Ok, Chrysler 300, we’ve replaced the brakes roters etc, time to bleed the lines. We’re working it and getting fluid to all points but no pressure. We have our suspicions as to what but I’ve heard some theories. 1 in particular sounded nuts to me but i kept hearing it. I was told that to bleed the brakes i had to ignore the bleeders, leave the master cylinder open and pump em. Like i said, sounds loony to me but i keep hearing it. Thoughts?
What year?
Is the pedal getting hard or going to the floor?
Engine on or off?
Have you tried both on and off?
Are you pumping up the pedal until it is hard and then opening the bleeder valve and closing it as soon as the pedal hits the floor?
Did you bleed the master cylinder first?
How did you get air into the system in the first place?
You might need one of these if you got air into your ABS.
How are you “working it?” Assistant pushing the brake pedal? Vacuum bleed? Pressure bleed? Gravity bleed? Which?
Did you replace the master cylinder? Calipers? Hoses? What? If you just did pads and rotors, why did you need to bleed?
One more question, have you unplugged the ABS modulator?
Have not unplugged the modulator but the battery was disconnected. Assistant pumping
2013
Floor
Both
Its not getting hard at all
Haven’t bled the Master cylinder, not entirely sure what you mean with that.
Research bleeding techniques for your car.
The ABS on my truck would not allow for normal “driveway” bleeding. I used a hand pump bleeder and pulled the fluid thru.
It’s a different make so may not pertain, but I’ve read some makes require similar techniques to bleed.
The master cylinder needs to be bench bled before installation. Some master cylinders come with the bench kit; some do not. If you have to buy the kit it is not expensive at all.
This is what it consists of.
You need to “bench bleed” the master cylinder if you let it run dry. It can be done while on the car, but you will need the kit @ok4450 linked to.
If you let air get into the ABS modulator, then you need some kind of programmer that will run the ABS bleed cycle. The one I linked to is the lowest cost unit I have found. Dead easy to use.
For the best bleed job, you should use a power bleeder. They used to be very expensive and only used by professionals, but now, ain’t Amazon great. This is great for home use, but if you want to use it more than once, it takes a fastidious cleaning between uses. You have to flush out all the lines, adapters and the tank with 91% Rubbing Alcohol, need about two bottles to do the job.
Edit: You do have to pump the brake pedal quickly a few times to run the pads out to the rotors before you can build pressure to bleed the system. You can test for this after pumping by turning the rotor, there should be a little drag from friction between the pads and the rotors. If there is no drag, then you have another problem, most likely the caliper is not floating.