Bleeding brakes problem

[dsm4lif3]

Ok so today i noticed the brake fluid was low so in my head i went to kmart picked up brake fluid and just opened the resovoir and filled it up thinking everything was ok. But the brakes had been a little wierd on the way to kmart so i figured hey why not bleed the brakes not hard. So i go home i start from rear passenger work my way up. But my method was i would have my helper just push the brake down as soon as i open the bleeder and then close it when the fluid comes out. But i came to conclusion that is not the correct way by doign alot of research ### later on that night i took it for a drive after now i have no brakes at all and if i do its very little and it drags to right any ideas why? Im thinking i obv bleed the brakes wrong whihc let in more air or something and now just causing this. Tommorow i want to go buy a kit to bleed it by my self you think this would fix the problem with no brakes ### i litterally drove around with the ebrake thats how bad it was. I couldnt find any leaks or any so i didnt think that was the problem but i really didnt no where to check besides the brake lines on the attatched to the caliper. So the cheapest thing to do right now i figured is to bleed it the correct way see if that fixes it. If not i guess ill have to go with next is the MC gone bad? What you guys think im sure many people had this problem. Also im confused on the correct way to bleed. With helper i was reading you have them pump it several times and hold then i open the bleeder and the helper pushes all the way down and hold till bleeder closed and repeat till no air is left and nice flow of fluid comes out. But then self bleeder i noticed i attatch the hose to bleeder and the bottle then open the bleeder and just pump the pedal a few times then just close the bleeder and repeat several times. But that seems alot different compared to helper because now im not pumping it i dont know im just confused but i need to do it by myself no helpers tommmorow . So any ideas or info right now would really help i dont wanna go out buy mc and other parts right now unless have to im low on money at the moment so yea. I also have inspection due last month i have appointment tuesday so trying tog et everything fixed before then thanks guys

 

[bradcurtis15]

i didn't read your whole thing because it was so long but its simple to bleed breaks
have your buddy pump your breaks until there stiff while hes holding down pressure on the brake pedal you need to release the bleeder valve, i recommend putting a vacume line over the bleeder and put it into a gatoraide bottle that had brake fluid inside of it that way when you release the fluid it goes into direct fluid and when your closing it it will prevent air from traveling into the bleeder. do this like 4-5 times on each brake and if your brakes are being weird make sure a pistine didnt seize when you started messing with it, my buddy was driving to my house and his wheel was smoking because his pistine seized and he just pulled the brake off and it poped itself back in. if this doesnt work for you make sure your bleeder valves are working properly people brake them all the time.

if your reservoir was low doesn't that tell you some fluid went somewhere?

good luck man

 

[LiquidX]

Speed Bleeders. Look into them; single man bleed job and it's quick and easy. I have them on all 4 calipers and on my clutch slave cylinder.

Break up your paragraphs as well. Trying to read a whole jumbled section like that is a headache and most people will skip over it like I did.

 

[dsm4lif3]

Yea sorry it was long and not broken up at all or anything it was late and i was tired but wanted to ask so in the morning i can have some answers. Yea bradcurtis thats why i think the MC was bad ### i was reading if neglected and then bleeding the brakes with old fluid and what not it would mess up the MC. Idk how true that is but thats what i read. But how do i test the mc how can i no that is what gone wrong any ways to test it or do i just have to visually inspect it?

O and yea liquid i was going to look into that today.But like the he said the fluid had to of gone somewhhere but idk

 

[LiquidX]

Your brake system is a closed system. The only way you'll loose fluid is if you have a leak which you stated you didn't. The only other reason as to why you "lost" fluid would be that your brake pads are wearing thin. The thinner they get, the more the piston travels out and that is extra space the fluid has to fill.

Say all 8 (2/caliper) pads wore down 5mm. That's 10mm/caliper*4= 40mm total of "space" (an example only, not technical math) the fluid has to fill. That empty space is going to take fluid from the resivore and become drained. Putting in fresh pads will raise the fluid level back up to where it was before hand.

See what I'm saying? Just do a proper bleed either by installing speed bleeders or getting a hand pump. Make sure you keep an eye on the resivore so you don't let it get low and put air into the lines again.

 

[gusu]

I didn't attempt to read that but just a little bit of MUST KNOW information when bleeding brakes.

You MUST keep air from going back into the line so I would suggest some type of hose to make sure air does not go back into the line.

As stated before me your piston in your calipers have to push the brake pad closer to the rotor when the pad gets worn down. You will have to reset the piston if you change pads which is very easy and if you need help I'm sure someone else will help you.

If you really do not have a leak and you do think you lost brake fluid that is the only way I can figure it went "missing". Even then it shouldn't really make to much of a difference on the level.\

All I can tell you is make sure you did everything correctly and use google or any other search engine for any question you may have before posting. I know this almost seems like back seat modding but I'm really not, because 99% of the time a quick search will turn up VERY useful information as well as several how to videos.

 

[Calan]

And... if you replace the missing fluid and then decide later to replace the worn pads, drain a little fluid out of the bleeders first. Otherwise, you're gonna have brake fluid coming out of your reservoir when you push the pistons back in.

most people will skip over it like I did.

Yep...you might want to look into the use of paragraphs and grammar. I don't think any of us actually had the patience to read that whole thing. I read up until "So i go home i start...", and then just started skimming the responses.

 

[dsm4lif3]

Yea sorry about no grammar or anything like i said it was late. But yea i said i didnt see a leak i cant find one at all well i dont no im obvislly missing where to look but today i took of the MC to check for fluid in the the booster did not like there is any i didnt take off the booster idk if im susposed to but i heard there will be fluid when you take of MC. I also then checked all the lines near the tires couldnt find any leaks there. The brakes are very old but they dont look that thin to drain the fluid. Is there any thing i can do to test the mc to see if its leaking i put fluid in it and held it in diff ways to see if it will come out of the pushrod or w.e but didnt see any so im assuming my mc is good any other ideas on how to find out?IS the only way to know if air is in the system is to bleed the brakes?

Ok well problem solved . So i did more looking considering the mc wasnt leaking well that i can tell so i looked and looked and i remember the night before i was bleeding and i heard a noise on rear rightso im looking at rear left and i see something leaking on the other side turns out the brake line was rusted to shit compared to the other ones it was horrible. So i traced it and found the leak and now my plan is to cut that off and cut it somewhere on the other side and throw a new one in. My friend was trying to explain how to do it i gotta buy the tool then simply just put the fittings on then use the tool so the fittings are secure and what not then just tighten it up well theres more to it just long story short correct?

Thanks for all the suggestions and thoughts helped me look more first time doing brake lines so should be fun . If you have any information on using the tool and stuff please shed some light .