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Had an old-timer at a shop in Portland show me why I was bleeding brakes wrong for 10 years
I was at this little independent shop in Portland last spring helping a buddy with a 98 F-150. Old guy named Don walks over, watches me pump the pedal for 20 minutes, and just says 'you're fighting yourself, kid.' He showed me this gravity bleed method where you just crack the bleeder and let it drip for an hour. Fixed the whole system in less time than I usually spend fighting air bubbles. Has anyone else switched from the traditional two-person bleed to something simpler?
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ryan79312d ago
@miasanchez yeah gravity bleed works on clutch hydraulics too. susan81 nailed it with the Subaru example, those slaves can be a pain to reach. One thing though, gravity bleeding takes patience. If you crack the bleeder and walk away for 20 minutes, you might come back to an empty reservoir if you're not careful. I set a timer for 10 minute intervals and check the fluid level each time.
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susan8112d ago
Ngl, gravity bleeding is the way to go for most clutch hydraulics too. Just crack the bleeder on the slave cylinder and let it drip. The fluid will push the air out on its own as long as the reservoir stays topped off. I did it on my old Subaru and it saved me from having to crawl under the dash to reach the master cylinder. Only catch is if your system is really dry or has a big air pocket, you might need to give it a few pumps to get things started. But for regular maintenance, it's way less hassle than the two person method.
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