Bleeding brakes
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Bleeding brakes
Hi, just joined and I have a question. I replaced the master cylinder on my 2001 explorer sport and I am having a problem getting the brakes bled. No matter what I do there still seems to be air in the line. I replaced M/C's before and bled without this problem is there a certain way to do this?
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Cedar Rapids, IA
No real trick to it as long as you didn't turn your ignition key to the Run position between removing the old master cylinder and bleeding the new one. If you did, there is a chance the ABS pump would run and allow air in to the pump.
Othewise, did you start by bleeding furthest from the master cylinder (right rear) and moving closer (next left rear, then right front, finally left front)? Were you using a vacuum bleeder, two person style, or other method? I prefer a check valve and length of tubing, then slowly pumping the brake pedal. Make sure to not loosen the bleeder screw too much if doing this approach as that can allow air through the threads of the bleeder screw when releasing the brake pedal.
-Rod
Othewise, did you start by bleeding furthest from the master cylinder (right rear) and moving closer (next left rear, then right front, finally left front)? Were you using a vacuum bleeder, two person style, or other method? I prefer a check valve and length of tubing, then slowly pumping the brake pedal. Make sure to not loosen the bleeder screw too much if doing this approach as that can allow air through the threads of the bleeder screw when releasing the brake pedal.
-Rod
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Similar Issues
Hey, so we are having similar issues with our 2004 Mountaineer v8. We replaced the front Rotors and Calipers and used the two person approach to bleed the break system but with no luck. The breaks weren't taking at all. Now we have done this before to the rear of this vehicle and have done it countless times on many others and have never encountered this type of issue. We then moved forward to replace the M/C and still no luck. So we put the old calipers back on (which still worked fine before removing them) and still nothing. We checked for any leaks in the lines and calipers as well as the M/C and couldn't find any. If anyone has any information or knows where I can find it, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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bleeding brakes
Nice to know that I am no the only one that has the same problem. For a moment I thought it was just me screwing up. I hope when I switch to front disc on my 54 this spring I will do better. In the mean time now that it has started to warm up I have to do some work on the explorer.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Cedar Rapids, IA
Are you still getting noticeable air from the lines or you just are not getting what you consider a first brake pedal? For CousinGreg, have you tried bleeding the rears on your Mountaineer or only the fronts that you had open?
-Rod
-Rod
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Yes we have bled all of them. We've gone through 3 quarts of brake fluid, which obviously should have gotten all the air out of the liens by now, but still nothing. Assuming we did manage to get air in the ABS pump somehow how would we go about evacuating it?
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When I bled the brakes there was small air bubbles in both rear brakes. I did not do the fronts because I could not get the air out of the rears. I tried bleeding the M/C on the car and there was no air. I already bench bled it before I did the brakes. The bubbles are telling me there is still air in the system but how I do not know. As I said before I am going to pull the M/C and bench bleed it again and then try bleeding the brakes again and hope it works. The only other thing I can think of is some ABS systems need a special tool to bleed the M/C or so I been told.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Cedar Rapids, IA
I checked the factory service manual for bleeding the system both for a master cylinder replacement as well as if the hydraulic control unit were to be replaced (ABS hydraulics). Both cases just involve the standard brake bleeding. There are no special steps over the standard two-person bleeding process.
If you're interested in seeing the outlined steps for yourself, send me a Private Message with the specific request AND an e-mail address for you and I'll send you the PDF of that section.
-Rod
If you're interested in seeing the outlined steps for yourself, send me a Private Message with the specific request AND an e-mail address for you and I'll send you the PDF of that section.
-Rod
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From: northwest,sc
When you bench bleed the master, close the bleeder valves and mash the cylinder as though applying the break. If it seeps down then the master cylinder is bad.
I may not have used the right words for this. Hope you can figure it out.
I may not have used the right words for this. Hope you can figure it out.
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