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Gravity Bleeding brakes?

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Little6pack

Active Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2002
Messages
11,676
I replaced my rear wheel cylinders which were leeking badly.
My pedal is now real soft.

If you are alone can you slightly crack open the bleeder screws & let the fluid/air gravity bleed itself?
Or
do I still have to find a helper pump while I open & close the bleeder?
 
on the wheel cylinders gravity bleeding will usually work.but you should do it the right way when you get a chance.gravity bleed them one at a time,starting with the passenger side first.be sure not to let the master cylinder go dry.but do let it bleed for a descent amount of time.
nick,
 
:( No neighbors, nobody else lives in your city???:(
Some neighbor kid and a couple of bucks and you got your brakes done. I even had to pay my GF daughter to help me!!
Tarey D.:cool:
 
Gravity bleeding works great on my car. I replaced both calipers and wheel cylinders once, and just let all four flow for about a half hour and they were fine. Just keep the reservoir full.
 
I use a MityVac to pump out fluid then I gravity bleed on top of that...
 
Gravity, or vacuum, bleeding is the best way to do it. No air in the system from pumping. Also, one does not have to hold the button in on the proportioning valve in when doing it this way.
 
Steve,
Question, does holding the button in/steady even do anything if you have a bleeder open while slowly pushing the pedal to bleed threw a hose into a submerged container? I've never worried about the prop valve before...I could understand it would do something relating to pressure control when the system is bled up to snuff and your applying enough pressure for the valve to do somehting just unsure in a case of bleeding.
Thanks
 
Gravity bleeding does an ok job but pumping them up does alot better job most times..They do sale a lil self brake bleeding kit at local auto parts place that works pretty good..or just get a clear jar & about half full of brake fluid & a piece of clear tube(works best) open bleeder screw & attach hose & submerge other end in brake fluid & pump till you dont see any bubbles of air & then tighten the bleed screw & your done..hope this helps..
Brian
 
Another option is to replace your existing bleeders with speed bleeders. Do a search on EBAY for russell speed bleeders. The part # for Regal is 639580 (for the front) and 639520 (for the rear). I ordered 6 sets (2 for the chevy, 2 for the buick and 2 for my stepdads christmas present) and I emailed the seller to inquire about a quantity discount and he cut the price to $4.50 each plus shipping. Then you don't have to worry about your neighbor or kids prematurely lifting their foot during a brake bleeding process:D .
 
Holding the button in the "in" position is required for the front brakes only...when pumping the brakes...

The normal position for the button is "in" so it can not be pushed any further in. If you watch the button when someone steps on the brakes, you will see it pop out...If I recall correctly, the purpose of this is to allow the rear brakes and front discs to engage at the same time.

If the button is not held in the "in" position when bleeding, fluid flow will be restricted to the front. Makes it harder to push the air out.

Gravity bleeding avoids the input of air bubbles into the master cylinder when bleeding. It is better than an "okay" method according to more than one brake expert from what I read.

It worked very well on SCAA cars that I used to crew on and it works very well on my current cars...to each his own :)
 
Just a note on speed bleeders

I have them on the rear brakes and love them, but I had to take them off the fronts because they leaked. The shape of the "pintle" on the front SB would not allow it to seal properly in the caliper, so I woke up to little puddles of brake fluid. They were torqued down tight - so much that I was a fraid of shearing them off.

I bought them 3 years ago, so this may not even be true anymore. You might want to keep a close eye on the fronts after you install them, though.
 
Originally posted by Steve Wood
Holding the button in the "in" position is required for the front brakes only...when pumping the brakes...

The normal position for the button is "in" so it can not be pushed any further in. If you watch the button when someone steps on the brakes, you will see it pop out...If I recall correctly, the purpose of this is to allow the rear brakes and front discs to engage at the same time.

If the button is not held in the "in" position when bleeding, fluid flow will be restricted to the front. Makes it harder to push the air out.

Gravity bleeding avoids the input of air bubbles into the master cylinder when bleeding. It is better than an "okay" method according to more than one brake expert from what I read.

It worked very well on SCAA cars that I used to crew on and it works very well on my current cars...to each his own :)

Werd. I gravity bled my 12" brakes last summer... no probs to date.

Well, the pads squeal a bit... very metallic. :o
 
Originally posted by Steve Wood
Holding the button in the "in" position is required for the front brakes only...when pumping the brakes...

The normal position for the button is "in" so it can not be pushed any further in. If you watch the button when someone steps on the brakes, you will see it pop out...If I recall correctly, the purpose of this is to allow the rear brakes and front discs to engage at the same time.

If the button is not held in the "in" position when bleeding, fluid flow will be restricted to the front. Makes it harder to push the air out.
Steve,

I just looked at my proportioning valve and the button is "out" without anyone pushing on the brakes. Is this valve bad?
 
Did you have someone to push on the pedal to see if it moved further than it currently is? Or try to push the button in? Normally, the button can not be pushed it because it is in the "in" position even if it looks out.... LOL does that make sense?

BTW, according to the manual, it is only necessary to restrain the button when pressure bleeding. I found I got more fluid volume when restraining it, however...when manually bleeding. These days I normally just gravity bleed them as I have had better luck....or use a mitey-mite to vacuum bleed them.
 
Ok well I just had someone push the brakes and yes the button gets pushed out further just a little bit. I hope I figure out why my brakes SUCK.
 
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