Brake bleeding...

D

drewski59

New member
Hey,

I have never changed my own brake fluid before. Does it really require two people to bleed the brakes? Or is there a simple way to do it by yourself? And what about those bleeding machines. Anyone have experience with those?



I want to replace my fluid with ATE Super Blue once spring rolls around. I want to make sure that I have everything I need by then.



Thanks! :dance
 
Google around and you’ll find a lot of stuff about brake bleeding on various car-guy sites. (There’s a good DIY pressure bleeder article floating around cyberspace that turns up often.)



Here’s my condensed version:



The simplest traditional method is to have two people. One pumps the brake pedal while the other turns the bleed nipples. Pros: cheap, requires only a wrench and a short length of tubing. Cons: requires two people (who must work well in sync with each other), can suck air into system, you need to keep topping off the reservoir manually.



A pressure bleeder forces fresh fluid into the reservoir as one person turns the bleed nipples. Pros: very fast and effective, only one person needed. Cons: requires equipment, commercial pressure bleeders are pricey, will make a BIG mess very quickly if pressure bleeder and brake reservoir don’t seal perfectly.



Vacuum bleeders connect to the bleed nipples and suck the fluid from the system. Pros: one man operation, can’t overflow reservoir. Cons: can suck air into system, large commercial vacuum bleeders can be expensive, small commercial vacuum bleeders are inexpensive but tedious to use, you need to keep topping off the reservoir manually.



http://www.speedbleeder.com/]Speed Bleeders[/url] are bleed nipples with built in check valves that allow one person to do a traditional pedal pumped bleed. Pros: Cheap, some swear by them. Cons: others swear at them, can suck air into system, you need to keep topping off the reservoir manually.



Important Side Note: Many (most? all?) electronic anti-lock brake systems can’t be fully flushed manually. There are too many internal nooks, crannies, valves, orifices and pistons. Brake shops hook up an electronic gizmo that fires the electrical solenoid valves while bleeding to flush the whole system.





PC.
 
Sweet! Thanks, guys.



That Motive Universal Bleeder will fit my PT, so I think that's what I'll go with.



But I'm wondering on how many liters of Super Blue to order. I can't find brake fluid capacity anywhere!

Does anyone know how many liters of fluid a car normally takes??
 
drewski59 said:
Sweet! Thanks, guys.



That Motive Universal Bleeder will fit my PT, so I think that's what I'll go with.



But I'm wondering on how many liters of Super Blue to order. I can't find brake fluid capacity anywhere!

Does anyone know how many liters of fluid a car normally takes??
Click to expand...







your looking for ate blue racing fluid...if you are i know where the sell it...you wouldnt believe me if told..here goes Motives sells it :woot2: here's the link :woot2: motive super blue brake fluid (yellow or blue)





hehe after rereading the post..i see that you wanted to see how much fluid you pt holds :wall ...they probaly would list it in your owner's manual
 
Thanks for the link, but I can get it from FCP Groton(a Volvo parts seller) for $9/liter.:)



Of course I've checked the manual. Doesn't say a thing...either does the Haynes manual:dunno



If anyone who owns a stratus or pt cruiser(same engine) wants to chime in here...that would be great.



Thanks
 
If I remeber right, I needed 1.5L to bleed my Maxima, but this is because it was my first time so I was extra careful to get everything flushed. Remember to order a bit more than your system capacity since some of it will be pushed out to clear you old fluid.
 
Drewski,



Is it a matter of needing a one man brake bleeding device? I have tried them all, speed bleeders, vacum bleeders, the works. They are great for enabling you to bleed the brakes by yourself but, they don't really make the process that much easier or quicker. With the wife's help I generally can flush brakes in about 20-30 minutes. Just wanted to point that out before you spend the money on gadgetry :D Not that I am one to talk about gadget collecting as I still have the speed bleeders, the vacum bleeders, etc....



Just my 2 cents :D
 
you may not want to press the brake pedal all the way to the floor when you are bleeding, go about 2/3 of the way down slowly. There have been reports of screwing up the master cylinder if you push the pedal all the way to the floor when bleeding. I'm sure you've read this before, but you need a plan of order to bleed brakes if you are bleeding the entire system. Most say go to the farthest brake, usually the passenger rear, then driver rear, then passenger front, then driver front to ensure all the fluid in the line is new. Also, when compressing the caliper piston to put new pads on, it is best to open the bleeder screw to push the fluid from the compressed piston out the bleeder instead of back up into the brake line.

As far as anti-lock brakes go, many say it is wise to get on the brakes hard enough to actuate the anti-lock function once a month or so. Like any mechanical system, it nedds to be operated once in a while for best longevity and performance.
 
Something to keep in mind with the Motive Bleeder, tighter is not always better. When you put the top on the master cylinder the trick is to keep it centered and FLAT. Bring both sides down EVENLY with the wing nuts.
 
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