Let brake resevior get low while bleeding brakes..

[Texarkana]

As the title says, I got a little overzealous when bleeding the last wheel of my 09 Buick Lacrosse and ended up with about 1 1/2″ of fluid in the bottom of the reservoir. Pedal goes to the floor. I have bleed them one more time, pedal was stiff until car was started then sank to floor again. I am using a hand operated vacuum tester but I didn’t have enough time in the day the completely remove all air from the system.

So.. I’m wondering. Should I continue to bleed air from the system on my next day off or invest in some fittings and lines to bleed the master cylinder itself.

Oh and a heads up to all… no matter how desperate you are to finish the job in 1 day…. wash all excess brake fluid from your hands. I ended up with a nasty case of the spins and almost lost my lunch….

Topic

[Jerry Shoup]

You definitely want to properly blead the master cylinder. Another reason to make sure you are cateful with the excess brake fluid is that that stuff will ruin a paintjob in seconds.

[Texarkana]

Yeah I was wiping my hands with a rag but the residual was still soaked into my skin and I inhaled some vapor. I’m probably going to need to get a scan tool and cycle abs a few times

[EricTheCarGuy]

Yep, sounds like you’re going to have to bleed the master cylinder and try again. You might consider getting some gloves.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Texarkana]

Well I found a cheap autozone kit with the proper fittings and a bleed hose. Bled the master cylinder twice and each wheel once, brake pedal feels normal again and I had no issues on the way to work today.

[Jerry Shoup]

Glad to hear it.

[Texarkana]

The two man method of bleeding brakes works wonders for that darn proportioning valve, if I would’ve used the cheap vacuum tester I used before it would’ve taken quite a bit longer. I’m wondering however if I should do a panic stop on a gravel road to cycle the fluid through the abs module and solenoid. My gfs brother is telling me if there was air in the mechanisms id have an red abs light is this correct?

[EricTheCarGuy]

That’s great news. Thanks for the updates and for using the ETCG forum.

[Author]

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