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Brake bleeding doesn't seem to be going as planned

91W350

Well-known member
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Location
Salina, Kansas
I use a 1/4 inch drive deep six point socket to break the bleeder screw loose and tighten them with the same. Finger tight will shut down the fluid/air exchange. G
 

JCKnife

Well-known member
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Location
Kentucky
OK I will clean up the 2 I have loose and then replace / clean the existing ones as needed and try again. At least one of the rear ones is painted over!
 

Crawdaddy

Member
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Location
Louisiana
When I bled my brakes with the pressure bleeder, I hooked up a hose to the bleeder screws into a fluid collection jar and opened the bleeder. Since you have plenty of positive pressure coming from the pressure bleeder, you can open the valve pretty wide by sliding the wrench off and back on without any fear of air bubbles coming back in. Let 'em bleed plenty, I was amazed at how much air there was in the brakes.
 

JCKnife

Well-known member
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Location
Kentucky
Maybe I need a little more pressure in the sprayer tank as well, I was never getting more than a very slow seep. No gauge on it, just gave it 30-40 pumps.
 

dozer1

Member
833
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18
Location
Sargeant, Minnesota
The bleeders are quite often plugged. Plugged beyond using brake cleaner and compressed air sometimes. I like to run a drill bit in them to remove the debris. Bit needs to be smaller then the hole so you don't drill metal ofcourse. Then you can blow brake cleaner and compressed air through there and get em nice and clean. Wire wheeling the outside of the bleeder is a nice touch as well.
 

JCKnife

Well-known member
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Kentucky
Wow, wow, wow. If these two bleeder screws off the take-off wheel cylinders are indicative of the rest, I can see why I had a problem! They were packed full of sand. Dozer1 yes it took a drill bit to clear them out. Then some air, then some wire wheel...they look like new now.

I'll repeat the same process until all the ones on the truck are in this shape. That plus more pressure on the bleeder, and I'll give it another go tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice!
 

73m819

Rock = older than dirt , GA. MAFIA , Dirty
Steel Soldiers Supporter
In Memorial
12,195
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gainesville, ga.
clean a bleeder, then remove a bleeder from a wc, clean the build up in the hole, install the clean bleeder, do this on each wheel, don't forget the mc and the air pack
 

JCKnife

Well-known member
1,367
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Location
Kentucky
PSA: the airpack bleeder screw is significantly shorter than the wheel cylinder bleeders.

They're all cleaned and reinstalled. I might have time to try bleeding again after dinner or might have to wait until tomorrow. We'll see.

I did not have an inline pressure gauge but I found an endcap one, so I took off my quick connect and put it on there just to see what 15 PSI feels like on the pump. I was nowhere near it before, more like 5 psi. So next time will go better for sure.
 
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JCKnife

Well-known member
1,367
46
48
Location
Kentucky
Bled them this morning and while it's not 100%, it sure went a lot better than last time! The pedal stops before hitting the floor, but it's not quite as firm as it used to be. I'll do it again before I take her on the road.

The fluid that came out was noticeably cloudier than the new stuff. So it's probably a good thing to flush more of it out anyway.
 

samsimpson

New member
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Location
Corpus Christi, TX
I must of been lucky, I had a loose rear line that lost all the fluid out of the reservoir, lost nearly all braking power, was a little scary. I tightened the line and filled it back up and pumped it up a few times, had some brake but was still spongy. Parked it and a few days later went back out to bleed and the pedal was nice and hard. Drove it around and my brakes work perfect. They either gravity bled or some nice little santa helpers came and bled them for me :)
 

Heavysteven

New member
2,090
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Location
Hickory Flat Ga
Bled them this morning and while it's not 100%, it sure went a lot better than last time! The pedal stops before hitting the floor, but it's not quite as firm as it used to be. I'll do it again before I take her on the road.

The fluid that came out was noticeably cloudier than the new stuff. So it's probably a good thing to flush more of it out anyway.

I would highly reccomend adjusting the brakes and the adjust the play on the brake pedal.
 

bones1

Member
854
4
18
Location
Southern Maryland
Speaking of adjusting the brakes, any of you use the TM method of adjusting using a feeler gauge or
just spin the wheel till it drags?.
Also, can I see some pictures of your bleeder setups especially the ones with the remote Tee's installed as I do have a Tilton remote installed and am trying to visualize the setup.
 
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JCKnife

Well-known member
1,367
46
48
Location
Kentucky
I would highly reccomend adjusting the brakes and the adjust the play on the brake pedal.
Reading the TM on pedal adjustment, it says the pedal should have .25-.5" of movement before free play is gone. Mine goes almost to the floor pan. I don't think it's a pedal issue. I'd better bleed again first, this time on concrete instead of grass, and with practice it'll go better.

Also I just had everything apart for the axle boot replacement and I don't think the shoes need adjusting. Pads were pretty healthy.
 

Crawdaddy

Member
444
4
18
Location
Louisiana
When I first bought my truck I did have a firm pedal feel, but the pedal would freely go almost to the floor before I felt any braking action. A minor brake adjustment as outlined in the TM fixed that. Now my pedal feel is less than an inch before braking action starts.
 

Crawdaddy

Member
444
4
18
Location
Louisiana
No, the major brake adjustment involves feeler gauges. The minor brake adjustment is just cranking the adjustment nuts on the backplate until it starts dragging and back it off a hair. The adjustment nuts are 4 big nuts, 2 on top, 2 on bottom, that control the resting position of the shoes.
 

rlwm211

Active member
1,648
18
38
Location
Guilford, NY
The free play in the brake pedal linkage is based on the freeplay between the piston in the master and the actuator rod that compresses it.


The distance it takes for your pedal to become firm is irrelevant as you can set the pedal freeplay with a system that has no brake fluid in it This is strictly a mechanical measurement.


As to spongy or low brakes, no matter how much bleeding you do if the master or the air pack are not working properly you will not have reliabe and safe brakes.


A pressure bleeder cannot compensate for a faulty component.


Brake adjustment is covered well in the manuals and you have a 'secondary' adjustment procedure and a primary adjustment procedure.

the primary is where you pull the wheels and use feeler gauges to check the airgap between the shoe and the drum at the bottom and top.

A secondary adjustment is when you turn the wheel and adjust the upper adjuster until there is a slight drag. Too much drag is bad, so make sure it is a slight drag.


Without getting into a long story, I would guess that a large portion of the deuces that are sold that were sidelined by the motorpool had and still have a faulty brake system and that is how they got redlined to begin with.

A system that is a one circuit brake system requires that the system be in complete working order. In the military, they would replace the part if they had any question of its integrity. Here in the private sector, we do not have the deep pockets of Uncle Sam. Even so, we need to be certain that the brakes on our trucks are working well.

I hope this helps and be sure to read the manuals about this problem and proper procedures. There is no substitute for knowledge.


RL
 
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