There are multiple ways to bleed brakes.

using at least 2 of the methods for the same bleeding will net good results.

A quick bleed can be done with a partner.

Build pressure on pedal and crack open bleeder quickly.

Start with that to get the lines clean.


On the second go around of bleeding. get you a jar and some clear tubing.

Put an inch or 2 of fluid in the jar and attach the line to the bleeder and crack it open.
Put the other end in the jar so the end is in the fluid.

Pump the **** outa the brakes after you crack that valve open.
Have a friend watch the line to see if air bubbles are coming out.

(be sure to watch resiviour)

If you have clean fluid, you can keep re-adding it back into the resivior.
So use a good clean jar and good clean fluid, if the fluid is discolored, dont add back in.

The hydraulic action will bleed them suka's out for ya. =)
Just dont crack the valve too much, just enough to let fluid out. cause air can actually seep in around the valve a bit.

There are tons and tons of bleeding tricks.

Just bleeding the master might fix your issue.

You just need to crack the lines on the master so the oil can seep out.
I forget which one you do first though. Somebody else will have to chime in.

Basically crack fitting and cover eyes. Have somebody slowly push pedal, before it hits bottom, tighten fitting.

 

I generally start with the wheel at the end of the longest line and work my way back from there. On our trucks that means the right rear should be first, then the left rear, right front, and left front.

Both of these are good methods of bleeding the brakes. You can also use a mightyvac pump (small hand held vacuum pump) to suck the fluid through the lines, or do a 2 man bleed that consists of opening the bleeder screw, having someone slowly push down on the pedal, then closing the bleeder, having them release the pedal, etc. The key there is to close the bleeder before the other guy releases the pedal so you suck fresh fluid from the reservoir instead of sucking air back into the system through the bleeder. Once you get the fluid flowing this way, you can also just gravity bleed the lines, meaning you just open the bleeder, and let gravity siphon the fluid through the system. You'll want to watch for bubbles to quit coming out of the system regardless of which method you choose.

If you replaced all those lines and parts and didn't get it bled out good, I'd say it's a good possibility that you do still have some air in the lines. Generally that just makes for a mushy, spongy pedal, but not always.

William, it's good to see you in here again. You should stop by more often. Sorry to hear things aren't going your way. Are you going to make it to RRE this year? A bunch of us OBS'ers are camping out this year. I'm sure there's room for one more.

 

Rep to William!

Tried Nate, no go!

Good info!

 

Well I think I'm gonna replace the booster and then proceed to make sure I bleed the lines really well. I've just had back luck with cheap parts and I wanna get a good booster back on there so any of y'all know of good quality boosters out there that might not be quite as expensive as from the dealership?

 

I got a zero loss 97 booster from these guys, expensive but it works good.

I forget the procedure to get FTE discount and low shipping cost but I would call them.
AutoNation Ford White Bear Lake | Parts & Accessories

 

Isn't that the old tousley Ford Glenn. I'm in the process of gathering parts for a hydroboost conversion. I had to replace the power steering pump so I got the f-superduty one with the boost port. Next up idk. The rest of it.

 

Yes it is Nick. If you do that conversion, I for one would like to see a complete write up on it.

 

It doesn't look too complicated. Booster with pushrod, master cylinder, 2 pressure hoses, 1 return line, and pump but it's not necessary.

 

Someone said they weren't sure how you'd test a booster, so here ya go!

1. Turn the engine off, pump the brake pedal till it gets hard to remove any vacuum in the booster.

2. Keep your foot firmly on the pedal while and start the truck. The pedal should drop, this means that the booster is working.

 

I just finished mine yesterday. Not too complicated at all. For my '96 I bought '97 F Superduty hydrobooster, hoses and pump. There are reportedly some changes in the hose fittings somewhere around '97, but the '97 fittings matched my steering box and pump. The new pump wasn't necessary but the old one was, well...old and I wanted to tie into the second return port on the SD pump to avoid teeing into the power steering return hose. Didn't want more hose clamps and possible leaks.

I kept the original master cylinder, had to take a die grinder to widen the bolt hole pattern by about 1/8" to match the SD hydroboost. The SD master cylinder is evidently a direct bolt in but it is also evidently sized for rear disc brakes, which I don't have. Using the old master cylinder also allowed me to bolt it up without opening the brake lines, so no bleeding was needed.

The only real project was moving the brake pedal pin upwards about 3/4" of an inch to match the different height of the hydroboost actuator rod. I think some guys used the original pedal pin height, but it provides less leverage and requires more pedal pressure as a result. Plus, even though the booster actuator rod seems to be mounted on some sort of ball joint, it doesn't seem right for it to be on an angle. My new Motorcraft hydroboost unit came with a warning tag on the pedal actuator rod something like "Don't remove this rod, if you remove it, it can't be replaced and the entire booster unit must be replaced." Not sure what's up with that but I didn't have any need to remove the rod anyway.

After moving the pedal pin, the brake switch contacts don't fit right so I got the SD brake light switch, NAPA Echlin part no. SL-213. The brake light switch was the only task that gave me any issues. It seemed so simple and I wasn't paying close attention when I pulled the pin out. There's a small black plastic bushing in there with a flange on one side. It ended up on the floor and I'm not sure I got the flange back in on the correct side.

The pedal pressure now seems about right and even better, it doesn't sink toward the firewall. We had a few inches of snow over the weekend so it will be a few days before I can really test the brakes on a dry road.

I know this thread is about vacuum booster problems but I think the hydroboost is a good solution and I hope this post isn't a thread hijack. There are dozens of OBS hydroboost threads, some guys had problems and I suggest reading through a bunch of the threads before starting.

Next addition will probably be a power steering fluid cooler. Not sure how much heat the hydroboost generates but combined with the power steering I'm guess it will be considerable going down a steep twisty grade.

Bob

 

Nice write up.

 

Yeah good job Bob. I'm curious to know how you find them