DIY: Brake Bleed (Gravity Method)
12-06-2012 | 01:38 AM
#1
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From: Los Angeles, CA
DIY: Brake Bleed (Gravity Method)
Hey guys. Just thought I would share a quick DIY since I was going to be doing a bleed anyway. A lot of us tend to neglect checking our brake fluid often, and leave it to our miles to regulate when it needs changing. Make sure you are always checking to make sure it's clean and at the level it needs to be.
Gravity Method: The method I'm using to bleed here is the gravity method. Doing this will take a longer amount of time then using other methods. Takes me about 10-15 minutes to bleed one side. This method uses the least amount of fluid. Nothing compares to the feeling once it's finished. The pedal is rock solid!
Essentially you are just opening up the bleeders and allowing gravity to flush the system for you.
Bleed Order: Passenger Front, Driver Front, Driver Rear, Passenger Rear (Credit goes to Billman250 for the bleed order. I've been using this order for some time since he suggested it years back. Great contributor to the s2k community, and very knowledgeable mechanic with a long history of working on our cars.)
Feel free to use the factory recommended order if you wish.
What's needed:
Brake Fluid - Your choice what fluid to use. I use ATE Super Blue. Great brake fluid with high boiling points(Dry boiling point 536'F, Wet boiling point 388'F). Comes in a 1 liter canister.
10mm Wrench
Turkey Baster
Short Clear Hose - I've seen some people use very long hoses, and I never understood why. Keep it short and sweet.
Jack and Jack stands - Factory jack is fine to use, but if you have a decent jack around it'll make things faster and easier. I like to use a good pump jack and have a jack stand in place once up for safety.
Funnel
Clean Rag or Towel
Plastic Cup - I know what you're thinking...wtf? I used a plastic cup to catch the fluid while bleeding. You can use anything you like.
Main parts shown below. (Photo taken after bleed had already been completed)
Notes:
1. You will find that I constantly repeat in telling you to check the fluid level in the reservoir as you are doing this process. Allowing it to get too low will let air back into the system. That's something you don't want.
2. I've heard many people who have tried to gravity bleed complain about the constant flow. They say the bleed stops after a short while and nothing comes out, so they resort to pumping the pedal to let the fluid out. If you notice the fluid has stopped bleeding then tighten the bleeder back up, so no fluid can come out. Get in the car, turn it on, and pump the breaks a few times. Open the bleeder, and you should see it start to flow again.
Alright let's get started. The first thing you want to do is remove the cap from the master cylinder reservoir(put the cap aside for now as the reservoir will be left open for the duration of the bleed). Remove the screen inside the reservoir, and place that aside also. Begin sucking out the old fluid using the turkey baster. (Pic Below)
Once you get all that old fluid out, grab a clean rag/towel and wipe off any dirt you see inside the reservoir. Make sure it's nice and clean. Once clean you can put the screen(clean that off too) back into the reservoir. Now fill your reservoir to MAX with your new brake fluid. Make sure not to get any on your paint. Using a funnel is the best way to avoid spilling. (Pic Below)
Now it's time to move on to the first caliper. Loosen the lug nuts on the Right Front of your vehicle and jack that part of the car up using your either the factory jack or another jack of your choosing(factory jacking location). I only jack it up just enough to get the wheel off. I recommend using a jack stand also if you have one.
Remove the wheel, and you will see your canvas in front of you. First thing to do is locate your bleeder remove the small rubber cap that's on it. (Pic Below)
Now grab your clear hose and place one end over the bleeder. Take your 10mm wrench and loosen the bleeder. You will see fluid begin to fill the clear hose almost right away. One full turn or less is enough to get it done. (Pic Below)
Now it's just a matter of waiting. Allow gravity to do its thing. Check the reservoir ever so often and make sure the fluid level doesn't get to low. Keep filling the reservoir with your new fluid as it decreases. Use your funnel. Keep it at Max if you can. After a little while you will start to see the new fluid through the clear hose. In my case it's easier because it starts to come out blue.
Once you have nothing but new fluid, a nice blue if your using ATE Super Blue, its time to close the bleeder. Grab your 10mm wrench and tighten the bleeder. (Pic Below - slightly blurry sorry)
Remove the clear hose from the bleeder, and wipe off any excess excess fluid. Remember to put the rubber cap back onto the bleeder. Now time to get your wheel back on. Tighten up your lug nuts then drop the car back down to the ground. Go ahead and give your lugs another go once the car is on the ground just to make sure they are tight.
Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max.
Move on to the Left Front. Repeat the previous process. Loosen lug nuts, lift car on jack, remove wheel. Once again remove the rubber cap from the bleeder and attach your clear hose. Use your 10mm wrench to open the bleeder, and the fluid will begin to come out right away. (Pic Below)
Don't forget to keep checking the reservoir and make sure that fluid level doesn't fall to low. Keep filling it with the new fluid up to Max.
Again, after a little while you will see the new fluid coming through. Here it is on mine beginning to come blue. (Pic Below - slightly blurry)
Wait till all the old fluid has bled and you can see only the new fluid. Nice deep blue for me means it's done. (Pic Below - slightly blurry)
Use your 10mm wrench and tighten up the bleeder. Remove the clear hose, wipe off any excess excess fluid, and put the rubber cap back on. Put wheel back onto the car securely like before, and move on to the next side.
Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max.
Time to do the Left Rear. Same as the other two, loosen the lugs and jack the car up. Remove the wheel, and take off the rubber cap on the bleeder. Grab your clear hose and put it over the bleeder. Use your 10mm wrench and loosen the bleeder almost one turn. Fluid will start to come out right away. (Pic Below)
Again allow gravity to do it's thing. Use the restroom, grab a drink, get a snack. Whatever you need to do, but always remember to check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max. After a while you will see the new fluid. (Pic Below)
Once it's nothing, but new fluid, it means it's finished. That nice blue of mine let me know another side is done. Repeat the process of tightening the bleeder using your 10mm wrench. Remove the clear hose, wipe off any excess excess fluid,, and put the rubber cap back on. This time I took a pic for you all of the cap. (Pic Below)
Put wheel back onto the car securely like before, and move on to the next side.
Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max. Move on to the final side, the Right Rear. Yeah, I know you are tired of reading about it, but it's the same process all over again. Loosen the lugs and jack the car up. Remove the wheel, and take off the rubber cap on the bleeder. Grab your clear hose and put it over the bleeder. Use your 10mm wrench and loosen the bleeder almost one turn. Fluid will start to come out right away. (Pic Below - Next three pictures came out best in showing the color change as the new fluid bled through)
Yet again we wait on our good friend gravity to get to work. Use the restroom, grab a drink, get a snack. You know the deal... always remember to check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max. After a while you will see the new fluid. At this point in time you will probably be thinking... "OMG OMG I'm almost done, hell yes I'm almost done!"
You're almost there! Once you see nothing, but the new fluid flowing out, then it's time to wrap it up. You can see the nice blue here. (Pic Below)
Repeat the process of tightening the bleeder using your 10mm wrench. Remove the clear hose, wipe off any excess excess fluid, and put the rubber cap back on. Put wheel back onto the car securely like before, and drop the car down.
You are almost done. Just one last thing. Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and fill it to Max. (Pic Below - look at that beautiful blue!)
Put the reservoir cap back onto the reservoir and turn it shut. (Pic Below - the fluid on the cap is before I wiped it clean)
You're finished! Now hope in and go for a ride. Your pedal should feel as solid as a rock. Brakes should be nice and firm.
After the brakes I went ahead and bled the clutch fluid. You can see the process for the clutch here. DIY: Clutch Bleed (Gravity Method)
I hope this was of help to everyone. I know how much people like visuals, so I tried to use as many as I thought would help. Even if they might seem repetitive.
If you have any suggestions, or find any errors then I'm all ears.
Gravity Method: The method I'm using to bleed here is the gravity method. Doing this will take a longer amount of time then using other methods. Takes me about 10-15 minutes to bleed one side. This method uses the least amount of fluid. Nothing compares to the feeling once it's finished. The pedal is rock solid!
Essentially you are just opening up the bleeders and allowing gravity to flush the system for you.
Bleed Order: Passenger Front, Driver Front, Driver Rear, Passenger Rear (Credit goes to Billman250 for the bleed order. I've been using this order for some time since he suggested it years back. Great contributor to the s2k community, and very knowledgeable mechanic with a long history of working on our cars.)
Feel free to use the factory recommended order if you wish.
What's needed:
Brake Fluid - Your choice what fluid to use. I use ATE Super Blue. Great brake fluid with high boiling points(Dry boiling point 536'F, Wet boiling point 388'F). Comes in a 1 liter canister.
10mm Wrench
Turkey Baster
Short Clear Hose - I've seen some people use very long hoses, and I never understood why. Keep it short and sweet.
Jack and Jack stands - Factory jack is fine to use, but if you have a decent jack around it'll make things faster and easier. I like to use a good pump jack and have a jack stand in place once up for safety.
Funnel
Clean Rag or Towel
Plastic Cup - I know what you're thinking...wtf? I used a plastic cup to catch the fluid while bleeding. You can use anything you like.
Main parts shown below. (Photo taken after bleed had already been completed)
Notes:
1. You will find that I constantly repeat in telling you to check the fluid level in the reservoir as you are doing this process. Allowing it to get too low will let air back into the system. That's something you don't want.
2. I've heard many people who have tried to gravity bleed complain about the constant flow. They say the bleed stops after a short while and nothing comes out, so they resort to pumping the pedal to let the fluid out. If you notice the fluid has stopped bleeding then tighten the bleeder back up, so no fluid can come out. Get in the car, turn it on, and pump the breaks a few times. Open the bleeder, and you should see it start to flow again.
Alright let's get started. The first thing you want to do is remove the cap from the master cylinder reservoir(put the cap aside for now as the reservoir will be left open for the duration of the bleed). Remove the screen inside the reservoir, and place that aside also. Begin sucking out the old fluid using the turkey baster. (Pic Below)
Once you get all that old fluid out, grab a clean rag/towel and wipe off any dirt you see inside the reservoir. Make sure it's nice and clean. Once clean you can put the screen(clean that off too) back into the reservoir. Now fill your reservoir to MAX with your new brake fluid. Make sure not to get any on your paint. Using a funnel is the best way to avoid spilling. (Pic Below)
Now it's time to move on to the first caliper. Loosen the lug nuts on the Right Front of your vehicle and jack that part of the car up using your either the factory jack or another jack of your choosing(factory jacking location). I only jack it up just enough to get the wheel off. I recommend using a jack stand also if you have one.
Remove the wheel, and you will see your canvas in front of you. First thing to do is locate your bleeder remove the small rubber cap that's on it. (Pic Below)
Now grab your clear hose and place one end over the bleeder. Take your 10mm wrench and loosen the bleeder. You will see fluid begin to fill the clear hose almost right away. One full turn or less is enough to get it done. (Pic Below)
Now it's just a matter of waiting. Allow gravity to do its thing. Check the reservoir ever so often and make sure the fluid level doesn't get to low. Keep filling the reservoir with your new fluid as it decreases. Use your funnel. Keep it at Max if you can. After a little while you will start to see the new fluid through the clear hose. In my case it's easier because it starts to come out blue.
Once you have nothing but new fluid, a nice blue if your using ATE Super Blue, its time to close the bleeder. Grab your 10mm wrench and tighten the bleeder. (Pic Below - slightly blurry sorry)
Remove the clear hose from the bleeder, and wipe off any excess excess fluid. Remember to put the rubber cap back onto the bleeder. Now time to get your wheel back on. Tighten up your lug nuts then drop the car back down to the ground. Go ahead and give your lugs another go once the car is on the ground just to make sure they are tight.
Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max.
Move on to the Left Front. Repeat the previous process. Loosen lug nuts, lift car on jack, remove wheel. Once again remove the rubber cap from the bleeder and attach your clear hose. Use your 10mm wrench to open the bleeder, and the fluid will begin to come out right away. (Pic Below)
Don't forget to keep checking the reservoir and make sure that fluid level doesn't fall to low. Keep filling it with the new fluid up to Max.
Again, after a little while you will see the new fluid coming through. Here it is on mine beginning to come blue. (Pic Below - slightly blurry)
Wait till all the old fluid has bled and you can see only the new fluid. Nice deep blue for me means it's done. (Pic Below - slightly blurry)
Use your 10mm wrench and tighten up the bleeder. Remove the clear hose, wipe off any excess excess fluid, and put the rubber cap back on. Put wheel back onto the car securely like before, and move on to the next side.
Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max.
Time to do the Left Rear. Same as the other two, loosen the lugs and jack the car up. Remove the wheel, and take off the rubber cap on the bleeder. Grab your clear hose and put it over the bleeder. Use your 10mm wrench and loosen the bleeder almost one turn. Fluid will start to come out right away. (Pic Below)
Again allow gravity to do it's thing. Use the restroom, grab a drink, get a snack. Whatever you need to do, but always remember to check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max. After a while you will see the new fluid. (Pic Below)
Once it's nothing, but new fluid, it means it's finished. That nice blue of mine let me know another side is done. Repeat the process of tightening the bleeder using your 10mm wrench. Remove the clear hose, wipe off any excess excess fluid,, and put the rubber cap back on. This time I took a pic for you all of the cap. (Pic Below)
Put wheel back onto the car securely like before, and move on to the next side.
Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max. Move on to the final side, the Right Rear. Yeah, I know you are tired of reading about it, but it's the same process all over again. Loosen the lugs and jack the car up. Remove the wheel, and take off the rubber cap on the bleeder. Grab your clear hose and put it over the bleeder. Use your 10mm wrench and loosen the bleeder almost one turn. Fluid will start to come out right away. (Pic Below - Next three pictures came out best in showing the color change as the new fluid bled through)
Yet again we wait on our good friend gravity to get to work. Use the restroom, grab a drink, get a snack. You know the deal... always remember to check the fluid level in your reservoir, and add some if needed. Keep it at Max. After a while you will see the new fluid. At this point in time you will probably be thinking... "OMG OMG I'm almost done, hell yes I'm almost done!"
You're almost there! Once you see nothing, but the new fluid flowing out, then it's time to wrap it up. You can see the nice blue here. (Pic Below)
Repeat the process of tightening the bleeder using your 10mm wrench. Remove the clear hose, wipe off any excess excess fluid, and put the rubber cap back on. Put wheel back onto the car securely like before, and drop the car down.
You are almost done. Just one last thing. Check the fluid level in your reservoir, and fill it to Max. (Pic Below - look at that beautiful blue!)
Put the reservoir cap back onto the reservoir and turn it shut. (Pic Below - the fluid on the cap is before I wiped it clean)
You're finished! Now hope in and go for a ride. Your pedal should feel as solid as a rock. Brakes should be nice and firm.
After the brakes I went ahead and bled the clutch fluid. You can see the process for the clutch here. DIY: Clutch Bleed (Gravity Method)
I hope this was of help to everyone. I know how much people like visuals, so I tried to use as many as I thought would help. Even if they might seem repetitive.
If you have any suggestions, or find any errors then I'm all ears.
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NICODON (12-09-2019)
12-06-2012 | 09:07 AM
#5
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 5,645
Likes: 7
From: Los Angeles, CA
I'm sorry I did not snap a photo of this. However, you want to empty as much fluid as possible from reservoir before filling it with the new fluid. As much as you try with the baster, there will be a very small amount of old fluid left in the reservoir. Won't matter because it'll bleed out soon.
No air will creep into the system. In the many times I've done this I have never had an issue. As long as you don't pump the brake pedal with the reservoir empty then you will be fine.
12-06-2012 | 09:13 AM
#6
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,345
Likes: 95
From: Raleigh
Very nice. Motion to go in DIY sticky thread 
/> I don't put the cap back on though...what's the point in that? I also put the hose on before cracking the bleeder screw just so I dont get fluid on the caliper. I use this method and can usually get on my 4th beer by the time it's done. 
/>/>
/> I don't put the cap back on though...what's the point in that? I also put the hose on before cracking the bleeder screw just so I dont get fluid on the caliper. I use this method and can usually get on my 4th beer by the time it's done. />/>
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12-09-2012 | 08:19 PM
#8
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 880
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, TX
This is a great write up with a lot of detail and pics. 
Exactly I'm looking at doing this in the next few days. I've noticed that on my brake fluid reservoir, there is a screen that doesn't allow me to get to that inside of the reservoir. Does this just come out?
Exactly I'm looking at doing this in the next few days. I've noticed that on my brake fluid reservoir, there is a screen that doesn't allow me to get to that inside of the reservoir. Does this just come out?
