bleeding brakes

[pikey1986]

ive just replaced my front brake lines and was wondering what method people use to bleed the brakes and in what order i would need to do them? also will the rears need doing? from what ive read i need to pump the brake and wedge the pedal down then release then undo the nipple and continue this untill fluid comes out, is this correct?

[brainsnova]

i was thinking of getting one of these 1 man band http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=OLFILSECH341QCSTHZPCFFA?_dync harset=UTF-8&fh_search=brake+bleed+kit

the brake circuits are diagonal so o/s rear to n/s front and n/s rear to o/s front. bleed them in the order above.

[pikey1986]

i came acros this a min ago looks quite good, also on ebay theirs a draper one for about 6 quid delivered but i need them doing asap cause my re-test is up next week

[mowgli]

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:htWABtZlSGyZ2M:http://www.avenue35.co.uk/shopping/gunson300/G4062.JPG (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.avenue35.co.uk/shopping/gunson300/G4062.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.avenue35.co.uk/shopping/shopexd.asp%3Fid%3D37733&usg=__RvuWb9aXcH2MtinFNzO4hyC9RpM=&h=496&w=357&sz=88&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=htWABtZlSGyZ2M:&tbnh=130&tbnw=94&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgunsons%2Beezibleed%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3D en)costs about £15-20 it fits onto a spare tyre & pressure bleeds them. it is way better than a bit of pipe...
which you can get for pennies from DIY stores or aquarium shops

[phazer]

As above the Eezi bleed makes it a piece of cake.

[auzzy2000]

eezi bleed is the easiest way by far

[deanwilko]

easyest way to bleed the brakes is to fill the resevour to the top undo the bleed nipple on the caliper make your self a cupa and when you return fluid should be running out. close the bleed nipple pump the pedal up and then open the niddle again just to make sure no more air is in the pipes close the nipple pump up again should have a good pedal if still a bit spongy do a couple of times. whats more easyer then that.

[Benn]

^wtf.

Get a mate to sit in the car, tell him to push the pedal down, as you open the bleed nipple.
Do bleed nipple up and lift the pedal.

Repete till theres no bubbles/air in the fluid.

[deanwilko]

its called gravity bleeding

[phazer]

Any method that requires pumping the pedal risks pushing out the master cylinder seals. They like to go inside out. For the sake of 15 quid you may as well use an easy bleeding kit.

[mowgli]

easyest way to bleed the brakes is to fill the resevour to the top undo the bleed nipple on the caliper make your self a cupa and when you return fluid should be running out. close the bleed nipple pump the pedal up and then open the niddle again just to make sure no more air is in the pipes close the nipple pump up again should have a good pedal if still a bit spongy do a couple of times. whats more easyer then that.

doing it safely for a start.


Any method that requires pumping the pedal risks pushing out the master cylinder seals. They like to go inside out. For the sake of 15 quid you may as well use an easy bleeding kit.

what do you think happens when you actually press the brake pedal??????

[deanwilko]

what do you mean doing it safely

[deanwilko]

so what happens when you undo the pipe does brake fluid not come out? so when you undo the bleed nipple it just the same alowing the fluid to bleed through when the fluid has come through tighten the bleed nipple up pump the pedal up and undo the bleed nipple again the pressure in the brake pipes will push out any air if there is any usually there is none

[mowgli]

by not using some form of pressure to bleed the brakes out, pockets of air will stay in the pipes. any amount of gravity will not get them out, whereas a bit of pressure will push them out easily. and if you do it one at a time with a bleed pipe to a jam jar with a drop of dot4 in it, then you have made certain that no air can get back up inside the caliper or cylinder, so the system will give 100%.

[mowgli]

put simply, the brakes are the single most important part of a car. why would anybody want to not keep them in a good safe condition. doing them by the book, as I have stated above, is by far the best way.

[deanwilko]

like i said pump up the pedal and undo the pressure in the system will force any air that is remaining out

[auzzy2000]

leave the fluid to drain while having a cup of tea.lol.lol

[mowgli]

like i said pump up the pedal and undo the pressure in the system will force any air that is remaining out

pumping up the pedal...

do you mean, getting an assistant to pump it up, while you are underneath, undoing it???

or giving it a good pumping, then getting out & undoing it????

[deanwilko]

geting an assistant to pump it up. taking into consideration that he has a bit of mechanical knowledge

[mowgli]

ok, just stop doing the gravity bleed then, it really doesn't help.

[Ernie]

i always do brakes by getting somebody to sit in the car and do the pump pump pump hold method.Wile your mate keeps the peddle held you loosen of the nipple with a tube on the nipple into a milk bottle of fluid.
Then nipp back up and repeat a few times starting on the rear drivers side then passenger rear then the drivers front then the passenger front.
Always worked fine for me.

[Benn]

Its the easiesy way (anless you have no friends...)

[pikey1986]

ive been on e gay and got myself an eezi bleed kit, too many good things said about them to ignore

[phazer]

doing it safely for a start.



what do you think happens when you actually press the brake pedal??????

Funnily enough the fluid is compressed to move the pistons in the calipers/rear cylinders.

Oddly enough it's a sealed system so the seals in all components can only move as far as the fluid will move/compress (dependant on moisture content). Open the system and there is no resistance, push the pedal too fast and the seals are free to turn themselves inside out. New master cylinder time.

If you've ever paid any attention on any vauxhall board on the internet there is always someone managing to ruin their master cylinder in exaclty this way.

[mowgli]

Funnily enough the fluid is compressed to move the pistons in the calipers/rear cylinders.

Oddly enough it's a sealed system so the seals in all components can only move as far as the fluid will move/compress (dependant on moisture content). Open the system and there is no resistance, push the pedal too fast and the seals are free to turn themselves inside out. New master cylinder time.

If you've ever paid any attention on any vauxhall board on the internet there is always someone managing to ruin their master cylinder in exaclty this way.

funnily enough i've been playing around on novas for about 24 years & have managed to find a great many other things wrong with the braking system without worrying about the fact that having someone jumping up & down like a gibbon on a brake pedal will knacker 20 year old m/c seals.........

And having been on here for about 7 years, i've never, ever seen a thread where someone had done this.

Oh, and I used to work for a company that repaired & supplied brake stuff for all sorts of vehicles & equipment & i've seen m/c seals knacker up for lots of reasons, but pumping them from one end to the other a few dozen times was never one of them.............

[phazer]

funnily enough i've been playing around on novas for about 24 years & have managed to find a great many other things wrong with the braking system without worrying about the fact that having someone jumping up & down like a gibbon on a brake pedal will knacker 20 year old m/c seals.........

And having been on here for about 7 years, i've never, ever seen a thread where someone had done this.

Oh, and I used to work for a company that repaired & supplied brake stuff for all sorts of vehicles & equipment & i've seen m/c seals knacker up for lots of reasons, but pumping them from one end to the other a few dozen times was never one of them.............

I'll take your word on that as I can't be arsed searching the forums I've used over the years. However this quote illustrates what I'm talking about:


One problem with manual brake bleeding is that the master cylinder pistons are moved deepr into their bores than they usually travel. If the master cylinder is dirty, the seals will move past the area of the bores normally contacted by the seals, which is constantly wiped clean by the seals. When the seals are pushed across the dirty area beyond the normal seal wipe area during manual bleeding, the seals can be damaged.

Essentially the dirt picks up the seal making it stick causing it to be pulled inside out. Given that most of the people on here and other Vauxhall forums have old cars corrosion is inevitable. Most aren't likely to have had fluid changes in years I guess the first time it gets bled is when work is needed on the system.

[Benn]

If you've ever paid any attention on any vauxhall board on the internet there is always someone managing to ruin their master cylinder in exaclty this way.

Ive heard people say it.. But have never heard of or seen anyone do it, ever!

[Pete Lybs]

mowgli's method is spot on, however, there's nothing wrong with using an eezibleed kit either (it fits the Nova's reservoir perfectly) as it does make it an easier job.

[Mark Sparks]

As an aprentice i saw plenty of master cylinders pack in after bleeding ive been a qualified mechanic for nearly a decade and never had one fail but then i never get anyone to push the peddle to the floor wich i think is the main cause of failier.

[Adam]

I know of a few people that have wrecked there MC by doing the pedal method.


Use a eezi bleed kit, miles easier