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Car Forum / Pontiac / Pontiac Cars / May 2008Gravity Bleeding Brakes ?
Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on both calipers and remove the cap from the Master Cylinder and about 15 minutes my line & new front hoses will be bled. I've always opened the bleeder screw presses the brake pedal close the bleeder, let up on the pedal & repeat till I got a pint or so of brake fluid out. ========= Harryface ========= 1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~297,626 miles_~_~_ ~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_ ~~~The Former Fleet ~~~ 89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan > Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on > me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Harryface > ========= Yea, it works ok if you have some time to spare and no one around to help. They still will need to be bled properly but it gets the job 95% done anyway which can speed up the process. > Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on > me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on both [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > bleeder, let up on the pedal & repeat till I got a pint or so of brake > fluid out. I do my car that way sometimes. Purges the old fluid ok. Turn a can upside down in the mstr cyl. Easy to forget and let the mstr cyl run out though. > Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on > me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on both > calipers and remove the cap from the Master Cylinder and about 15 > minutes my line & new front hoses will be bled. That sounds like a good way to introduce moisture into the hydraulic system. Use your way instead. Or the spray-bottle method... > Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on > me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on > both calipers and remove the cap from the Master Cylinder and about 15 > minutes my line & new front hoses will be bled. Yes, I do it all the time. If you only are replacing a hose and/or caliper, there is no need to go through some complicated bleeding procedure. On most vehicles, you will gravity bleed a front wheel circuit completely in a couple of minutes, if not less. The only thing extra that I do is.....after nothing but clear fluid comes out of the bleed screw, close it.....go in the vehicle and slowly pump the pedal a couple of times, then go back out and open the bleed screw again...usually you will get a couple more bubbles. > I've always opened the bleeder screw presses the brake pedal close the > bleeder, let up on the pedal & repeat till I got a pint or so of brake > fluid out. That works too. Though when you release the pedal while the bleed screw is open, you are sucking air back up into the system until you get to bleed screw and close it. This assumes you are doing it yourself. With a helper, this method works well. The gravity method is nice when you don't have a helper. Ian >> Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on >> me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > >Ian Or get automatic bleed valves or a "one man bleeder" which is just a check valve in a line that fits over the bleeder valve. Other method that works well is to put a small hose over the tip of the open bleeder and put the other end into a small container with a bit of fluid in it - enough to cover the hose end. Then stroke the pedal. Air bubbles come out, and when the pedal goes back up it draws in fluid instead of air. I've used this method many times over the last 35 or more years. The advantage of the gravity bleed is you will NEVER trip a balance valve or brake failure indicator switch - and they can be MISERABLE to reset on some vehicles. > The only thing extra that I do is.....after > nothing but > clear fluid comes out of the bleed screw, close it.....go in the vehicle and > slowly pump the pedal a couple of times, then go back out and open the > bleed screw again...usually you will get a couple more bubbles. Hey! Whaddya know, that's the way I have been doing it at work too. Good to have a consensus view. GW > Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on > me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on both [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > 68 LeSabre convertible > 73 Impala sedan I've done this a couple of times in the past. I had a '79 Corvette about 9 years ago and that was the only way I could ever get all the air out of that car. The two man method just wouldn't get all the air out for some reason. Brian The main reason you can gravity bleed the brake system now is that the car manufacturers put the bleeder screw on the top part of the wheel cylinder (that was not the case years ago when you had to bleed with someone assisting you or a pressure system to help you) Don't worry about moisture as you will not have the system open that long.Good luck > Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on > me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on both [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > 68 LeSabre convertible > 73 Impala sedan > The main reason you can gravity bleed the brake system now is that the car > manufacturers put the bleeder screw on the top part of the wheel cylinder > (that was not the case years ago when you had to bleed with someone > assisting you or a pressure system to help you) Don't worry about moisture > as you will not have the system open that long.Good luck All you have to do when the bleeder is not on top is unbolt the caliper and hang it from a wire oriented how you want. Then open the bleeder. Brian >> The main reason you can gravity bleed the brake system now is that the car >> manufacturers put the bleeder screw on the top part of the wheel cylinder [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Brian That was difficult to do with drum brakes. Getting a solid pedal on some of the older british cars, like Vauxhaul Victor Specials and Viva HAs was a whole lot easier if you stood the car basically on end. Had one that I finally put on the twin-post hoist with the front about 4 feet higher than the rear and left it sit that way over night. The bubble worked its way up through the master cyl and the pedal was perfectly firm from then on. On another one, bleading it the normal way with the back end jacked up 4 feet finally did the trick (used an end-lift) Does this method work for ABS systems? Seppburgh, Somebody posted that this does not work on ABS vehicles. ========= Harryface ========= 1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~298,316 miles_~_~_ ~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_ ~~~The Former Fleet ~~~ 89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan > Seppburgh, > > Somebody posted that this does not work on ABS vehicles. I must have missed that....sure it works! A lot depends on what you are trying to do. If you replace a single component like a brake caliper, gravity bleeding works fine. If you install a new ABS valve assembly, then no...gravity bleeding will not work. But then again, often you need a scan tool to complete this type of job...so it's almost completely out of the realm of possibility for a DIY'er to be able to complete this type of repair. For the average person replacing a hose or caliper, gravity bleeding works just fine. I use it all the time and I do this for a living. Ian Ian Thanks for clarifying that information. ========= Harryface ========= 1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~298,316 miles_~_~_ ~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_ ~~~The Former Fleet ~~~ 89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan I have never heard of this. I had to replace a rotor and pads on my 93 Bonnie, and one of the sliders on the left caliper was stuck to the point that I had to remove it from the car and free it on the workbench. Needless to say, the caliper needed to be bled. A friend was supposed to come over to help (2-man bleed procedure) but he bailed. I came across the term 'gravity bleeding brakes', and as I read the procedure it sounded lucid. Well, I did it and the brakes feel great! I've been working on cars - well, trying to - since I was 4, when my brother used me as his 'helper' when he worked on his 1955 Chevy. I'm 46, and I never would've thought of something like this. It worked like clockwork. >Has anybody ever heard of Gravity Bleeding Brakes? Thats a new one on >me. My GM mechanic friend said to crack the bleeder srews loose on both [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >68 LeSabre convertible >73 Impala sedan |
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