Last Tuesday a farmer showed me I've been bleeding brakes wrong for years

I was out at a job near Salina, Kansas helping this old timer with a 12-valve Cummins. He watched me pump and hold for like 10 minutes and just shook his head. Then he showed me his gravity bleed method using a clear hose and a milk jug. It took half the time worked way better. Has anyone else switched from traditional two-person bleeding to something simpler?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_patel2d ago

You know what, I was the same way. Always thought the old pump-and-hold method was the only proper way to do it until a buddy showed me gravity bleeding on my Ford pickup. Felt a little foolish after all those years of barking at my wife to "hold it steady" or waiting for a neighbor to come help. Now I just do the gravity method for everything except my kids' Subaru, which has some tricky ABS valves that need a bit of pressure. It's one of those things where you wonder why nobody told you sooner.

vera5142d ago

Switch to speed bleeders if you're working solo, they let fluid flow one way and stop air from getting sucked back in. Gravity bleeding works fine for most stuff but on systems with ABS modules you might still need some pressure to push past those internal valves. Just popped a set on my truck and honestly it cut my bleed time down to less than 5 minutes per corner.

the_linda19h ago

Oh man, 5 minutes per corner? Guess I've been living in the Stone Age yelling at my wife. Speed bleeders sound like the kind of upgrade that makes you feel like a genius for spending 20 bucks.