Bleeding Brakes

[Quad18star]

Alright , so over the weekend I totally cooked the pads on my "new" Grizzly . When I say cooked , I mean totally fried to the point where the backing plate that holds the pad melted and wore right through ( I'll get pics at a later date of the damage) .

So now it's time to replace these suckers with new ones . I went to the dealer yesturday and picked up a new set and installed them . I had to push the pistons down with a pair of channel locks , installed the pads and mounted everything back up .... but now I have NO BRAKES at all in the rear . The foot peddle goes all the way down and the hand lever is very spongy and goes right to the bar with no hint of any brakes . My best guess is that there is air in the line ... so I'm gunna bleed the brakes to see if this solves the problem .

This is my first attempt at doing this so I want to make sure I'm doing it properly .... here's How I was explained how to do it ... let me know if this is the right way or if there is an easier way of doing it .

Instructions ....

Fill brake reservoir to the upper level .
Pump the hand brake a few times then hold it to the bar .
Open up 1 or the 2 bleeder screws and let the fluid flow for a few seconds .
Tighten back the bleeder screw and pump the hand brake again , hold to the bar and re-open the screw to let fluid flow again .
Tighten and repeat until the is just constant flow of fluid and no sign of air bubbles

Repeat procress with 2nd bleeder screw .


Does this sound right to you guys or should I open up bloth bleeder screws at the same time ??

I don't have a manual for this bike yet and my dealer doesn't have one in stock , so I need help to get my brakes back before I head out on a ralley this weekend .

[Scro]

Yes, that is how I've always done it. You can also get an brake bleeder that has a pump. It makes it alot easier, but it is not necessary. The way you are doing it will eventually get the air out, it just may take a while;)

[johnsls]

I need help with this. I took off the stock front lines and installed SS lines.
I tried using the mightvac brake bleeder and couldn't get fluid into the lines.

I filled the resevoir
Attached the pump to the bleeder screw, pumped it about 10-15 times then opened up the bleeder....

Nothing, then I tried the other side and after a few times all I got was what seemed to be condensation.

Do you think the lines had some condensation built up in them?
They were sitting around for while. I can't get any fluid to drain from the master cylinder.

HELP!

[300exOH]

Originally posted by johnsls
I need help with this. I took off the stock front lines and installed SS lines.
I tried using the mightvac brake bleeder and couldn't get fluid into the lines.

I filled the resevoir
Attached the pump to the bleeder screw, pumped it about 10-15 times then opened up the bleeder....

Nothing, then I tried the other side and after a few times all I got was what seemed to be condensation.

Do you think the lines had some condensation built up in them?
They were sitting around for while. I can't get any fluid to drain from the master cylinder.

HELP!

You need to open the bleeder FIRST and then pump the fluid through the system with the mightivac. Then once all the air is out close the bleeder and you're done. Just make sure you keep the reservior full or you will have to start over again.

[Pappy]

Make sure your using the correct port on the mighty vac, ours has a one that sucks and one that actually blows air into the line.


If your having no luck, work the brake lever and see if you can get some fluid started then switch to the mighty vac.


Even with the right equipment, filling lines can seem to take longer then you would think sometimes.

[johnsls]

I was trying that at first too. I just pumped and pumped until my hand cramped up.
The directions in the mightvac kit say to pump 10 -15 times to build up pressure and then open the valve. but it didn't work.

[Pappy]

I just open the valve and start pumping. Sometimes, on a big ute, I will have someone pump the lever to get things started. I will never do it the old fashioned way if I can help it:p The bleeder vac is the ticket!


When you pump the hand lever, look into the master cylinder to see if you can see tiny bubbles, if your not seeing anything, you may need to prime the line by cracking it at the mastercylinder.

[johnsls]

Thanks guys,, good tips, I'll try again tonight.

[300exOH]

Originally posted by johnsls
I was trying that at first too. I just pumped and pumped until my hand cramped up.
The directions in the mightvac kit say to pump 10 -15 times to build up pressure and then open the valve. but it didn't work.

I tried the pumping before opening the bleeder with mine and had no luck either. Then I just opened the bleeder and kept pumping and fluid started flowing. What pappy said about priming the line helps too. Sometimes if you open the bleeder and let it sit (without mightivac hooked up) some of the fluid will make it's way down the line and then you can use the vac to remove the rest of the air. It seems that once you get a little fluid moving the vac works much better.

[johnsls]

COOL, :cool:

[johnsls]

OK, so I figured out my problem after about a half hour.

DUH, I took off the master cylinder cover, removed the little white plastic cap and thats it,,, duh,
I didn't realize that the black bladder thingy needed to come out too. So all I kept doing was pumping air,,

Kinda weird though cuz the bladder was practically lining the inside which is why I though it was supposed to stay in there,,

So anyway I removed the bladder and whola, I got fluid flowing.

My only last question is when using the mightvac pump I never got a FULL flow of fluid coming in, I kept seeing air bubbles in the pump line. I'm only assuming that all the air got removed from the brake lines,, tightened everything down and hard nice hard pressure when pulling the lever

THANKS A LOT!!