yeah i know... simple rules to follow.. or am i doing something wrong, installed the master cylinder, re-conditioned all the slave cylinders, put all back together, put the drums back on and proceeded to bleeeed.. well, some came out clear with no bubbles.... eventualy, but one wheel kept giving me greif, the pressure (or lack of) on the peddle indicated air in the lines, there was, one cylinder kept giving me air (passenger front).. then as i look at one of the slave cylinders i noticed that the thing was on its side... the front ones... the rear cylinders are horiziontal where as the front are vertical, it is like air is trapped in the top of the slave cylinder cause the bleed valve is in the middle.. make sence?

anyway, what is the correct procidure for bleeding the brakes, are there some tests i can perform on different parts to make sure they work, am i missing simething here?........ ok back to the :beer

btw 58 beetle..

when I did the master cylinder on my beetle apparently you are supposed to fill the master cylinder with brake fluid before you put it in the car ?? I dont know how! All I did was loosen the brake lines at the master cylinder and pumped the brake til it pushed the air out of the master cylinder and then bled normally. It seemed to work - I'm still stopping

when I did the master cylinder on my beetle apparently you are supposed to fill the master cylinder with brake fluid before you put it in the car ?? I dont know how! All I did was loosen the brake lines at the master cylinder and pumped the brake til it pushed the air out of the master cylinder and then bled normally. It seemed to work - I'm still stopping

Is the bleed point okay? I found one of mine was quite buggered when I bled my brakes. We went through so much brake fluid doing that one that it wasn't funny.

If someone has damanged the thread in the past then it might be sucking air through the thread.

The procedure I used is:
-take foot of brake pedal.
-open bleed valve
-depress pedal stopping when it hits the bottom
-close bleed valve (you may want to do this just before it hits the bottom in case the person depressing the pedal lets it bounce sucking air back in)
-lift pedal
-repeat

You have to start with the longest line first so bleed the passenger rear first then the driver rear then passenger front and then driver front ......
S

You have to belled the master cylinder first fit to of the lines and leave the tird open. get someone to pump slowly and hold your finger over gole to allow pressure to build up.

Have you got the small washer under the rubber on the inlet side of the cylinder, you need to have this fitted is has and elongated hole in center

while the pedal is held down fit the third line and tighten dont let pedal up

Go to the pass side rear and start bleeding there check the bleed nipple as they may be blocked. do drivers side rear then go to pass side front andfinall drivers side which is closest to master cylinder.

thanks for the replys,

dave, i do have the washer.... its bent, i assume this is correct.. which way is up..

like this ^ or like thus v ..

anyone? :o

ok, bought and installed a new master cylinder... bled the brakes ok but there is poor pressure, i noticed when the brake pedal was pressed brake fluid comes back out into the resivoir, whats with that? what am i doing wrong?.. suggestions? does the above metioned washer have to go in a special way?

Ummmm back yard tools.......LOL. I love making them:P
Get a 600ml coke bottle and some fishtank pump hose, make two holes in the top of the coke bottle lid one so as the hose will fit nicely the other is a breather.. now the hose goes to the bottom of the bottle at one end and the bleed nipple at the other. what this is for is so then you bleed the brake fluid stays in the hose/bottle and you don't suck air.:thumb

hope this helps

[Edited on 10-10-2004 by Desert Moose]

when bleeding the rears jack the rear of the car up as high as possible to help any trapped air bubbles find their way out.I have also read somewhere on this forum that when you replace the master cylinder you should start bleeding from the shortest line and work to the longest.Haven't tried this though.:blah

You need to jack the rear of the car up so that the rear brake cylinders are HIGHER than the master cylinder..

I read that if it is a dual brake system... do the front first...
I have always done the longest line first...
If all else fails... My Son tells Me that one of the pop top drinks - probably water- screws onto the dual system brake reservoir... place a hose or whatever over the pop top bit and connect to a compressor... He used a real compressor at low pressure.. I was going to use a cheap 12v tyre compressor to do the job....
Best of luck... Once that master cylinder is empty... You have problems... I replaced all brake hoses , cylinders and master cylinder and took Me months to get a pedal at all...
You do need two people to bleed the brakes properly IMHO..
and order 4 new brake nipples before You start... Its well worth the $4....

Lee

sorted, all seems to be ok, its single circuit.. I did the front first, by plugging the rear ones at the cylinder with an old brake line with one end blocked, then I did the rear, I had to adjust the rear brakes out as there was too much movement,

however, the pedal still rides to within 2 inches of the firewall, is that normal? ..

so long as it doesn't touch the rear wall...
You could always adjust the master cylinder shaft behind the pedal....

Best of luck