Location: B.S. from University of Connecticut in 2003
Posts: 351
Bleeding brake fluid
Ok I'll be doing it for my first time by myself.
Open brake reservoir cap and start with farthest from the driver caliper and work your way thru and etc as from sentra.net directions
When bleeding brakes it is best to manually bleed them as pressure bleeders can cause cavitation and bubbles inside the system
Is that referring to one-man bleeders? So just do it old fashion manual way?
1. I will only be doing front brakes. Is there an easy way to access/bleed rears without taking wheels off? (I have drums)
2. I will be using a whole brand new braking fluid.. Do I completely dry out MC from old fluid by pumping brakes and then fill new fluid? Or under no circumstances let MC run out of brake fluid, so just add new fluid in with the old one and watch until fresh fluid start to come out of caliper?
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2003 VW Jetta 1.8
1998 Nissan Sentra 1.6
Last edited by By Nature : Apr 9th, 2003 at 10:39 AM.
1. you might be able to get to the rear drums w/o taking the wheel off. taking off the wheels only takes so long.
2. you could flush the entire system, but that will take a lot of brake fluid and a tedious repetitive process. do not let the MC run completely out of brake fluid, as that will trap air bubbles into the system.
Get speedbleeders, they're great! it took me a 32 fl oz. bottle to completely flush and bleed all the way around 3 times. Yeah, never let the MC run dry. I wasn't paying attention once and it happened. I STILL have a little air in the system from that after a year.
Location: B.S. from University of Connecticut in 2003
Posts: 351
Quote:
Originally posted by spdracerUT Get speedbleeders, they're great! it took me a 32 fl oz. bottle to completely flush and bleed all the way around 3 times. Yeah, never let the MC run dry. I wasn't paying attention once and it happened. I STILL have a little air in the system from that after a year.
speedbleeders? that sounds like pressure tool that sentra.net warns us about... do they sell them at local stores?
You can flush the brake fluid with the speedbleeder? But doesnt flushing mean taking out all the fluid or as much as you can or should i take out as much as i can but not let the system become completely dry? Because i think i need to bleed my brakes because the pedal feel is soft and the fluid is very dark.
And last not not least... don't forget to use DOT5 fluid.
This fluid is worth its weight in gold (and does cost about $25 quart)! This fluid has one main advantage over DOT3 (regular brake fluid). This DOT5 silicone based fluid is not hygroscopic. That means it does not readily take up and retain moisture. This is most important to reduce the corrosion/rust that will progress in the system over time. I have used this fluid for many years in many cars with striking results. Not all auto stores carry this fluid... accept no susbstitutes, it must say DOT5 on the container.
Location: B.S. from University of Connecticut in 2003
Posts: 351
Re: Re: Bleeding brake fluid
Quote:
Originally posted by bgriffey And last not not least... don't forget to use DOT5 fluid.
This fluid is worth its weight in gold (and does cost about $25 quart)! This fluid has one main advantage over DOT3 (regular brake fluid). This DOT5 silicone based fluid is not hygroscopic. That means it does not readily take up and retain moisture. This is most important to reduce the corrosion/rust that will progress in the system over time. I have used this fluid for many years in many cars with striking results. Not all auto stores carry this fluid... accept no susbstitutes, it must say DOT5 on the container.
No, I believe you're mistaken. Well atleast for Sentras.
from sentra.net:
DOT 5 is silicon based brake fluid which is a big no-no. Silicon fluid is compressible and you will be plagued with spongy brakes. I have read that DOT 5.0 fluid is thicker and more prone to cavitation produced bubbling also. The major advantage of silicon is that it has a very high boiling point, does not eat paint and does not absorb water from the atmosphere. These properties make it an excellent brake fluid for museum stored cars and such.
That is nonsense... don't believe everything that's on the net.
If you know anything about the science of hydraulics, then you know that the first statement is assinine... You can't compress a fluid! That is what hydraulics is based on! The rest of it is rubbish also. Aircraft have been using this fluid for many years in brakes and control surface hydraulic cylinders.
Quote:
Originally posted by By Nature No, I believe you're mistaken. Well atleast for Sentras.
from sentra.net:
DOT 5 is silicon based brake fluid which is a big no-no. Silicon fluid is compressible and you will be plagued with spongy brakes. I have read that DOT 5.0 fluid is thicker and more prone to cavitation produced bubbling also. The major advantage of silicon is that it has a very high boiling point, does not eat paint and does not absorb water from the atmosphere. These properties make it an excellent brake fluid for museum stored cars and such.
Location: B.S. from University of Connecticut in 2003
Posts: 351
I don't doubt that you possibly know and have more experience more then me, but this is a typical mechanic attitude. 100% correctness.. Search the web for dot 5 brake fluid. every other page says silicone is compressable and causes soft pedal feel, which although is not too big of a deal on a street is a big disadvantage on the track...
DOT 3 is fine for street use. It's cheap, readily available and won't care too much if you don't change it at the recommended intervals specified by your auto manufacturer. There are some very good DOT 3 fluids out there, including Ford brand and Valvoline.
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'94 Nissan Sentra SE-R w/ $tuff, converting to ITA
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Originally posted by By Nature I don't doubt that you possibly know and have more experience more then me, but this is a typical mechanic attitude. 100% correctness.. Search the web for dot 5 brake fluid. every other page says silicone is compressable and causes soft pedal feel, which although is not too big of a deal on a street is a big disadvantage on the track...
or you can show sources that say otherwise
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