Bleeding brakes
#1
Bleeding brakes
Hey!
I am doing general maintenance on a '99 D1 That I have had for about a month. just a couple of days ago, my brakes suddenly went mushy, very mushy. I checked and noticed that my brake fluid was almost completely dry (should have checked earlier, oops). So i refilled the reservoir with DOT 4 and have not had any improvement, I'm assuming that I need to bleed the brakes. Could someone give me a walk-through on the process of doing this or provide a link to a good walk-through. Also, feel free to tell me if something else could be going on. P.S. I'm in North Dakota where the wind chill has been getting down to -50 F. I have access to a heated paint shop to do work but i still have to park it outside overnight. It starts right up every morning despite frozen fluids. the oil thins out after a few minutes but the brake fluid could remain frozen or gummy. Thanks for the help.
-Dom
I am doing general maintenance on a '99 D1 That I have had for about a month. just a couple of days ago, my brakes suddenly went mushy, very mushy. I checked and noticed that my brake fluid was almost completely dry (should have checked earlier, oops). So i refilled the reservoir with DOT 4 and have not had any improvement, I'm assuming that I need to bleed the brakes. Could someone give me a walk-through on the process of doing this or provide a link to a good walk-through. Also, feel free to tell me if something else could be going on. P.S. I'm in North Dakota where the wind chill has been getting down to -50 F. I have access to a heated paint shop to do work but i still have to park it outside overnight. It starts right up every morning despite frozen fluids. the oil thins out after a few minutes but the brake fluid could remain frozen or gummy. Thanks for the help.
-Dom
#3
After my brakes would go down only during cold weather, they finally got bad enough to find the leak.
I found a leaking line right below drivers door, one of the rear lines had rusted through. I ended up replacing the line from the ABS down to just i front of the rear wheels. Patched in the line using a bubble flare and a connector.
I used a hand vacuum on the rear right caliper to draw the air bubbles out and it has been working great ever since. I learned that if you open the bleeder too far, it will pull air past the threads so only open it a bit.
similar to what I used to bleed the brakes
I found a leaking line right below drivers door, one of the rear lines had rusted through. I ended up replacing the line from the ABS down to just i front of the rear wheels. Patched in the line using a bubble flare and a connector.
I used a hand vacuum on the rear right caliper to draw the air bubbles out and it has been working great ever since. I learned that if you open the bleeder too far, it will pull air past the threads so only open it a bit.
similar to what I used to bleed the brakes
Last edited by jimvw57; 01-01-2018 at 09:34 AM.
#4
So the other day, my brakes went completely dry and I refilled them. this time they would only work after about 5 or 6 pumps, but then they would hold pressure. I took it down to the local repair shop that does reasonably good work, and they spent 2 hours bleeding the brakes. When they were done, I drove about 6 blocks and the BRAKE light on the dash came on... i found the brake reservoir only 1/2 full. I refilled it and made a few stops, then got home. Fluid level did not change. They told me I had a worn brake rotor on the right rear and that was causing the trouble but they got all the air out of the right front brake line. (exactly why I work on my own stuff)
Since I seem to only have this problem when the weather gets below 20 degrees outside, I am thinking the master cylinder is the culprit and leaking on the ground (or should I say snow) I can get a MC from O'Rieleys for less than $100, but have heard I should stick with an OEM one. Thoughts??
Brake pedal was low when I left the repair shop, but came right up after adding fluid to reservoir.
Since I seem to only have this problem when the weather gets below 20 degrees outside, I am thinking the master cylinder is the culprit and leaking on the ground (or should I say snow) I can get a MC from O'Rieleys for less than $100, but have heard I should stick with an OEM one. Thoughts??
Brake pedal was low when I left the repair shop, but came right up after adding fluid to reservoir.
#5
#7
#8
I am thinking the master cylinder is the culprit and leaking on the ground (or should I say snow)
......
#9
#10
Got the master cylinder. The cost for a complete Master Cylinder was only about $25 more than the rebuild kit for the seals. I figured running it dry a few times probably wasn't good for the internals, and the fact that it is getting a bit long in the tooth, could be the best way to go. Now waiting for a bit warmer weather, say above 30 degrees to install it.