thought i'd start a new topic on this as i cant find anything in the search. Im repacing the brake fluid in my truck tonight. how much fluid am i going to need and at what wheel do i start at? I have a 99.5 with rear wheel abs. any special techniques? thanks!

 

Get 1/2 gallon of brake fluid. Trust me you'll use more than a quart if you really want to flush it out.
This is a two person job.
One will get under the truck with a bottle, a two foot piece of hose skinny enough to fit over the bleeder outlet snugly, and the appropriately sized bleeder wrench.
The other one will be in the truck to pump the brakes.
Put the wrench and the hose on the RR bleeder. Put the other end of the hose in the bottle to catch the old brake fluid. Open the bleeder and the one in the truck begins to pump the brake pedal repeatedly from top to bottom.
Now the one under the truck gets up and goes to the brake fluid reservoir and makes sure that the fluid doesn't all get pumped away. Keep adding fluid as needed until the fluid comes out clear at the RR wheel. Have the one in the cab hold the pedal all the way down on the last stroke and then close the bleeder. Do not close the bleeder at any other time. Air will be sucked back into the brake caliper and make the pedal spongy. Only close the bleeder at the bottom of the stroke.
Go top up the brake fluid again.
Go to the LR wheel and bleed it out until clear. This step will require a lot less fluid now that the master cylinder has been cleared out already. You most likely will not need to run forward to check the level of the reservoir before the fluid comes out clear. Again only close the bleeder at the bottom of the stroke while your helper is holding the pedal down.
Move to the RF wheel and repeat the same technique.
Repeat at the LF wheel and you are done!
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A note about bleeding brakes. A complete flush needs to be done every two years regardless of mileage driven. Brake fluid is very hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs water like a sponge. It will get contaminated with water inside a sealed brake system just sitting there. Once that happens the boiling point of the brake fluid drops way off and you are in danger of brake fade under heavy use.
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And another note on brake fluid. It's water soluble, so PLEASE DON'T POUR IT OUT ON THE GROUND OR DOWN THE TOILET. It will get into the ground water very easily and then our grandkids get to drink it.

 

I think there may be a special technique required for the ABS, but I'm not positive on that. I do know that you'll want to start with the wheel farthest away from the master cylinder and work your way closer. So start with rear passenger, go to the rear drivers side, then front passenger side, finally front driver's side. I don't know how much fluid it would require though. Perhaps an auto parts store would be able to tell you.

 

hey kwikk
when doing the pumping repetedly i am closing the bleed off valve every time the pedal hits the bottom of the stroke? the word repeatedly threw me off becuase of air being sucked back in, in between strokes of pedal.

 

ive never bleed brakes without closing the bleeder every time the pedal hits the bottom of the stroke. Am i reading this right. sorry about the confusion. Just want to do it right.

i just read it again to double check and you state do not close off the bleeder unless the pedal is all the way to the ground. i understand that, but your technique for bleeding states (person in the cab pumps pedal repeatedly). Just so i am straight i do or do not have to close the bleeder every time the pedal hits the bottom of its stroke?
thanks kwikk
the brakes have never been bled on the truck and its 6 years old. ive only had it a year.

 

I too thought you would close the bleeder valve at the end of every stroke, before the pedal is released. That's the way I've always done it on all my motorcycles. Another thing I found is something called a speed bleeder. It replaces the bleeder valve in your truck with a new one. The speed bleeder has a check valve in it that doesn't allow any fluid/air to be sucked back in. That can make bleeding a lot easier. You can also use a vaccum pump to suck the fluid out, but I've found them to not be as effective as the standard pumping method.

 

Here is how one person can do this job.
get a clear bottle and some hose to fit over the bleeder valve place the other end of the hose in the coke bottle with a little bit of fluid in the bottom (1" of fluid ). Open bleeder valve and start pumping away. when fluid starts to get low in reservoir, refell. when fluid is clear,close bleeder valve and fill reservoir and move to the next wheel bleeder valve and repet till done. Like one hand already stated,"start with the farthest wheel from the reservoir and work your way in".
gseeders

 

I have 4 wheel ABS and this is how i did mine.I did it with 2 people.Take the wheel off that you want to bleed,the farthest wheel.Start the truck,with one person in the truck and the other with the wrench with a clear hose on the fitting.Have the person push down on the brake pedel,with the pedel down,open the bleeder.(do not let go of the pedel yet)After you close the valve,let off the brakes.Repeat untill you see new fluid coming out of the hose.
You are going to need at least one gallon of dot 3 fluid.If i remember right.

 

That's how I'm accustomed to bleeding brakes. Not necessarily with the vehicle running, but keeping the pedal down until the valve is closed.

 

I do it with the engine running,just cause it is easier to push the brakes.My wife was pushing the brake pedel,so you know how that works lol...

 

Good call. I may have to use that trick too, since the girlfriend is usually the one that's around. She's tiny.

 

I do mine the easy, lazy, and slightly more expensive way. I bought a Motive Products power bleeder that screws onto the master cylinder and is basically a polyethylene bottle with a pump and a tube coming out with a fitting (essentially a master cylinder cap) for the master cyl. I pour a quart and a half or so of brake fluid in it, attach it to the master cyl, pump it a couple of times (there is a pressure guage on it), then go to the back of the truck and attach a hose to the bleeder and run it into a catch can. Now I open the bleeder and lay there like a beached whale while the fluid is forced through the system by the pressurized vessal. As soon as I see new fluid coming out close it up and roll over to the other back one, then do the fronts. I also used the Super Blue fluid and bought the amber colored stuff for the next flush. That makes it really easy to tell when the old fluid is flushed out.

I got the Power Bleeder from Motive Producs and the Super Blue and Amber from Raceshopper.

 

Power bleeding - only way to go. You can also make your own bleeder with a cheap pump up sprayer and rig a new master cylinder cap with a barbed fitting to fit the sprayer hose. Add fluid, pump up, open 1st beer, open farthest bleeder screw. Keep going at the rate of 1 beer per wheel.

 

I did it the hard way by myself. Used a mity-vac hand pump. It worked pretty good to evaculate the resevouir but sucking the old crud from each caliper gave me a bad case of hand cramps for a week!

 

At the motorcycle shop I used to work at, we had some sort of rig that used compressed air to create a vaccum. I don't remember exactly how it was setup, but if you could make something like that at home, it would certianly make the job easier by yourself - provided you have a source of compressed air.