Problem with Motive Brake Bleeder (Pressure Bleeder)
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Problem with Motive Brake Bleeder (Pressure Bleeder)
Hoping someone can help me out here because I'm really stuck. I replaced all of the hard lines on my 04 Suburban with the Dorman prebent stainless kit. Also replaced the rubber hoses with GM OE rubber hoses. I definitely ran the ABS dry, and I think I ran the master dry also. However, I was still initially able to bleed the brakes pretty well with the Motive pressure bleeder, one wheel at a time according to the proper order. Car braked reasonably well, and I drove like that for around a week but it was clear that they still needed to be bled more. I figured maybe air got in the ABS, so I drove to a gravel parking lot and activated the ABS a few times, and then went to bleed the brakes.
Since I was feeling lazy and was bleeding the brakes in an open dirt lot that the owner doesn't care about, I was just going to put the Motive bleeder on the master cylinder, and open all four bleeder valves, and just pump a couple of quarts through the system, assuming all air would be gone by then. When I cracked the first valve open a fair amount of fluid came out. Then I went to open the second one, and not much came out. As I proceeded to the front two wheels, I realized that each valve was just letting a few squirts of brake fluid out when they were first opened, and then dribbling off and nothing was coming out. I'm very puzzled, because the Motive bleeder was holding pressure properly at 15 psi!! So I tried reclosing the bleeders and opening them one at a time, and same thing. Barely any fluid coming out. So I'm understandably quite frustrated, as I spent hours trying to bleed the brakes, couldn't do it, and now I can't even drive my truck because I have no brakes. Arrgghh!
I can't figure out what changed between the first time I bled the system and the second. The Motive bleeder was clearly holding pressure, there were no leaks in the system, fluid WAS properly being transferred to the master as it's supposed to. But almost nothing coming out, and then nothing coming out!! How is this possible? The ONLY thing I can think of that changed over the course of a week is that I activated the ABS right before bleeding it. But so what? All that should do is let excess air in the ABS come out into the lines to be removed. Also I had the parking brake on the second time, but not the first time. But again, so what? Please help me here!!
Since I was feeling lazy and was bleeding the brakes in an open dirt lot that the owner doesn't care about, I was just going to put the Motive bleeder on the master cylinder, and open all four bleeder valves, and just pump a couple of quarts through the system, assuming all air would be gone by then. When I cracked the first valve open a fair amount of fluid came out. Then I went to open the second one, and not much came out. As I proceeded to the front two wheels, I realized that each valve was just letting a few squirts of brake fluid out when they were first opened, and then dribbling off and nothing was coming out. I'm very puzzled, because the Motive bleeder was holding pressure properly at 15 psi!! So I tried reclosing the bleeders and opening them one at a time, and same thing. Barely any fluid coming out. So I'm understandably quite frustrated, as I spent hours trying to bleed the brakes, couldn't do it, and now I can't even drive my truck because I have no brakes. Arrgghh!
I can't figure out what changed between the first time I bled the system and the second. The Motive bleeder was clearly holding pressure, there were no leaks in the system, fluid WAS properly being transferred to the master as it's supposed to. But almost nothing coming out, and then nothing coming out!! How is this possible? The ONLY thing I can think of that changed over the course of a week is that I activated the ABS right before bleeding it. But so what? All that should do is let excess air in the ABS come out into the lines to be removed. Also I had the parking brake on the second time, but not the first time. But again, so what? Please help me here!!
