air in brake lines

[dawggg (steve)]

i was working on my front driver caliper yesterday and the piston came out spilling fluid and of course i ended up getting air in the line, i went ahead and put everything back together and fired her up and of course soft pedal... brakes will need to be bled, but my question is, can i get by with just bleeding the driver front i got air in or will i need to attempt to bleed every wheel... ??? thanks, Steve

 

[johnnyreb]

i was working on my front driver caliper yesterday and the piston came out spilling fluid and of course i ended up getting air in the line, i went ahead and put everything back together and fired her up and of course soft pedal... brakes will need to be bled, but my question is, can i get by with just bleeding the driver front i got air in or will i need to attempt to bleed every wheel... ??? thanks, Steve

 

[johnnyreb]

i was working on my front driver caliper yesterday and the piston came out spilling fluid and of course i ended up getting air in the line, i went ahead and put everything back together and fired her up and of course soft pedal... brakes will need to be bled, but my question is, can i get by with just bleeding the driver front i got air in or will i need to attempt to bleed every wheel... ??? thanks, Steve

You should Steve. One way to find out and try it. You never know about brakes. If the bleeder ***** is easy to back off. I,d go ahead and put a little of tread eas on the thread. So it will be not stuck the next time. Good luck.

 

[johnnyreb]

i was working on my front driver caliper yesterday and the piston came out spilling fluid and of course i ended up getting air in the line, i went ahead and put everything back together and fired her up and of course soft pedal... brakes will need to be bled, but my question is, can i get by with just bleeding the driver front i got air in or will i need to attempt to bleed every wheel... ??? thanks, Steve

I,m sure the newer(mine is a 78) model you have might be different.

 

[Tiha]

You might get lucky just doing that one only. Worth a shot.

 

[Motech]

I'd try it if it was mine.

 

[dawggg (steve)]

I,m sure the newer(mine is a 78) model you have might be different.

i ended up getting 2 new calipers but cant bleed by myself... front bleeders are so close and mounted on the front of caliper... i tried the tube in the bottle trick but tube wont stay on... i need rear brakes but dont wanna fight with them... :/

 

[johnnyreb]

i ended up getting 2 new calipers but cant bleed by myself... front bleeders are so close and mounted on the front of caliper... i tried the tube in the bottle trick but tube wont stay on... i need rear brakes but dont wanna fight with them... :/

What you need is to have a tube that fits tight and long enough to where the tube also fits tight through the bottle cap and long enough so the bottle can sit upright. Also cut a little v-notch in the tube that fits on the bottom . So fluid can flow into the bottle--without being stopped up. Make sure you keep an eye on the master cylinder and it is kept full. Good luck. I,ll tyr and find my bottle --take pictures and send them. To make sure you see what I am talking about.

 

[Motech]

but cant bleed by myself...

Try gravity bleed. Top off master, leave cap off, crack the bleeder open a few turns and go work on something else a bit.

Just keep an eye on fluid level.

Doesn't work on all vehicles, but most non-ABS setups should start flowing soon after.

Back when I was doing a lot of brake work, I'd have pistons pressed back in on both calipers, then mount up the left side with the new pads, open the bleeder and go round and reassemble the right side while keeping my eye on the left. It would usually start dripping fluid right about the time I was torquing down the right side. So I'd crack that bleeder, top my fluid level, cinch down the left and wait a couple minutes for the right side to dribble.

If your lucky, you can finish it up same way. Pump the pedal to seat your pistons, then rap/tap the LH caliper a dozen times with a little ball-peen to work the inevitable air bubbles up to the top, open the bleeder again and watch the bubbles come blirping out until solid fluid oozes. Then re-tighten it, repeat on the RH side and clean up your DOT-4 drizzle with a little Brakleen.