Working_Class_S

I'm extremely frustrated right now. Yesterday, I installed Accord calipers in the front and bled (just the front) the lines by cracking the bleeder, pumping the pedal, and then running to the wheel and closing the bleeder. The pedal felt fine, but had more travel than with the S2K calipers (I always used the pump and run technique on the S2K calipers and the pedal was always perfectly stiff since it takes like 20 sec for bubbles to flow). Today I followed the gravity bleed method and it introduced more air into my lines than it removed. Here is the situation: I crack the bleeder and pump the pedal a couple times. There are no air bubbles. Then after about 20 seconds, I start seeing small air bubbles and they flow endlessly. I let them flow for about 15 minutes and then closed the bleeder bolt. I did this for each wheel, one at a time, FR, FL, RL, RR. This emptied a liter of brake fluid. Now when I drive, the car stops fine, but I need to press the pedal to the floor.

When the bubbles are flowing, are they being sucked from the environment through the threads in the bleeder bolt, or are the bubbles legitimately coming from air in the brake lines? If they are coming from the brake lines, am I supposed to wait for them to stop, even when they don't stop after 15 minutes and I've already gone through a 1/4 liter of fluid on one wheel?

By the way, the bubbles continued to flow, even after the fluid went from slightly opaque yellow to clean new yellow.

Now I wasted a bottle of ATE and I have to buy watered down crap DOT 4 fluid because that's all they sell in stores.

Carbon Blue

Arent you introducing air into the system by cracking the bleeder and pumping the pedal? I thought the whole purpose of gravity bleeding was so that you didnt pump and just let the old fluid drain out by opening the bleeder valve(hence gravity bleeding) and closing it until you saw the new fluid begin to spill out?

Working_Class_S

Just saying that it worked and that my pedal felt super stiff. Don't ask me how. I'd like information on how to make gravity bleeding work.

SgtB

Put liquid thread sealant on the bleeder. Submerge the end of your hose in a jar of brake fluid to create an air lock. Pump the break pedal slowly a few times to bleed the master, and then let it gravity bleed itself until there are no bubbles.

Working_Class_S

Thank you very much. Is there a type of thread sealant I should use that won't lock the threads, and where can I buy it? Do you recommend this over teflon tape?

JDMQuip

Just crack the bleeder and let 'gravity' do the rest. Works every time for me.

banflu

i agree ... i only read about this gravity bleed here on s2ki, and i used it only once, on my s2000 about a year ago.
it took well over an hour for all four corners to bleed, but i must say that i prefer this system to the 2-man bleed!
gives more peace of mind, in my opinion. i just opened the bleeder, inserted a tube in the bleeder and placed this tube in a bottle, and wait!

SgtB

You may or may not need sealant. If you've bled them too many times the bleeder will pull air in slowly around the threads. Plain old plumbers pipe sealant from the hardware store will work.

B.Money

I tried this today and the liquid out of the hose was only dripping out very slowly. Perhaps I had the car angeled incorrectly on the jack stands for gravity to work?

Or is it supposed to be just a very slow drip?

I have done this in the past a couple years ago with success, and I don't remember it being this slow.

Working_Class_S

Ok, I found a parts store nearby that sells ATE type 200 over the counter for less than $11, cheaper than tire rack even before shipping. Today, I used teflon plumbing tape on the threads of the bleeder screws and performed a gravity bleed. Only a couple bubbles came out, and this was during the first couple seconds of bleeding. After I bled about 100 bubble-free milliliters of fluid on each corner, I could see yesterdays SL.6 transition into todays type 200. I took the car for a drive and the pedal was better than it was yesterday, but not as good as it was before yesterdays failed bleed, and not nearly as good as it was with the stock calipers. Keep in mind, I have brand new Accord V6 calipers. The teflon sealant tape totally solved my bubble problem and the gravity bleed went perfectly, but I still can feel air in the lines.

I would be extremely grateful if anyone could help me figure out how to get rid of the remaining air. Is there any way to bleed the ABS/VSA modules? Should I try the 2 man method?