Hey DF'ers. I havent' posted here for a while, so here's the story as short as I could possibley make it without leaving out important details. I just installed my new front pads (Akebono's) and rotors as well. Took it out for a test run and I was really impressed. I was able to make the tires screach. The brake pedal was very firm and responsive. For about a year now I've had a small air pocket that I've been meaning to take care of. 2 weeks after my brake job, I installed some speed bleeders (front & back). There suppose to make a 2 man bleeding job into a 1 man job. They have a one way valve that allows fluid to go out and air not to go in. So I bled the brakes: rear right, rear left, front right then front left and I now have a soft (minimal resistance) brake pedal. I bled the brakes with the engine off as well as the lid off. Does that matter? Where did I go wrong? New DOT 4 brake fluid. New pads and rotors. I adjusted the shoes in the back and I've bled the heck out of the brakes, maybe 3 times already. I also checked to see if I might have stripped or cross threaded the threads but everything looks fine. No leaks that I can see and the brake lines look fine. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

i would question the speed bleeder thingys. have you got a buddy that can help you do the 2 man job ?

 

I do, however, it's just a matter of timing. Would it matter if the engine was turned off? I don't get where it went wrong. Something soooo simple. Funny thing is, I can manage to rebuild my tranny, but I can't seem to bleed my brakes.

 

I replaced a brake hose, and ran into the same issue. Very soft pedal, an no amount of bleeding would fix it. So, I got it as good as I could manage, and then just drove it. Couple days later, I noticed that I have a nice firm pedal, with little travel before it actually starts doing something. I have RWAL.....

I am not sure what it's all about.... I always bleed brakes with the engine off. (gas is expensive) Seems there is just something odd about these trucks.

Nice to see you again.

 

doesn't matter if engine is running or not. i always do engine off. with engine off you're still pressing the master cylinder and pumping fluid out. with engine on you get the vacuum assist for more pressure, but i don't think you gain anything.

i'd still suspect the speed bleeders are sucking air.

 

Like wise. I see you've gone up in the DF totem pole, congrats. Yes indeed. These trucks are pretty oddballs at times.
Interesting. Do you know of any way to confirm this theory? Perhaps spraying it with soap to see if it bubbles? I saw someone mention on another forum that he brush's grease on the fitting to avoid this. I also heard of others using teflon tape on the fitting create a better seal. I'm somewhat hesitant on both methods.
BTW, a "thank you" is inorder to both of you for throwing around ideas with me. I'm at my wits end with the issue.

 

transmissions are very complicated. brakes are simple - so don't overthink it.

i'd go back to the beginning... you had great brakes until you bled them, now they're soft and spongy. so you have to limit your thinking to what changed:
possible damage to master cylinder.
air into the system.
other.

it might be a good opportunity to flush the system of all old fluid. it'll take several bleeds/refills of the master cylinder to flush out all old - AND this would be a good job for the speed bleeders. then try replacing the speeds with the original bleeder and see if you can get rid of all the air and return to a firm pedal.

 

If air is entering around the threads of the speed bleeders, soap water won't show that. New bleeders have nice, squeaky clean threads..... so, they may indeed be allowing air back into the system. using grease, or teflon tape to help them seal better wouldn't be a bad plan. May keep them from 'becoming one with the caliper/wheel cylinder' as well. (which makes working on them in the future much less unpleasant.)

I would give the teflon tape a shot.

 

I recently replaced my calipers and bled them 2 man. I did it with the engine on. But I really don't think it matters.

Anyway, before the swap I and good pedal, but a stick caliper.

After I replaced and bled them I had an OK peddle. And then a couple days later, similar to HeyYou, my pedal became REALLY good. Like, almost too sensitive. Just had to get used to it. Stops great now

 

In the 70's I was helping one of my brothers bleed brakes on his Dodge Dart and we absolutely couldn't get the air out. We came to the conclusion that it was due to the cheap *** Puma brake fluid. We pumped that crap out and replaced it with Prestone brand. They bled out and worked fine after that. About a week later I noticed an article in the newspaper about the Fed. gov. not allowing that brake fluid to be sold in the US any longer.
Don't know what brands you're using, but could possibly be a factor although I doubt if you can even get an inferior brand anymore like we did.