Forum:
Good morning to all. I spent most of the night trying to bleed my brakes . After changing front pads I thought I'd bleed the system, but the halfords kit with the vave let in air. I mean now I've got no pressure on the pedals. I'm totally up the creeek now and don't know how to get the air out. It's a 84 fourtrak. Thanks
the old fashioned way...
when my cheapo halfrauds bleeding kit fails me (which to be honest isn't that often, but damn can it be fiddly) I resort to the old fashioned method. Bit of a read this...
Safety thing here...don't do it with the engine running...sounds silly, but some people just are!
1): Take the cap off the brake fluid reservoir and fill almost to the brim, put a cloth over the top to help stop any overflow when pumping the brakes.
2): Get a glass jam jar with some brake fluid in it (about 1/3rd full) and get a small bit of pipe (fuel pipe works, but clear pipe is better - try halfrauds)) to fit snuggly (air tight) on the bleed nipple with the other end submerged in the brake fluid in the jar (it must be submerged so you can see air bubbles and also if your mate takes his foot off the pedal too early it'll suck up brake fluid, not more air)
3): Get someone on the brake pedal and you with the correct spanner for the bleed nipples. Start on the brake FURTHEST AWAY FROM THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER...this is important to get all air out of the system starting from the most distant point or you will end up chasing air round the system forever.
4): Fit the jam jar/pipe set-up to the bleed nipple and undo the nipple enough so it will let fluid and air out, then get your mate to press the brake pedal as hard down as poss....it should hit the floor. You should see fluid and/or air coming from the bleed nipple into the fluid in the jar. Get your mate to hold the pedal down and do up the bleed nipple (if they let the pedal up with the nipple open it will suck in more fluid from the jam jar).
Repeat this process until there is just fluid filling up the jam jar (keep checking the fluid reservoir in the enginebay and top-up as necessary as when your mate lets his foot off the pedal it will be sucking in fluid from the reservoir, also make sure to empty the jam jar if it gets too full!).
5): Repeat this process on all remaining brakes, starting with the furthest away from the brake master cylinder and then the next furthest most cars this is: rear passenger, rear driver, front passenger, front driver...but check the position of your master cylinder.
6): Finish by checking fluid levels and doing the usual checks.
7): You will probably need to do this 3 or 4 times to be sure, or more until you are confident all air is out as it sounds like you have more air than fluid in the system.
Hope that helps!
Please note I'm not responsible for anything which may go wrong from my directions...you need common sense.
Cheers,
Martin
Thanks! We're nearly there.
Thanks! We're nearly there. We made the most stupid mistake poss. Under the cap is some sort of rubber diaphragm(?), Which we filled up with new fluid. Of course this is not right. That seems to form the airlock to the cap!!! Wer could have kicked ourselves or each other afterwards. But Many Thanks For Your Help!
no probs...
glad your getting there! I had forgotten the 'Traks have those diaphram things under the cap!
Hope you get the rest sorted!
What is it?
Reading this thread has given me the opportunity to ask a question. I have a whitish plastic disc which floats on top of the fluid in the reservoir. It's always been there but I haven't a clue what it is for. The underside of the cap has a black bellows type of thing attached to it. Can anyone enlighten me please. (F78 Fourtrak)
David T
hmm...
to be honest I can't remember what the white plastic disc looks like, but if it's what I think it is then it's a filter to stop rubbish getting in the brake fluid when you top it up. As for the black bellow type thing in the cap, I've always thought it was a type of expansion pressure release valve.
Either that or the white plastic disc is to stop fluid being pushed out via the pressure release valve in the cap. I should really get my finger out and go look, but it's too wet and cold and dark at the moment!