Anybody know where I can get a tutorial for bleeding the brakes on a 98 F150.

My pedals very soft and has alot of travel to the ground, so I searched around and a common reason people have been saying is that I need to bleed my breaks. Im not the best with brakes, so bear with me.

Where can I find out how to do it? I know you start at the rear passenger side, then work your way to the front.

Thanks alot

 

If this condition just started out of the blue and your master cylinder has not gone low on fluid, you may have a bad master cylinder or other underlying condition. You may need to find the problem, before looking for the cure. On the other hand if there is a reason to believe air would have gotten into the system go ahead and bleed the brakes.

 

it has just gotten worse and worse as the time goes by

 

Have you checked to see how much brake fluid is in your brake master cylinder?

 

If the fluid level was low, the BRAKE light would be on in the instrument cluster. It's not a fluid level issue.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic. It'll pull moisture out of the air. As the fluid gets more and more wet, it becomes more and more compressible, leading to the spongy pedal feel. Fresh brake fluid is all that's needed. Most fluid manufacturers recommend you flush the old gunk out every two years. (My brakes don't generally last that long, so it's not an issue for me)

To bleed, suck as much of the old stuff out of the reservoir as you can and refill it with fresh. Have a helping foot pump the brakes once or twice, then press and hold. As you crack the bleeder screw loose, the fluid will come out, and the pedal will go to the floor. Tell the helping foot to continue to push it as the pedal drops. When the pedal bottoms out, close the bleeder, then the helping foot can release the pedal. Again, pump a couple times, press, and hold.

Repeat the pumping/bleeding until the brackish fluid runs clear. Be sure that the brake fluid reservoir does not run dry at any point during the process. I usually get four or five pumps in, then check the reservoir just to be safe.

Start with the caliper/drum furthest from the master cylinder and work your way closer. That generally means right rear, left rear, right front, left front.

Hope that helps!

-Joe

 

Thank you!! That helped a ton!

Ill get to it this weekend.

Do I have to remove the tires to get to the bleeder screw? It's usually on the back of the calipers correct?

 

you dont have to remove the tires. but its a pain. remove it that way you can check your pads, flex line etc...