There are a few schools of thought on the best way of bleeding brakes, however I will go through a procedure that I have used for ten years without any dramas. You can even buy a vacuum operated brake bleeder to connect to a air compressor making it a one man (or woman!) job. We’ll stick to the basics here so that anyone with basic hand tools can do it.

  Always start with the brake caliper furtherest away from the master cylinder. So in normal cars (right hand drive!) this would be the left rear and in all others the right hand rear. Even when you are only doing the front brakes start with the one furtherest away. Make sure that the spanner that you are using is a nice snug fit on the brake bleeder because once they are rounded off they are very difficult to remove.

  Have an assistant sit in the car and when you are in position have them pump the pedal three times and hold their foot down on the pedal. We don’t want the brake pedal to go through the firewall when you release the bleed valve, in fact we don’t want the piston in the master cylinder to go anywhere near it’s full length of travel so warn them that the pressure on the pedal will drop and tell them not to take the pedal past halfway of it’s travel or not past half way to the floor. When the piston is taken past it’s usual length of travel it has the potential to get stuck down there especially if the fluid has not been flushed for a while and build-up prevents it from coming back.

  Once the assistant has pumped the pedal three times (up and down three times) release the bleed valve. I use a small length of hose that fits over the bleeder and a small coke bottle with a hole drilled in the lid and the hose pushed through to catch the fluid on it’s way out (very high-tech us Australians!). A large flat container placed under the car will do same job however you will need to hose down any remaining brake fluid with water to remove it.

  Now before your assistant lifts their foot at all close the bleed valve. This prevents air entering the system when the pedal is released. You will know when to close the bleed valve as the fluid pressure is released the fluid will initially come spurting out and then slow right down to a trickle – close the valve when it’s at a trickle. Repeat this step three times on each brake and if the pedal is still not right or you haven’t seen or heard air being expelled, then go around and repeat each step again.

  Have your assistant keep a close eye on the fluid level in the master cylinder. Keep it above half way at all times. Even if your assistant has to get out of the vehicle and check it while your moving to the next wheel. If it’s not kept topped up air could enter the system at the master cylinder and that would be defeating the purpose!

  So that’s the most simple yet affective way of bleeding your brakes. Just remember to keep the master cylinder topped up and it may take more than one ’round’ to get all the air out of the system. Good luck!

Take care and be safe on the roads.

Craig