bleeding ABS

[COliveira95]

Hey all,

I removed all my calipers and the car sat overnight. The next day, I put on new calipers and bled the system. Seems all the air is out of the lines, but the brakes are BARELY functioning. The pedal drops to the floor and the car will stop from a roll, anything above 1MPH = no brakes. So I thought the master cylinder was the culprit, replaced it, bench bled it, and bled all the lines to find the SAME problem.

So I've come to the conclusion after reading the shop manual that by sitting overnight with the calipers off, the ABS system has also drained. The manual states that air in the ABS control will cause my issues. I search and read that I need a special tool, where can I find this tool? Thanks in advance!

 

[Petersho1]

I bought Thorton abs bleeder on ebay for 25$.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Kirk has the tool for properly bleeding the ABS system.

 

[Bryan C. King]

Kirk Who?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Kirk Who?

Captain James T. Kirk!

 

[Rob94]

Kirk Who?

And you are?? Where the **** have you been lately? All you guys, with the exception of Chris, have been in hiding.

 

[SHOZ123]

I've had the calipers off my car for as long as a week some times. Never had any bleeding problems afterwards....

 

[Bryan C. King]

Most of the fluid drained out of the system, and unfortuately without this tool the system can't be properly bled, and the car can't be driven because the pedal is too soft.

 

[Shoaz]

Well, if you can't find the little Thexton box (which makes it pretty easy, but they're hard to find), then maybe try this:

If the pedal is soft, bleed the calipers until the pedal is back to normal. Make sure that you can visibly see that the little plastic reservoir on top of the ABS pump is full of brake fluid and not air. Go find a slippery spot where you won't slide into anything and hammer the brakes enough to get the ABS pump to cycle. If the pedal goes soft, (which you'd be expecting if there's still air in the pump), go back and bleed the system again. Repeat until happy.

This method is a pain in the butt, but it should get you where you want to go, assuming air in the pump is really the problem.

An alternative is to disconnect the ABS computer (the big connector on the driver's side near the front of the engine bay), bleed the brakes until the pedal is hard, and leave the ABS disconnected. This will leave the car driveable, but you'll have no ABS. ABS is very good to have, especially in snow or other slippery conditions, but people drove around successfully without ABS for many decades. In a pinch you can do this to make the car usable until you sort out how to solve the bigger problem.

If you still have trouble with a soft pedal after all this then you may have a problem other than air in the pump. You might check the fittings for all the lines at the calipers and the connections of the flexible lines to the hard lines. Corrosion may compromise the hard lines as well, and a leak could result in the symptoms that you're describing.

 

[COliveira95]

Is this what I need?
http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemDisplay.cfm?lookup=THE133

Well, if you can't find the little Thexton box (which makes it pretty easy, but they're hard to find), then maybe try this:

If the pedal is soft, bleed the calipers until the pedal is back to normal. Make sure that you can visibly see that the little plastic reservoir on top of the ABS pump is full of brake fluid and not air. Go find a slippery spot where you won't slide into anything and hammer the brakes enough to get the ABS pump to cycle. If the pedal goes soft, (which you'd be expecting if there's still air in the pump), go back and bleed the system again. Repeat until happy.

This method is a pain in the butt, but it should get you where you want to go, assuming air in the pump is really the problem.

An alternative is to disconnect the ABS computer (the big connector on the driver's side near the front of the engine bay), bleed the brakes until the pedal is hard, and leave the ABS disconnected. This will leave the car driveable, but you'll have no ABS. ABS is very good to have, especially in snow or other slippery conditions, but people drove around successfully without ABS for many decades. In a pinch you can do this to make the car usable until you sort out how to solve the bigger problem.

If you still have trouble with a soft pedal after all this then you may have a problem other than air in the pump. You might check the fittings for all the lines at the calipers and the connections of the flexible lines to the hard lines. Corrosion may compromise the hard lines as well, and a leak could result in the symptoms that you're describing.

 

[Sho-Driver]

Looks a lot like the one I am borrowing.

 

[COliveira95]

Looks a lot like the one I am borrowing.

Great, I just ordered one from Thexton.com direct for $50.00.

 

[Petersho1]

Yes, mine look the same.

 

[MelectroK]

Can the abs be bleed with one of those vaccum bleeder hand pump thingyoids?

 

[Sho-Driver]

To bleed the ABS, you will have to use the ABS bleeder above. It cycles the pump and solenoid so that it pushes air out. Once it runs through its program, you then bleed the brakes as normal.