55 Ford brake bleeding

Daves55Sedan

Daves55Sedan

Well-known member
Had to replace the front crossover brake line and both front wheel cylinders. After re-assembly and bleeding the front brakes, it seems that the passenger side brake shoes are not operating when the brake pedal is depressed.
I bled the front brakes using a mityvac until the amount of fluid I got in the reservoir was exactly the same amount as what was sucked out of the master cylinder thru the lines. Checked for leaks at each connection. All outer surfaces of the lines and hoses are dry as a bone.
I did not bother to bleed the rear brake lines because I didn't think they would have gained an air pocket since I did not disturb them. But if there is an air pocket in the rear section, it seems that it would make sense that only the closest set of shoes to the master cylinder would work.
Any thoughts?
BTW, the old wheel cylinders might have been okay to re-use if I could have gotten a wheel cylinder hone to scrape off a little very minor rust spots in the bore, but nobody has hones anymore. The tool allegedly costs three times as much as one new wheel cylinder. Two places I went to havent had hones for over 20 years. The CXhinese made wheel cyliders have different size brake bleeder screws. That wreaked havoc upon my efforts to fit the mityvac with differnt size hoses.
 
Conventional practice when you open a brake system is to bleed from the farthest wheel, working to the nearest. Most US cars, right rear, left rear, right front, left front. On a single system. You don't say if you've fitted a dual master.

The other thing you might check is the hoses. If you've done the whole front system, are the hoses new? They've been known to collapse internally, causing hard to diagnose problems. Don't ignore the rear hose, either.

I bleed brakes with a minivac, too. But some times, letting them sit overnight, and tapping them to clear trapped bubbles helps. I used to have access to a pressure bleeder, and it was much better.
 
I have had excellent results letting mean ol Mr. Gravity do his thing. I open all four and sit back and relax. As soon as one starts to drip close it down. Might take a couple of beers to complete but it has worked for me.....
 
that sounds like the best way {the beers and waiting} that's always the best way to end a job don't forget you must remain hydrated
 
Daves55Sedan said:
BTW, the old wheel cylinders might have been okay to re-use if I could have gotten a wheel cylinder hone to scrape off a little very minor rust spots in the bore, but nobody has hones anymore. The tool allegedly costs three times as much as one new wheel cylinder.
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Ya'll gots ta learn to check Amazon.com I'm telling ya you can find almost anything on there. :eek::eek: It's my go to place when looking for stuff or just checking prices. Or check what others think of an item in the reviews.

Wheel Cylinder Hone

Not sure why you couldn't find one locally tho, I just saw one at Pep Boys the other day.
 
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Three days in a row I would have give my kingdom just to find somebody to sit in the car and push the brake pedal for me while I spun the tire so I could see if the shoes were working. God how I hate livin alone. Always did. I became so frustrated, I even tried to pawn the job off on a brake repair shop. They wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.
Finally, this afternoon, saw neighbor sittin on front porch doin nothin, so I called him over. Its all good now. Brakes work like new again.
 
Daves55Sedan said:
Three days in a row I would have give my kingdom just to find somebody to sit in the car and push the brake pedal for me ...
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Dave, So what was the problem? How did you fix it?

Even if you had a helper around the house you might be surprised how inefficient they might be. A couple times I've asked my wife to watch if my break lights worked while I pumped them, and she just stood there looking, dead silent :confused:. Finally I asked if they lit up, she said "oh? ... sure".:eek:
 
smtichy said:
Dave, So what was the problem? How did you fix it?

Even if you had a helper around the house you might be surprised how inefficient they might be. A couple times I've asked my wife to watch if my break lights worked while I pumped them, and she just stood there looking, dead silent :confused:. Finally I asked if they lit up, she said "oh? ... sure".:eek:
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pretty funny. I had the same thing happen.
"hey you just asked me to WATCH them not talk about it!"
Communication, gentleman, communication.:)
 
smtichy said:
Dave, So what was the problem? How did you fix it?.:eek:
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I knew that the new crossover line was going to be a problem bleeding with a mityvac. As you gentlemen know, that line has "hills and valleys", it is not a straight shot. It runs along the frame crossmember under the oil pan and back up to top of frame on both siderails.
Using a mityvac, it is not possible to develop enough vacuum to pull all the air out of the lines at both high points. Mityvac only goes so far, then you pull the trigger again. During that lull, the air bubble travels back up to the high point in the line. You repeat, and it is a vicious cycle.
For the FRONT brakes I prefer bleeding by use of pressure instead of vacuum.
So, the neighbor could have been as dumb as a rock and it wouldn't have made a difference. I told him to push down and hold the pedal down when I was ready to open the bleeder. I told him to release when I had the bleeder closed. Repeated this twice, then i got up to refill the master cylinder with the cup I was using to catch the fluid coming out of the wheel cylinder. Repeated a couple more times until all the air was purged. What could be simpler (and easier). Could have gotten a third-grader to do it.
 
]I've used a small (1/2 gallon) pressure garden sprayer with excellent results. I've used this technique with firewall mounted and under floor systems. You just need to make an adaptor for the MC cap. This will work with dual and single circuit systems. 8 to 10 pumps on the unit for each wheel. Bleed fluid until no air comes out at each wheel starting with the furthest from the MC.
Makes it a one man operation.
 
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mattilas said:
calling the neighbor a simple (dumb as a rock) third-grader might be why your alone.
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You might want to brush up on your speed reading skills.
I did not call my neighbor dumb-as-a-rock or a third grader, nor simple.
I said (anyone) COULD have been dumb as a rock or a third grader
and it could have been satisfactory help. I said the remedy was simple.
 
I work alone most of the time and have one of the oil squirt cans full of brake fluid to fill brake parts and then when done let gravity bleed the system and rarely have to have someone help me.
 
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