Flush Brake system

[Dave04]

What is the best way to flush the brake system? Compressing the caliper pistons will get some fluid out but not all of it right?

 

[TBartlett1]

Compressing the calipers then sucking the brake fluid out of the master & refilling should get 90% of it.

When I do brakes I replace the fluid in the master cylinder, it helps keep the system dry and the ABS system HAPPY!

 

[DaveHess]

I am going to buy a Motive System from Summit racing. It has a container that holds brake fluid in it. You pressurize the container with it hooked on to your master cylinder. Then you simply open the bleed screws at the four corners until clean fluid flows out. You can also order containers that have a hangar and a hose to connect to each of the bleeders to take care of the old fluid. It is supposedly compatible with ABS systems. Is there something in the ABS system that would keep this system from pushing the fluid through the system?

 

[jelag]

We suggest to all customers that they open the bleeders when they compress the pistons to push all the dirty brake fluid out... and when the new pads are installed they than expect to use at least a quart, sometimes 2 quarts to bleed and flush the brake until the brake fluid comes clear at the caliper...

The industry suggest starting with the longest caliper/wheel cylinder first... even if your doing the front brakes it good policy to bleed all of them...

We go one step farther on our trucks... we pull the bleeders, clean them with a torch tip cleaner as needed and put a dab of anti-seize on the threads as they go back together.

Since we see over 150K miles per vehicle for brakes, which is 2-4 years we will at the 2 year mark bleed and flush only...

We used to use pressure bleeders... and quit using them when we started to see plastic reservoirs, and to be honest other than needed 2 people to do the job mechanically it works well doing it by hand...

On the clutch systems we remove the slave cylinder and have someone compress it by hand... . pushing it all the way back... we suck out the old brake fluid and replace it with fresh... we don't open the system... you don't see the heat and water absorbency as much in the clutch as you seem to in the brakes and I can only assume it has to do with the heat that migrates into the pistons. .

 

[DavidC]

I have used the Motive bleeder since 2001 every two years and never a problem. I usually pickup two quarts of brake fluid when flushing to make sure I do not run low.



Dave

 

[BIGNASTY]

Motive

Chrysler Bleeder 0103 -- Motive Products Online Store This is the tool for the job you can get the one you need or if you have Kids that dont know what end of a wrench to use (they look like the monkey on 2001 space odyssey when they figured out that they used a tool) So dad has many adapters. Works great and dont need anyone to help you out.

 

[Dave04]

OK does anyone use drilled or slotted rotors on the front? I am think about switching to drilled. Thoughts??

 

[jelag]

Drilled and or slotted rotors are designed to dump a huge amount of heat with some trade off in performance... remember that the pad can't work when its not touching metal...

However lower temperatures improve the quality and function of the friction so... . somewhat less contact surface is acceptable for say 100 or 200* less temperature... .

And remember we're talking about a huge amount of heat... like when you pull a 15K or 18K lb trailer down a 6% grade with no exhaust brake... than you can overheat the brakes and cause fade...

BTW - one of the largest contributors to fade is water in the brake system that turns to steam and makes the pedal mushy as things get hot... .

All my trucks run a good grade of friction, and we use the exhaust brakes and have yet to replace a rotor in the life of a truck... we sell them at 500K miles... and over the past 15 years there have been a few go through the doors...

We're sort of back to basic's, and keep it safe... and reducing cost per mile...

Hope this helps. .

 

[Dave04]

Go throught doors? Crack and come apart?

Do you sell parts for the 2500s and 3500s?

Are you saying drilled/slotted, or drilled, or slotted, or just regular?

 

[MartyK]

Has anyone tried the Phoenix brake bleeder? Phoenix Systems

Any thoughts on it?

 

[04blackcherry]

Jim, Thank you. I just got done doing full brake jobs on my Rangers. Thought it might be time to buy a pressure bleeder after that. Now I can see why the old way is still worth doing. If you can't be civil with the wife for 10 minutes to have her help then I guess a power bleeder is what is needed. Mom used to make me do it for Dad.

 

[seafish]

Has anyone tried the Phoenix brake bleeder? Phoenix Systems

Any thoughts on it?

Looks interesting, but then found at least 3 reviews from people who did NOT like it, one of whom was willing to sell his pro model for only $50;

Seems like the Motive is the way to go, MANY only positive reviews on it.

 

[TBartlett1]

Living in the north east rust frequently prevents you from removing the bleeders so pushing the calipers in and replacing the brake fluid in the master is the best you can do unless you replace the calipers and I won't replace a caliper just because the bleeder is frozen/broken if the pedal is hard.

 

[Wingate]

Try using a simple hand vacuum pump from some place such as Sears. Simply connect the hose end to the bleeder and open, then draw a vacuum to extract the fluid.