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I did my brakes this evening and now I have air in the lines. Braking performance is very poor and the pedal is spongy. It's going to be an interesting drive to work tomorrow.

What is the procedure for bleeding them? Do I need a kit?

Moderators: Could you please leave this in GAR until the end of tomorrow before you move it to Wheels/Tires/Brakes? I just need a few responses. Thanks!

 
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damn that sucks. that happened to me when i was changing out the brake pads on my sisters nissan sentra. i accidentally pulled out the brake line when i was cleaning out the caliper.

heres how i fixed it:

1. starting w/ the right rear wheel, remove the wheel, loosen up the nut that is secured to the bleeder and have someone pump the brakes until brake fluid comes out. once it starts to pour out, quickly tighten the nut.
2. continue doing the same w/ the other wheels going counter clockwise around the car. you should finish with the right front wheel.


hope this helps!
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nothing really to it just what he said but i would do it a few times. also dont forget to refill the brake fluid afterwards.

 
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Okay. I haven't looked for the bleeder valve on the rears yet, but I think I've found it on the front calipers. It's a little brass fitting with a rubber cap on it. So I unscrew this from the caliper in order to bleed the line?

 
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If you did all four wheels then start with the farthest wheel and bleed it first, then do the next farthest wheel until you get all of them bled. If you only did your front brakes then just bleed those. It takes two people, one to pump the pedal and hold it down while the other person cracks open the bleeder and lets the air out. There are a couple of alternatives if you dont have another person around to help or wish to do it yourself.

One is to buy speed bleeders. These are basically one-way valves that allow you to bleed air and fluid out in one direction. Here's a link. There are other companies that make them out there, but this should give you an idea.

The other way is to buy a brake bleeding kit. I have one of these which I bought from my local parts store. Supposely you can find them at Wal-Mart type stores also and I'm sure you can find it online. Here's a link to the one I bought: MityVac Brake Bleeding Kit. This kit works well if you want to DIY. I used it last time to bleed my whole brake system including my proportional valve. Good to have around since your suppose to flush out your brake linee every couple to few years.

FWIW..

 
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DON'T PUMP THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH THE BLEEDER VALVE OPEN!!!! This will suck more air into the brake lines. The proper way is to have someone pump the pedal 2 to 3 times and then hold pressure on the pedal, then break open the bleeder until the pedal bottoms out, don't let up on the pedal, then tighten the bleeder, then pump it again 2 or 3 times and repeat. Start on the Right rear, then left rear, then right front, then left front.

Make sure you check the master cylinder fluid level after a couple of "bleeds".

If you have time and money the best way is to put the car up on jack stands or a lift, remove all the wheels. Then get 4 drain pans and a big jug of brake fluid. Put he pans under each wheel break open all the bleeder valves and remove the top to the master cylinder and let gravity drain the air out as you are keeping the master cylinder full of fluid. After 5 or 10 minutes the sytem will purge all the air out of the lines.

Make sure no matter how you do it that you don't let the master cylinder get to low, always make sure fluid is in the resivoir, if you let it completely empty out you'll have to start all over again.

 
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To add to the above, if you let it go to low and suck air into the master cylinder you may have bleed it also, along with the proportional valve. To bleed the master cylinder it usually requires the useage of a master cylinder bleeding kit. The kits are cheap though thank god.

 
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Those speed bleeders look pretty cool. I wonder my local auto shop has them.

I'll probably swing by NAPA after work today and see what products they have.

 
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If the sytem already has air in the lines from brake work and you let the Master Cyl run dry you still have to bleed the whole system, a master bleeder kit would just be a waste of time. Master bleeders are normally for if you're replacing the Master Cyl. I was ASE certified in brakes many years and have seen just about every type brake problem, but the best way to avoid the above problem is just to make sure you have plenty of fluid in the Master.[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

As far as the proprotioning valve that shouldn't be an issue unless the "brake warning light switch" is closed and your brake light won't go off on the dash. Then that can be a pain to reset.