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Re: [ST] bleeding brakes



Harbor  Freight has them for $32-35 , if you have one
near you...it is an indispensable tool...and while you
are there, pick up a Rolo Badboy ( A Stebel Nautilus
air horn) that will fit inside your fairing and make
the car in front of you think a train is bearing down
on them...

John


--- Antonio Bird <abird4@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Thanks Jim--I actually had done what you suggest
> yesterday up until "once
> the brakes can actuate."  They never did, even
> though fluid was coming
> out.
> 
> Thanks to those who suggested the mityvac.  Did
> anyone obtain theirs
> locally (eg auto parts store chain?)  I'd rather not
> wait for them to
> come in the mail.
> 
> Tony
> 
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: "Jim Crate"
>   To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>   Subject: Re: [ST] bleeding brakes
>   Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 22:04:25 -0500
> 
> 
>   On May 22, 2007, at 8:20 PM, Antonio Bird wrote:
> 
>   > Despite modest mechanical abilities, I decided
> to try to bleed the
>   brakes
>   > myself. Bought and installed speed bleeders.
> Seemed to be going OK
>   > until I drained the reservoir too low and let
> air in the system.
>   Then
>   > got floppy lever which did not push through the
> fluid when I added
>   more.
> 
>   I once let air that way into the hydraulic clutch
> system on my car,
>   which was further complicated by the hydraulic
> buffer loop that
>   system included with its own bleeder. It took
> almost a full liter of
>   fluid to bleed that system enough to actuate the
> clutch again. If
>   I'd known it would take that much, I would have
> gone to the store to
>   buy some cheap fluid instead of use my $9/liter
> racing brake fluid!
> 
>   Anyway, here's what I'd do. Set up to bleed the
> caliper closest to
>   the master cylinder. Fill the reservoir with brake
> fluid (have at
>   least a liter on hand, you can use cheap stuff and
> once you have the
>   system properly bled, it will be easy to flush the
> old fluid with
>   better stuff later).
> 
>   Open the bleeder screw enough for fluid to come
> out with no
>   resistance, .5 turn is probably enough. Operate
> the brake lever
>   through its full range of travel quickly and
> repeatedly until you
>   have fluid coming out the bleeder screw. If there
> is much
>   resistance, open the bleeder a little more. Once
> you have a good
>   squirt of fluid coming out of the bleeder, then
> close the bleeder and
>   see how soft the brakes feel. If they stop before
> contacting the
>   bar, then you at least have brakes, because it is
> only stopping
>   because it is pushing the pistons to the rotor.
> 
>   Once the brakes can actuate, then I'd continue by
> closing the bleeder
>   a little, until you can feel some resistance when
> you squeeze the
>   lever, but it allows fluid to pass so that the
> lever will go to the
>   bar when you squeeze. Squeeze the lever quickly
> and firmly several
>   times. When you stop seeing bubbles in the lines,
> then open the
>   bleeder until fluid goes through with no
> resistance and activate the
>   lever quickly several more times. You want fluid
> to move through the
>   system quickly, so the air bubbles don't keep
> rising back up the
>   line.
> 
>   After repeating those steps a few times, the lever
> should be getting
>   more firm. Obviously, watch the level of brake
> fluid in the
>   reservoir at all times. If you suck in air, you
> are starting the
>   process all over again.
> 
>   Once the lever is pretty firm, and you've repeated
> these steps for
>   both calipers, then move back to the first
> caliper. Squeeze the
>   lever hard, and then open the bleeder very
> quickly. You want a sharp
>   burst of fluid coming out of the bleeder, carrying
> with it the last
>   bubbles. Repeat this as necessary for both
> calipers.
> 
>   You can repeat the final bleeding procedure the
> next day for even
>   better results, as overnight tiny air bubbles will
> coalesce together
>   into larger bubbles that will be easier to bleed.
> 
>   Hope this helps,
> 
>   Jim
> 
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