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For those of you who have bled your front brakes how long did it take? I have been working on this for 2 1/2 hours and still no luck. I have bled the brakes on an entire car quicker than this is taking. First I tried pumping the handle, then I rigged up a syringe and hose to try to draw the fluid down and the lever is still like it isn't even hooked up to anything. Everything worked fine before I changed out the line for a longer one and now this. What am I missing here or does it just take this damn long to do???? I need more beer!!!
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When I did mine after half an hour of pumping and bleeding I found an article on this forum about it. I ended up pulling the lever back, tieing it off and letting it sit like that over night. Came out the next morning tapped on the top of the reservoir, released the lever and I had brakes.
Try rolling backwards and checking the brake, mine felt spongy until I rolled it out of the garage after several frustrating attempts.
I would invest in the Russell Speed Bleeders, they make life much easier. DOT 5 is a bit tougher to bleed on the front because from what I understand it tends to keep the air up high in the line. Not to mention just the fact of pumping it down the line in the first place is not natural.
After having done the bleeding procedure I got rid of the spongy grip by loosening the bolt which holds the breake line at the master cylinder just a tiny bit and thus squeezing out the air from the plunger.
I had the same problem and come to find out it was because I had my bike on the stand... Once I had my wife hold it up straight it all went down just like the service manual said it would...
check to make sure everything is tight nothing worse than pumping air back into the system thru a loose connection. once you are satisfied that everything is cinched up crack the bleeder and let gravity do what gravity do. once you get fluid dribbling out cinch the bleeder and do the pump and bleed thing works for me but then again all of the above post seem logical to me good luck stay safe and keep smiling.
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The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.
Thanks for all your responses and tips I will try them all since my sense of humor disappeared long ago. I did pick up another 18 pack of Bud Lite though so life is getting better all the time.
Location: Pacific Northwest; I'm a Beacon of Conservatism in a Sea of Liberals
Posts: 1,229
I had a similar hassle when I replaced my stock line with a Diamondback Braided. I think the problem lies with trying to fill that empty line just by pumping the lever. I finally sucked the line full of fluid (like starting a siphon hose), attaching the lower end, then cycling a full reservoir of fluid using the lever and normal bleed proceedures...PITA!
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Patrick, CAS*
Watch out for the Invisible Man. Who's he? You are. Remember, all motorists are Blind and Crazy; they can be counted on only to do the unexpected. * Cheap-Ass Scotsman '06DWG, Stg-1, 546-mi, ebay - $12.5K, 2/9/08 Superstition Mtns.
First time I had to bleed my brakes, I tried the tradition method without success. I invested in a $30.00 manual vacuum pump from a auto parts retailer. Worked awesome and took less than five minutes. Have used the vacuum pump several times since and am convinced this is the way to go.
Bleeding Front Brakes
