love to drive

I have no experience with brake master cylinder replacement so I was wondering if someone could guide me. Can the MC be bled without bleeder hoses? I thought I heard someone saying you can just put bleeder caps in the two holes and pump the rod until bubbles stop rising. Is this true? If not...where do I get bleeder hoses??

Thanks,
Ted

Pete79L82

I have never seen a reason to bench bleed a master cylinder. The only reason to do that is so you don't have to bleed the rest if the car. Not a very good idea, especially on a Corvette as sensative as they are to air in the calipers. If you are putting on a new master cylinder take the time to bleed all the brakes.


[Modified by Pete79L82, 2:39 PM 3/1/2002]

Eddie 70

You can go to AutoZone, PepBoys or NAPA and they will have them if you tell them what you are doing.

gerry72

If you don't properly bleed the master cylinder, you will forever be chasing a spongy brake pedal that no amount of caliper bleeding will make go away. It is not possible to bleed the master cylinder by bleeding the calipers. Get the bleeding kit from your local autoparts story or from Harbor Freight (their kit has a variety of adapters that make it possible to bleed just about any cylinder you'll come across).

Failure to bleed or improper master cylinder bleeding is the cause of most Corvette owners brake woes. The tools to do it right are cheap and the technique is too simple to find alternatives.

redvetracr

The new (rebuilt) master that i put on my racer last year came with plastic plugs and instructions to pump the piston slowly until the air bubbles inside stopped.
...redvetracr

love to drive

Ahhh yes...this is what I've heard of doing. I'm getting all new calipers, hoses, lines, and MC in the mail and I wanted to be ready for the massive amount of air that will be in the system. I don't want to spend my whole day bleeding :)

Thanks,
Ted

James

Master Power Brakes say's to install the plugs in the 2 holes and bleed till no more air bubles are seen just like the above posts say.

paso

The way we use to bench bleed the master cyl after installing a rebuild kit is with two used brake lines screwed into the outlet holes on the master cylinder they were bent (formed) so they were redirected and submerged into the fliud in the master cylinder resovoir this allows air out but not back in as the ends are submerged in the fluid. This is very effective. Then when you installed the lines back into the cylinder all you had to do is bleed the calipers. I always kept old brake lines to make this tool. :)

love to drive

I don't have any old brake lines so I may just pick up a bleeding set from Discount Auto. I'm gonna wait and see what the instructions say when the MC comes in.

topless68

I disagree somewhat. You said you are replacing your lines hoses, calipers...basically everything. You will have to do some serious bleeding to rid all of the air from your system.

If you are replacing just the MC, while it's nice to bench bleed it, it's not totally necessary. You will always have some kind of residual air in the chamber if you do pre-bleed it. You will find yourself bleeding enough fluid to get the pedal you want anyway. My .02

Jim 77

I got a MC bleeding kit from pep boys... I don't think it even cost $3, and consisted of some flimsy tubing and a few plastic nipples. Worked like a champ tho.
It is so cheap and so easy. When you have the MC and kit in front of you it will all make sense.
Jim

PatG

Last master cylinder I got had plugs and the procedure did not require hoses. Seemed to work as well as when I used the hoses in the past. Regardless, if you buy a new or rebuilt unit it should have the instructions and plugs or hoses necessary to do the job.

One GM A Tech

Yes always bench bleed a new master before you place it on the vehicle, the plastic hoses that come with the master or buy the kit from local auto parts store is always the way to go. Do it Once Do it Right! :cheers: :smash: :cool: :flag