My brakes suck big time..help

RacEoHolic330

I like to dress like a pretty girl
15 Year Member
Mar 4, 2003
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Allentown, PA
When I painted my engine bay I took out my brake booster and rerouted the lines for my line lock. I put everything back together and my dad and I bled the brakes. We did it the conventional way of him opening the bleeder, me pushing the pedal, him closing the bleeder, me releasing the pedal. We bled the MC first, then the rears, and then the fronts.

I noticed that when we bled the front brakes, the pedal would not go all the way down like it did when we bled the rears. I don't know if that means anything.

I have a willwood proprotioning valve..does that need to be in a certain position when I bleed the brakes?

When I took the car for a drive, the pedal was very mushy and the brakes just weren't doing their job like they used to. I can't even lock up the wheels on a wet road. Any thoughts?
 
When you bleed the rears it needs to be in the fully open position (allowing the most fluid to the rear brakes). I bled mine in this order: Pass rear, driver rear, pass front, driver front. Also, a pressure bleeder is worth its weight in gold. When you pulled the MC out did you bench bleed it before you put it back in? A lot of people say that it is not required but I prefer to do it so it takes less time to push the air through the lines.
 
Also, when bleeding the brakes, once you get the flow of fluid started you don't need to keep closing the bleeder at the end of each stroke. You can have the person inside just pump the pedal and it will force fluid out without drawing much in.

Only do this after filling the bleed hose with fluid and having it submerged in fluid just in case it draws back any.

When i do this, i can quickly pump a lot of fluid out of the caliper and speed up the flow so it might dislodge any trapped air. I also lightly tap the caliper with a rubber hammer while the person is pumping.
 
Thanks guys. I did not bench bleed the MC before I put it back in. I didn't do it when I originally installed it when I did my 5 lug swap and it was fine. I'm gonna rebleed the rear brakes again tomorrow with the prop valve in the right spot and see if that helps.
 
Yep you should turn the Knob on the Adj Prop Valve all the way in as that will be full pressure to the rears and should help with any trapped air. When I did my Conversion I filled my M/C up and opened all my Bleeder Screws and put a hose on them and small container under them and let it sit overnight to gravity bleed.
 
Well I attempted to bleed the rear brakes again with the prop valve all the way in and I had no luck. I would get a steady stream of fluid for a while and then air, then fluid, then air, then fluid, then air. Over and over again. I can't get just fluid all the time. I don't get it. Will pressure bleeding solve this problem?
 
Shakerhood said:
A Motive pressure bleeder works awesome, it does sound as though you are drawing air in from somewhere though.

+1 - that's the nice part about a pressure bleeder. You can pressurize the system and then look at all the fittings for leaks. I have one if you need to borrow it although I think you're a pretty good distance from me. Anyways, the offer is out there.