Why Don't People Take Care of These Cars?

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by wpoll

Good luck!!

Try either pressure bleeding or vacuum bleeding (I've done it this way) - WAY easier than needing a second person to pump the peddle...

Good Luck is right! Last vehicle I tried to bleed the brakes on, was my wife's '08 Cobalt, following replacing the blown-out master cylinder (my wife has a problem, stomping on her brakes...I've replaced MC's on three of her cars & trucks, so far).

I tried multiple times using all three methods, using a Motive Power pressure bleeder, an Amazon-Chinesium pressure bleeder kit, and a friend under the car while I operated the pedal and my Foxwell NT510 Elite (I have BMW, Toyota-Lexus, and General Motors software onit). Never got a hard pedal, but only 90%. Sold the car soon after, so I never had to buy a new ABS for it.

[wpoll]

I try to purchase new fluid in a different colour than the current fluid, so I can very clearly see when each line is flushed. Easy.

[haigha]

Thanks for the tips. I have a pressure bleeder and have used it before with my friend doing the bleeding and me just monitoring the pressure. I'll try to be super careful.

I asked Gemini how much to expect from each wheel:

Right rear: 250-300 ml
Left rear: 200-250 ml
Right front: 150-200 ml
Left front: 100-150 ml

Those seem to be about right... correct? I remember using just over a quart last time we did it. So I will mark the amounts on the catch bottle and at least go to the higher number each time.

I'll empty the reservoir with a turkey baster before starting since that was the recommendation for getting the above amounts.

I use the Bosch fluid that's good for an extra year of service. Now $20/quart, was $11/quart last time.

13 Nm is the torque spec, from what I read and I seem to remember the fronts were 10mm and the rears 11mm (4.4i sport).

[workingonit]

Originally Posted by wpoll

I try to purchase new fluid in a different colour than the current fluid, so I can very clearly see when each line is flushed. Easy.

Good idea. But, I used 4.5 quarts of brake fluid over the multiple bleed attempts, which surely is more than enough.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2024 using Tapatalk

[haigha]

Update on the project:

It wasn't as difficult as I thought. Hayaku's write-up says 1/10 difficulty. For a beginner like me, I'd say a 2 or 3 because of all the things you need to be careful of: making sure not to get brake fluid on anything painted, not rounding or over-tightening the bleed screws, monitoring the pressure on the bleeder, etc.

The QuickJack made it easier. I might try bleeding without removing the wheels next time. My mechanic friend did it that way.

A few things I learned:

- keep the catch bottle's tube and cap above the level of the bleed screw, I didn't see a single bubble

- torque spec is around 12 Nm, I used 11.3, a line on my Tekton 1/4" torque wrench, which seemed plenty snug

- best to remove the filter and then remove most of the fluid from the reservoir

- I didn't put any fluid in the pressure bleeder, I just depressurized/refilled after the RR, RL and FR. Since the FR bleed was only 100 ml, I didn't have to refill for the FL. I only used 12 psi each time on the bleeder. A bit slower, maybe, but I wasn't in a hurry.

- an 11mm offset wrench is helpful, though I used a 11mm long socket to do the initial loosening and I'm pretty sure you can just use your fingers after it's loose... thoughts on that?

- I used exactly 1 quart of Bosch ESI6... good for three years, instead of the usual two... and probably four here in the Southwest given I drive less than 1k a year.

[Fifty150hs]

Here's a 2002 that looks like it has been very well cared for: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/1...b3JkMS5jb20%3D