Well i wasnt using no tube. Lol. I will give that a shot . The vacumm sounds even better.
bleeding front brakes
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Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 124
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From: Chattanooga , tn
bleeding front brakes
I installed a new front brake cable.. when i depress and hold the lever and loosen the bleeder valve a quarter of turn only a small amount comes out. Then i do it again and again and so on . It still.doesnt build up pressure. Is there something im doing wrong
you need to bleed them man, your going to need a tube and some brake fluid. so that you can not get air back in the line. i like a speed bleeders, or a mighty vac if not it will take you forever
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From: The Internet (& Dyer, Indiana)
A trick that worked well for me was taking the master cylinder off the bars and getting it low to the ground, so that the air bubble would "rise" in the direction that I wanted them to go (out the bleeder). Worked fantastic!
But I have a softail that makes it easier to do. Not so easy on bikes that trap your cables in the fairings and stuff.
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Another great technique that's worked wonders for me is this: After you've bled them the best you can, fill the M/C and cap it, then tie the brake lever in the "brake on" position overnight (I bungee the front brake lever to the handlebar, or hang a weight from the rear brake lever with a bungee or rope). This keeps the system under pressure and opens the little valve in the M/C - bubbles rise and go into and to the top of the MC. In the morning, I find that the lever has "stiffened" nicely. FWIW/YMMV!
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The best way, is to back bleed it. Go to a tool store and get an old style pump oil can, like you used to put oil in and lube stuff. Make sure it is clean and fill it with fluid. Put a peice of hose on the end that will fit tight on your caliper bleed screw. Open the screw and pump fluid into it so the fluid goes from the caliper up to the master cylinder and fills the master up with fluid.
Now your done.
Now your done.
Last edited by jdaws; Mar 22, 2011 at 10:25 PM. Reason: y
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,906
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From: SE Louisiana
The best way, is to back bleed it. Go to a tool store and get an old style pump oil can, like you used to put oil in and lube stuff. Make sure it is clean and fill it with fluid. Put a peice of hose on the end that will fit tight on your caliper bleed screw. Open the screw and pump fluid into it so the fluid goes from the caliper up to the master cylinder and fills the master up with fluid.
Now your done.
Now your done.
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Joined: Mar 2008
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From: SE Louisiana
A riding buddy called to plan a ride for tomorrow, and I mentioned this idea to him. He's a much more experienced wrench than me, and claims to use a much simpler method: run tubing from the bleeder valve to a half-liter water bottle about 1/4-full of brake fluid. Open bleeder valve and pump lever/pedal. The fluid will serve as flow check, so monitor master cylinder level and pump until no more bubbles.
Looks like this method would waste more brake fluid, but for a job I'll do (probably) at most once a year that would be irrelevant.
Looks like this method would waste more brake fluid, but for a job I'll do (probably) at most once a year that would be irrelevant.
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Joined: Sep 2009
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From: The Internet (& Dyer, Indiana)
A riding buddy called to plan a ride for tomorrow, and I mentioned this idea to him. He's a much more experienced wrench than me, and claims to use a much simpler method: run tubing from the bleeder valve to a half-liter water bottle about 1/4-full of brake fluid. Open bleeder valve and pump lever/pedal. The fluid will serve as flow check, so monitor master cylinder level and pump until no more bubbles.
Looks like this method would waste more brake fluid, but for a job I'll do (probably) at most once a year that would be irrelevant.
Looks like this method would waste more brake fluid, but for a job I'll do (probably) at most once a year that would be irrelevant.
I use your buddies method in conjunction with the trick I had mentioned in post #4.