Dumb brake bleeding question (1 Viewer)

[Skniper]

When using a pressure bleeder (Motive Power Bleeder) to bleed the whole brake system...should the brake pedal be held pressed down to allow more flow??

Or just pressurize the system as is and open the bleeder valves at each corner/Lspv ?

 

[micruz60]

Valve furthest from the booster... first.
Then next furthest valve...
I believe left rear first, right rear second, right front third, and left front last.
Dunno aboot the brake pedal being compressed or not...
hth

 

[Godwin]

No need to compress brake pedal.

 

[Elbert]

agree, thats the idea for the pressure bleeder...one person operation....(no need to apply brakes/push brake peadal)

 

[gregnash]

No need to work the brake pedal as all you are doing is forcing the fluid that is in the Master Cylinder valve into the system. There should technically be nothing wrong with the fluid in the MC, it is the rest of the system you are working on. Process that @micruz60 stated is the correct process..

 

[Skniper]

Yep thanks, bled many a brakes over the years....just wasn't sure if pressing the pedal would improve flow any when using the pressure bleeder.

Flow was just a little slower than expected through the new front calipers. One minor issue is keeping the pressure bleeder cap sealed on the master cyl reservoir. It's annoyingly leaky if not set just right. Also don't want to risk over pressurizing the system.

I stopped getting air bubbles out of both fronts, but braking strength is not equal on both side, d-side is stronger. And bleeders are on the high side of the calipers. Rain halted efforts to attempt further manual bleeding and bleeding the rears/lspv.

 

[dudenhoeffer]

I'm having the same issue with unbalanced braking power. Drivers side reacts a fraction faster causing the truck to pull left for just a sec before both grab evenly. Braking remains even after that initial pull. I tried a vacuum bleeder on the front calipers and that didn't solve the issue. Were you able to get your front brakes back in balance? im wondering if pressurizing the system and bleeding each again will fix my issue as well.

 

[Output Shaft]

It could be that the passenger side caliper is sticking a bit. If the calipers are old, remanufactured jobs are really cheap and will ensure they are both working the same. If the front brakes have been bled well, it's very doubtful that there is an air bubble on the passenger side... causing uneven braking.

 

[dudenhoeffer]

Well, the calipers are new. I did a forerunner swap and the braking has been off balance every since. Seems to have lessened a bit in the past months. So, the passenger side caliper may have been defective from the start I guess. I'm sure that happens... I was thinking it was a bleeding issue though. I may try a gravity bleed tomorrow and see if that remedies the situation. If no, then I will replace that caliper with a fresh one.

 

[slomoe]

2x, a caliper issue was the cause of my uneven braking

 

[Skniper]

I'm having the same issue with unbalanced braking power. Drivers side reacts a fraction faster causing the truck to pull left for just a sec before both grab evenly. Braking remains even after that initial pull. I tried a vacuum bleeder on the front calipers and that didn't solve the issue. Were you able to get your front brakes back in balance? im wondering if pressurizing the system and bleeding each again will fix my issue as well.

I did ultimately get my brakes in sync. I went back and did a combo of bleeding the master cyl while on the vehicle (which of course let air back into the lines), pressure bleeding, and manual pedal bleeding with a helper. Did this on all four corners and the lspv (fj62).

Also took the time to bed in the new front rotors and pads as explained in other threads here. Man oh man were those things smokin' hot during bedding in....all the new paint and any residual oil on any surface definitely got baked on or burned off during that process!
Really solid brakes up front, still need to snug up the drums a little for better overall balance and pedal feel.

 

[dudenhoeffer]

Thanks for the insights here - I replaced the "new" caliper and that did the trick. Rebleed the brakes and stopping power is back in balance. Now its time to tackle the rear drums.

Thinking about a disc conversion on the rear, but I'm not sure how far I want to go. Is it worth the effort?.

Also, is the TC Master Cylinder swap a good next move?

Cheers!