NewDriverOlderRide Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I was talking to one of my parents friends, about bleeding brakes, and he said that he heard somewhere that you can open all of the nipples and let it sit overnight , and gravity will push the air out? he wasnt sure, just something that he heard similar to that. So anyone know if theres any truth to that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samo Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Eh.. Air is lighter than brake fluid, so I'd imagine that if you let it sit overnight, the only thing that would be pushed out, if anything, is the brake fluid. Be safe, bleed 'em right. Your brakes are the most important part of your car, so I wouldn't experiment. ...but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonyk Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Yes, can can gravity bleed it, but you want to make sure you have someone topping off the brake fluid - going dry in the master cylinder sucks, you need to totally redo the entire system. IIRC, gravity bleeding is useful for when the entire system is dry, you let it fill most of the way up. I'd still follow with a normal bleed, though. -=Russ=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85Sub4WD Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 my prefered method of bleeding is a bit quicker, and easier (believe it or not) - no special bleeder screws are required either get two bottles of brake fluid - one needs to be about half-empty - and some hose that fits snugly over the bleeder screws remove master cylinder cap - make sure it is completely full of brake fluid go to first wheel - open bleeder screw (about 1/2 turn, maybe more), and shove one end of hose over bleeder (CONNECTION MUST BE TIGHT) and SUBMERGE the other one in your half-empty bottle of brake fluid start pumping - check the MC after about every 3-5 pumps - no one wheel should take more than 15 or 20 pumps. close the bleeder screw - make SURE you do not disconect the hose from the screw, or remove it from the fluid until the bleeder screw is TIGHT continue to bleed the rest of the brakes (in a diagonal fashion preferably, but it really does not matter) - note, you will fill your brake bottle at the wheel as the process progresses, make sure it does not overflow if the car is SECURELY jacked up, you can run the engine so you get power brakes durring this process - makes it a lot easier this always has worked for me, and I have had to do a lot of brake repairs (mostly on other cars), including the rear disc conversion - trust me, it works well yes, I know I will get a response saying that this method doesn't work for such-and-such reason - I have used it many times, and it has NEVER let me down - I also have a 71-year old mechanic friend who has used it since before I was born, without any problems - it takes me about half an hour to bleed all 4 brakes on my soob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Yes, gravity bleeding is accepted practice, and is generally used on systems that have some stubborn air trapped in them that normal bleeding will not remove. Generally, gravity bleeding will get that air out. That said, it takes a long time, so most people just do it normally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I go with the 2 person bleeding job. Having the car running makes bleeding faster. Have the person pump the pedal 10x and hold down crack bleeder. do that 3 times per tire starting with the rear passenger - front driver - rear driver - front passenger. The biggest thing is to make sure the adjusting screws for rear drum brakes are set at the point where the back tire will barely free spin. I'm not saying anything bad about 85sub4wd way of doing it, but the way I listed, is more carefree. You dont have to worry about having hoses tight on the bleeder, you dont have to move around bottles of brake fluid for each tire.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samo Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Well, I guess I'm wrong! Learn something new every day . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Humble Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 my prefered method of bleeding is a bit quicker, and easier (believe it or not) - no special bleeder screws are required either get two bottles of brake fluid - one needs to be about half-empty - and some hose that fits snugly over the bleeder screws remove master cylinder cap - make sure it is completely full of brake fluid go to first wheel - open bleeder screw (about 1/2 turn, maybe more), and shove one end of hose over bleeder (CONNECTION MUST BE TIGHT) and SUBMERGE the other one in your half-empty bottle of brake fluid start pumping - check the MC after about every 3-5 pumps - no one wheel should take more than 15 or 20 pumps. close the bleeder screw - make SURE you do not disconect the hose from the screw, or remove it from the fluid until the bleeder screw is TIGHT continue to bleed the rest of the brakes (in a diagonal fashion preferably, but it really does not matter) - note, you will fill your brake bottle at the wheel as the process progresses, make sure it does not overflow if the car is SECURELY jacked up, you can run the engine so you get power brakes durring this process - makes it a lot easier this always has worked for me, and I have had to do a lot of brake repairs (mostly on other cars), including the rear disc conversion - trust me, it works well yes, I know I will get a response saying that this method doesn't work for such-and-such reason - I have used it many times, and it has NEVER let me down - I also have a 71-year old mechanic friend who has used it since before I was born, without any problems - it takes me about half an hour to bleed all 4 brakes on my soob This is the best way to bleed brakes, I would add only one thing, pump the pedal slowly and smoothly. You don't want to make big air bubbles into small bubbles. Small bubbles can attach to the inside of the system and are really hard to get out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewDriverOlderRide Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 it takes a long time, so most people just do it normally. Well, beings that I am an only-child and my parents work alot, and the fact I don't get my license until May 2, I have nothing but time, Anyone want to gimme the rundown on how to Gravity Bleed? Also, what about doing this? http://www.moccsplace.com/images/brakes/bleeder/bleeder.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Well, beings that I am an only-child and my parents work alot, and the fact I don't get my license until May 2, I have nothing but time, Anyone want to gimme the rundown on how to Gravity Bleed? Also, what about doing this? http://www.moccsplace.com/images/brakes/bleeder/bleeder.htm That method in the link works, and is almost, the only way to do brakes on some bikes from what their owners tell me. I haven't used that method myself, but just may try it. My Wife is willing to help bleed brakes, but she does, ahem, "complain" about it afterwards. Something to do with her legs being tired.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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