Bleed brakes 95 atx

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Brackneyc

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Me again.

My driver side rear caliper was hanging up, so I decided to change it. I’ve changed so many calipers over the years, I’ve lost count.
with that said, When I had someone pump the pedal, it was at the top, and barely moved. I’ve got nothing at the caliper, except a drop or two.

Now, being that this car has been full of Ford Engineering, what process am I missing to bleed this one caliper.

Note: I did not hook up the e-brake cable because it needs replaced. I doubt that’s the issue.

So, please tell me I don’t need some obsolete tool to do this.
Lol. Thx.
 

luigisho

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There is a proportion block on the rear that needs to be depressed to allow good fluid flow. It is supposed to be spring and weight loaded. Is the rear of the car off the ground? I think the rear of the driver side is where that valve is located. You have to take a look at it and see how it depresses. A new one looks like this.S l640
P1060741

It's been a while but I forget if you should still be able to get a little fluid through there without a load on the rear. I haven't done a rear brake job on the SHO for a while. Not a daily driver. Alot of those valves are old and corroded. Also maybe the rubber line is not working? Maybe.

I always found a way to put pressure on it to open the valve.
 

Brackneyc

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I have the rear end on a jack stand, as if it were on the ground. If that valve is bad, what are the options. Can I trigger it open by hand.
I did get a drip of fluid, but not enough to engage the caliper.


I’ll check it tomorrow.
 

luigisho

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Check the other side for fluid flow. It could be the block or the metal line or the rubber hose. First--Did you try to look for fluid flowing through the brake line detached from the caliper? Maybe the banjo bolt is clogged up.
 

Brackneyc

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Check the other side for fluid flow. It could be the block or the metal line or the rubber hose. First--Did you try to look for fluid flowing through the brake line detached from the caliper? Maybe the banjo bolt is clogged up.
it’s a new caliper and banjo bolt. Never hurts to check. I didn’t check the hose for flow. I’ll do that before anything else. Thank you for the tip.
 

zoomlater

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The brake lines can fail from the inside (swell up) preventing fluid from flowing. I have had this happen twice on different SHO's. I would replace the brake line, typically I did both rears. The ones that failed were the right rear for me.
 

Brackneyc

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I need to do that. That could face been the cause of been the issue from the get go.
 

zoomlater

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Rockauto has really inexpensive rear brake lines (a lot times on close out), I usually grab the Raybestos brand
 

Irish Pride

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I just took care of this a few weeks ago. I swapped out the caliper with a known good used one and still had the same problem. With the caliper replaced I noticed that I couldn't get it to bleed. I pulled the hose off the caliper again and saw that I wasn't getting anything out of it. A new hose fixed the problem. This particular SHO is the first one I've owned with rubber brake hoses in a very long time. Haven't had to deal with these in years.

20200313 214117
 

Brackneyc

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I just took care of this a few weeks ago. I swapped out the caliper with a known good used one and still had the same problem. With the caliper replaced I noticed that I couldn't get it to bleed. I pulled the hose off the caliper again and saw that I wasn't getting anything out of it. A new hose fixed the problem. This particular SHO is the first one I've owned with rubber brake hoses in a very long time. Haven't had to deal with these in years.

View attachment 12462

I have one on order. Going to attempt to separate the rubber hose from the hard line tomorrow without tearing up the hard line. Got some rust on it. I sprayed it with PB Blaster. Crossing my fingers. Wish me luck.
 

Irish Pride

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I have one on order. Going to attempt to separate the rubber hose from the hard line tomorrow without tearing up the hard line. Got some rust on it. I sprayed it with PB Blaster. Crossing my fingers. Wish me luck.
PB blaster it again a few times before you try to turn it loose. I'd hit it with some heat right before too.
 

zoomlater

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I have found those lines at Pull a part places. The regular Gen 2 cars that came with ABS rear disc brakes have the same set up.
 

tery

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its not easy to do, and you can easily mess it up worse, but that bias block, rear splitter can be disassembled and cleaned. The most dif part is that the block is very soft aluminum and its very easy to: strip threads, break cracks, etc..I won on three out of four, there are dif sized brake lines coming in and going out and they aren't standard..But I can add that if you get the ss lines, they have the fittings on them and they go on very nicely and all the bends are right. Makes a big dif when you're lying in the driveway

...and reading further up the thread, I also had the experience where the rubber brake line had imploded, not to the point of being seen, but def to the point of restricting flow, maybe could feel that issue with a good squeeze as well...good luck!
 

Brackneyc

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its not easy to do, and you can easily mess it up worse, but that bias block, rear splitter can be disassembled and cleaned. The most dif part is that the block is very soft aluminum and its very easy to: strip threads, break cracks, etc..I won on three out of four, there are dif sized brake lines coming in and going out and they aren't standard..But I can add that if you get the ss lines, they have the fittings on them and they go on very nicely and all the bends are right. Makes a big dif when you're lying in the driveway

...and reading further up the thread, I also had the experience where the rubber brake line had imploded, not to the point of being seen, but def to the point of restricting flow, maybe could feel that issue with a good squeeze as well...good luck!

Ended up being a bad hose. Got it all back together, and i can’t get rid of the soft pedal. Fluid comes out. No air, just fluid. Pulled out of the garage, and brakes pedal went almost to the floor. Pulled it back in, bled again. Still soft pedal.

Nothing on this car is typical. I’ve been bleeding brakes for 30 years. But yet, this one isn’t cooperating.

Between this and the eec, I’m a few parts away from a part out.
 

NoSlo

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I just replaced the whole ABS brake modulator with one that had been sitting dry for over a year, along with a rear caliper and line. No issues even before just going for a drive and doing some emergency ABS braking on both gravel and paved roads while cornering.

If you don't have rust-free clean speed bleeders installed, or an assistant to close the bleeder each time you release the pedal, it is important to use techniques to not get air back into the system while you are bleeding. Releasing the pedal will tend to suck back in.

Cover the threaded area of the bleeder valve into the caliper with grease so it can't leak air in or out around the threads. Find an 18 inch hose that fits tight around the bleeder fitting, **** up the fitting with more silicone grease and tighten hose to the fitting with a hose clamp so it is airtight. 11mm open-ended wrench.

Then you need to route the hose in a high loop, going up through the spring, and back down into a bottle that is no lower than the caliper so it doesn't siphon. You can wire a water bottle to the strut. The end of the hose should be immersed at the very bottom of the bottle, again taped if needed so it doesn't move.

Top the brake reservoir off to the top of the cap, and continue checking on it throughout. Open the bleeder just enough so that it starts to flow when you press the pedal, no more than 1/4 turn after where it wasn't flowing freely. Stomping hard and repeating fast ensures there is enough velocity to get air out of high spots in the lines. Alternate with stomping to the floor and holding for 5 seconds so compressed air bubbles can then expand their way through the system. You can start the car if you want some assistance instead of hard stomps. Air purged out of the caliper will stay trapped in the high spot in the bleeder line, and only fluid will be sucked back in from the waste bottle.

The bleed order is right rear, then left front, followed by left rear, right front. All should be done. Figure at least a pint for the rears, or more if you want fresh fluid through the system.

Also check that the parking brake is both fully engaging and releasing the lever on each rear caliper when it is engaged and disengaged. Pump and release the parking brake many times to get the piston "dialed" so it is effective. You can adjust the cable nut under the rear driver side door so the pull is balanced even pushing halfway. Top off the brake fluid reservoir to "max".
 

luigisho

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The abs activation units are rare as hens teeth. I wonder if it could also be master cylinder or booster issue? All the way to the floor usually indicates air or leak in the system though.
 

RonPorter

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If you do your own brakes, the Motive pressure bleeder is, hands down, THE best tool for flushing your brakes. It is truly a one man operation, and will give a hard pedal every time. It has been the favorite of the SHO (and other) track guys since the 90s.

I would highly recommend against Speed Bleeders. They were designed, and work well, as a one-man operation on motorcycles, but aren't a one-man operation on cars, and have frequently had leaking issues on cars.

The Motive link:

https://www.motiveproducts.com/
 
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