Vacuum bleeding hydraulic brakes?

A long way back in trade school we taught to adjust the shoes to drum first on all wheels to ensure minimum travel of the brake shoes. Perfect setting was not required at that time. With a good helper....it is now time for bleeding the brakes.
I use a glass jar 1/2 filled with the appropriate clean brake fluid, and a clear piece of plastic tubing. Start your bleeding proceedure at the closest wheel to the master cylinder. With the plastic tubing attached to the wheel cylinder bleeder and the other end submersed into the fluid in the jar, loosen of the bleed screw while instructing your helper to pump the pedal. When you have received a good stream of fluid into the jar with no air bubbles, have your helper depress the pedal down to about half way of travel....stop....and hold. while you tighten the bleed screw without lifting the tubing from the fluid. Sometimes you may have to empty the bleed jar a couple of times, but remember to close the bleed screw each time you remove the bleed jar from the tubing end.
Proceed to the wheel that is next closest to the master cylinder and repeat the same proceedure. Follow the same proceedure for the third closest wheel and finally the last. You should have a firm pedal if everything is tight. Make final adjustment of the brakes.
 
I use a pump oil can and a piece of rubber hose the reverse bleed brakes. Put the hose on the bleeder valve. Open the valve and pump fresh fluid in till there are no bubbles in the master cylinder. Of course two sets of eyes are needed.
 
glenn c.
wow that is totally opposite from most ideas . but i sure can see how it would work !
learn something every day . thanks
 
I was taught to bleed brakes in the following order-- RR,LR,RF & LF.The 39-41 brakes have adjustable anchor pins-the 42-48 are not.Adjust the brakes as best you can before bleeding them.You can switch the cyls side to side to put the larger bore to the front & get bleeder on top or you can put the cyls on top with minor mod to backing plate & filing or grinding a groove in spring perch to allow the brake line to fit WC.You need a flex line from MC to V shaped steel lines on front of DS hsg as there is movement every time R E moves up & down.
 
I had mine mounted as per the photo with the bleeder on the bottom. Grind the hole in the backing plate so you can switch side to side with the bleeder on top. Made a big improvement on mine.ALso use a dule master for safty. We had to remove the front line on the dule master and install a plug to bleed the rear then install front line and bleed that. Before we did that we kept adding fluid and bleeding. The air would keep going back and forth front to back. Front and back in the master are not totaly indebendet. Do you have a master with a built in check valve or do you need to add a valve?
 
i have a residual valve in line . my fronts are on top , my rears are 20* OC . thanks
 
Just went through the same issue using inverted rear backing plates on my A.
The problem turned out to be "insufficient master cylinder piston travel".
The advertised pedal mechanism I purchased wasn't even close to having the 1 1/2" stroke required for my master cylinder.
As soon as I changed the lever length and modified the pushrod, instant pressure.

I bled the rear cylinders by cracking the line at the cylinder.

Ken
 
ken , i just spent all day rechecking every thing .

i found that i did not have enough travel also !! what a deal this has been . thank you for confirming my thoughts . gonna re-design my set up tommorow .
i did find some little things i missed the first time , so it turned out to be well spent time .

*** thank you all for your great help . ill let you know how it comes out ... steve
 
If you had rebuilt mechanicals with Teds Floaters you would have better brakes with less pedal pressure than the old Wagner hydraulics.
 
steve norcal said:
not to steal the thread , but im having major problems bleeding mine . 1931 ford coupe , 1942 hyd brakes . used a vaccum bleeder , no luck . used the helper old style bleeding ... seems there is no air , but the pedal still goes to the floor . it is firmer than when i started & when pumped it does activate the brakes , but no good pedal . any ideas appreciated . thanks .. steve
Click to expand...

Adjust the brake shoes. You shoes are probably to far from the drums.
 
If you had rebuilt mechanicals with Teds Floaters you would have better brakes with less pedal pressure than the old Wagner hydraulics.

i am a firm believer in teds kits . have used them for like 10 yrs . i put a s-10 5 speed in my coupe & it is in the way of the rod from the pedal . revamped but lost leverage . thus the hyd . ............... thanks .. steve

got teds kit 4 sale !
 
well im very close now . drove it today . a little fine tuning & ill be done with that !
thanks to all that helped me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the last problem was leverage from the pedal to the mc ................. steve
 
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