hose is dumping into. Having the end of the hose submerged in the fuild will keep air from going back into the system when the brake pedal is released.

 

if u dont know how to bleed ur breaks maybe its a good idea not to f@#$ with it at all...bring it to a shop and have someone who knows what hes doing do it.....brakes are not something u want it to not work when u hit 80...take it to a shop and watch them do it....thats how people learn anyway....

 

you can always downshift and slowdown the car with the engine

my caliper broke in half on the freeway so I couldn't use my brakes.

 

What happens if you bleed both bleeders when swapping out old fluid w/ new fluid and changing the master cyl?

 

Then - there is ABS (PITA)

 

I learned from trial and error. Just remember you are playing with your brakes and take it easy until you are sure you got it right. Although I trial and error everything (clutch, tranny, headers, belts, brakes, and anything else that goes wrong) It is the best way to learn, but you need more time and patience. A good website you can ask questions at is always a big plus... such as this one.

I have a problem paying someone more than I make an hour to do a job I can learn how to do. I would prefer working on her myself anyway, there is a trust issue and I feal like I'm being cheated on.

Me and my baby bond everytime I take her apart and put her back together.

 

If you're somewhat mechanically inclined, it's not that difficult. I did with only the help of the haynes manual, and my wife smashing the pedal. I've done it 3 times like this. And it never ceases to be a pain in the ***.

 

after u're finished with the last wheel(closest to the mastercylinder) go back and start all over again..i've found bubbles the second time around..so it doesnt hurt to go back and double check...