Pressure bleeding

[Helge Wunderlich]

On Tue, 28 Aug 2001 17:03:53 +0200, Eyvind Spangen wrote:

>I made a pressure bleeder today by using an old reservoir cap and
>attaching a hose to it. I made it to change brake fluid in my '90 V8
>(no clutch). Now to the question: Do I have to keep the brake pedal
>depressed to allow fluid flow from the reservoir to the lines &
>calipers, or can I just attach the bleeder and start bleeding, just
>watching the reservoir? I've bled brakes the "old" way a million times
>before, but never with a pressure bleeder..

You must leave the pedal fully up. If you press the pedal even a
slight bit, the return passage between reservoir and caliper will
close. If you think about it, this is quite obvious: If the passage
stayed open when braking, you'd just push the fluid back into the
reservoir.

If you are really lazy, you could connect a "header tank" to your
bleeder, so that the reservoir will fill with fresh fluid instead of
air. Then you don't need to check the fluid level so often.