So after reading through the other threads and being convinced that the sky would fall if I tried bleeding my brakes myself I figured I would post my experience.
So here’s what I did and experience no issues with ABS lights or any kind of warning.
I didn’t want to bother with trying to siphon out old fluid out of the master cylinder reservoir so I just kept a 👁 on it and didn’t let it get low.
All you need is a 10 mm wrench, a couple of quarts of DOT 3 fluid, I grabbed 3 feet of 3/16 I.D. vinyl tubing and a clamp from Ace, an old Gatorade bottle and a wire brush.
I just Drilled a hole through the top cap and a small vent hole and tied a piece of string around the neck to hang underneath so there’s no chance of the bottle tipping over.
I always wash down the underside before a project so in the pictures that’s not fluid that’s just moisture left over from the hose.
1.
I started at the passenger side rear pull the cap off the bleeder or what’s left of it, hit it with a wire brush to ensure a good seal and knock off any rust or dirt. I live in Montana so the underside takes a beating, believe it or not two years ago I sprayed the underneath after removing rust and it already looks horrible again.
2. Slide the box end of the 10mm over the bleeder and then slip on the vinyl tubing. It’s pretty tight but I use clamp also if I’m doing it alone. Pour a little brake fluid in the bottle to keep from sucking air on the first few pumps.
3. Turn the key on (don’t start) and listen to make sure the brake pump isn’t running.
4. Turn key Off
5. If you have a helper I crawled under and broke the bleeder loose and had them push the peddle down. Before letting up I turned the bleeder closed. Repeat this a few times and you should be moving a fair amount of fluid each pump. If your alone you can just open the bleeder and pump it a few times and then crawl under and close it. The bottle and hose will prevent from sucking air.
6. After a few pumps I would turn the key to the on position and then watch the fluid level is the motor would run and re-pressurize the system keep adding fluid to keep the reservoir full.
7. Repeat this on the driver side rear followed by passenger front, then driver front. Just make sure you never let the fluid get too low, And if the pedal drops to the floor you need to turn the key back on. I just recharged it every few pumps and watched the fluid to make sure. I had my daughter helping so it was quick.
I’ve read about going out and activating the ABS and then flushing further. Once it snows here the ABS will get plenty of work and I’ll probably just do this again in the spring. Brakes are noticeably nicer now plus I plan to swap rotors and pads hopefully this week. I have techstream which is hidden mess if it wants to work and I really didn’t want to bother with it for a brake flush. I’ve done plenty of other cars but reading some of the post had me intimidated for some reason. This was really Quick and easy and from how dirty the fluid was I wish I would’ve done it a lot sooner. My brake pedal Is noticeably nicer on the first push already and waiting to see if I experience the random sticking of the brake pedal at a stoplight.
Hope this helps I know there’s probably a way to do it that’s different or that the manual tells you but this is the way I did it and it worked there’s no lights on.
So here’s what I did and experience no issues with ABS lights or any kind of warning.
I didn’t want to bother with trying to siphon out old fluid out of the master cylinder reservoir so I just kept a 👁 on it and didn’t let it get low.
All you need is a 10 mm wrench, a couple of quarts of DOT 3 fluid, I grabbed 3 feet of 3/16 I.D. vinyl tubing and a clamp from Ace, an old Gatorade bottle and a wire brush.
I just Drilled a hole through the top cap and a small vent hole and tied a piece of string around the neck to hang underneath so there’s no chance of the bottle tipping over.
I always wash down the underside before a project so in the pictures that’s not fluid that’s just moisture left over from the hose.
1.
I started at the passenger side rear pull the cap off the bleeder or what’s left of it, hit it with a wire brush to ensure a good seal and knock off any rust or dirt. I live in Montana so the underside takes a beating, believe it or not two years ago I sprayed the underneath after removing rust and it already looks horrible again.
2. Slide the box end of the 10mm over the bleeder and then slip on the vinyl tubing. It’s pretty tight but I use clamp also if I’m doing it alone. Pour a little brake fluid in the bottle to keep from sucking air on the first few pumps.
3. Turn the key on (don’t start) and listen to make sure the brake pump isn’t running.
4. Turn key Off
5. If you have a helper I crawled under and broke the bleeder loose and had them push the peddle down. Before letting up I turned the bleeder closed. Repeat this a few times and you should be moving a fair amount of fluid each pump. If your alone you can just open the bleeder and pump it a few times and then crawl under and close it. The bottle and hose will prevent from sucking air.
6. After a few pumps I would turn the key to the on position and then watch the fluid level is the motor would run and re-pressurize the system keep adding fluid to keep the reservoir full.
7. Repeat this on the driver side rear followed by passenger front, then driver front. Just make sure you never let the fluid get too low, And if the pedal drops to the floor you need to turn the key back on. I just recharged it every few pumps and watched the fluid to make sure. I had my daughter helping so it was quick.
I’ve read about going out and activating the ABS and then flushing further. Once it snows here the ABS will get plenty of work and I’ll probably just do this again in the spring. Brakes are noticeably nicer now plus I plan to swap rotors and pads hopefully this week. I have techstream which is hidden mess if it wants to work and I really didn’t want to bother with it for a brake flush. I’ve done plenty of other cars but reading some of the post had me intimidated for some reason. This was really Quick and easy and from how dirty the fluid was I wish I would’ve done it a lot sooner. My brake pedal Is noticeably nicer on the first push already and waiting to see if I experience the random sticking of the brake pedal at a stoplight.
Hope this helps I know there’s probably a way to do it that’s different or that the manual tells you but this is the way I did it and it worked there’s no lights on.
