I thought I would run this by you guys too see what you guys think. Got some sweet zinc coated slotted and dimpled rotors. Put them in today and now my brakes are really squishy.

Problems my dumbass self encountered:

Did not think to get new pads as I replaced them about 5 months ago. The backing (gasket?) had come off but the auto place said it would be fine. Now they squeal like hell when simply driving.

Took pistons off completley (to paint them) and didn't think about air getting into the lines (well I did, but was too tired). Topped off the brake fluid, etc. May have put pistons on the wrong side, the brake fluid bleed nubbin was on the higher half.

Anyways, now I have to almost push the brake pedal all the way to the floor for minimal braking, and it squeaks like hell. I'm gonna get some new pads tomorrow, but I should probabley bleed the brake lines and get what is probabley gobs of air out too. Any ideas, opinions, drunken ramblings?

 

You took the pistons out of the calipers?

If so, you MUST bleed the brakes. As a matter of fact, if you even loosened the brake line,you MUST bleed the brakes. Even the slightest amount of air in the system will kill pedal response.

 

Sounds like your on the right track. As far as I know the bleeder valve goes on the top of the caliper. What rotors are you using Ruslow or another brand and did they come zinc plated or did you have to take it some where to have that done?

 

Yeah, I'm still shady on the whole way air gets stuck in the lines. But yeah, the calipers were off, and since I do dumb things to extend installations I pumped the brakes Well, I was planning on bleeding them afterwards, but it was taking longer than planned. But bad brake fluid dripped out! Woo hoo!

But is the bleeder screw, um, another dumb question, the nut that holds the lines to the calipers or is it the nub that goes over it? Because I got a blake bleeder kit, it just has a hose (which seems too small to fit over the nut but will fit over the nub) and some screw type things. Can't be too sure, it has about three inches of dust on it. And with any automotive work, I'm an idiot and takes me 10 times longer then other people until I do it once. Then I'm an expert

But now I'm dumb. Anyone with a picture? Is there perhaps some saturday morning cartoon to explain this? Maybe some Hasbro action figures?

 

I got some off of eBay, but they were the only rotors I had ever seen that were slotted and dimpled. And they were much larger than stock and came zinc plated. I have only heard about Ruslows rotors from here, and not sure how much they go for or where to get em. Or else I probabley would have gotten them, but these seem nice. Oh, they are "Orbit" brand, haven't heard anything about them, but so far they get my
Plus they came with their own studs, which I don't think most others do.

Where can I get some ruslow rotors anyways? I could use new rear rotors.

 

The bleeder screws are the little screws at the top of the calipers covered by little rubber boots.

Place some tubing (I used heavy silicone aquarium airline tubing) over the screws. Put the other end of the tubing into a container (I use a 2 liter soda bottle with a hole punched in the cap for the tubing)such that the end of the tubing is going to be submerged in the fluid after it comes out and collects in the container. This is to prevent air from being sucked back up into the tubing.

The idea is to open the bleeder (just enough to break the seal) and pump the brake pedal s-l-o-w-l-y. Get out every now and then and look at the tubing. If there are no more little bubbles in it, tighten the bleeder and remove the hose. You are done.

Keep checking the reservoir. If you run too low on fluid and the master cylinder starts sucking air, you are screwed. You will have to start all over again and you will probably have lots more air to get out than you started with.

There are vacuum-operated one man bleeders, but I have never has any luck with them. Maybe I'm just dumb or bought the cheap ones, but my method works great and can easily be done trackside.

 

Found these on the Web (maybe clearer than my instructions):

"One-man method

For one-man you'll need a container that will stand on its own and a length of tubing that will fit snugly on the bleeder fitting and reach the bottom of the container. Connect the tubing to the bleeder fitting and fill the container with enough fresh fluid to cover the end of the tubing. Now check that the master cylinder reservoir is full. If you didn't empty it and replace with fresh fluid, do it now. Open the bleeder fitting about 1/2 a turn, then climb in and SLOWLY pump and release the brakes about 10 times. Slowly is important here, you're just trying to move fluid, not see how far you can squirt it across the garage. Now check your bleed container and top off the master cylinder reservoir again. DO NOT let the reservoir get empty, it'll introduce a bunch of air into the system that will take you forever to get out. After 20 pumps on each caliper, close the bleeder fitting and make sure you can obtain a firm pedal. Then move to the next caliper.

Two-man method

The bleed hardware is the same but you'll need one man on the pedal and one at the caliper. The caliper man opens the bleeder and says "Down", the pedal guy slowly pushes the pedal to the floor and HOLDS IT THERE, the caliper guy then closes the bleeder and says "Up", the pedal guy then releases the pedal. Repeat 20 times for each caliper, don't forget to top off the reservoir occasionally. The beauty of the two-man method is that there's no danger of pulling air into the caliper around the bleeder fitting threads when the pedal is released. Now you can split a six-pack with your assistant and do some of that male bonding stuff."

 

Are you using stock calipers on the front? The bleeder valve isn't where the brake line are attached to the caliper but on the top of the caliper and towards the back there should be a small nub with a rubber boot or cover on it. That is the bleeder valve. You can take the cover off, stike the bleeding kit on it and go a it. As for ruslows rotors you can find contact and pricing info here:NLOC

 

Man I type slow. By the time I finished my post Tim had posted twice. He's all over this *****, Tim your a badass!

 

"Yeah, I'm still shady on the whole way air gets stuck in the lines"

Maybe its's a good idea to have a brake shop take a look at your vehicle...

 

Sorry, I just feel like the air should rise to the brake fluid resevoir. That's why I don't understand, shouldn't the air rise up to the top of the resevoir, as air is less dense than brake fluid? It would make changing brake fluid one hell of a lot easier!

And to hell with brake shops. I bring my truck to the shop if I can in no way fix it myself. I've taken a year of auto training and have done all my maintenance myself but some things take longer than others. I can bleed that in an hour. I figured it must have been under those rubber boots, both of mine hapen to be cracked ofcourse. Ramble ramble ramble.

 

I think it gets stuck in the various high points and loops. If the lines went straight to the master cylinder, the only place I can think of left would be in the calipers themselves.

 

Here is some thoughts:

Air can only rise to the reservoir if it is uphill all the way, without any "P"traps along the way.

The fluid does not recirculate enough to flow air bubbles past most fittings and connections.

When you bleed the brakes, fluid actually travels, vs when you brake, only a small amount of fluid travels, it is mostly pressure changes.

 

Hmmmmmmmmm...... SD, I'm sorry but you are asking for a heap-a-trouble. IMHO, this should be one of those times you get your L towed to a brake technician. There are just so many things wrong here....................... especially..................

Dan

 

never mind. My dads truck has some cracked rotors and it is cheaper to give him my brakes.