That sounds like every thing's covered. I use a small (8mm?) box-end wrench to loosen and tighten the bleeder - slip the wrench on and then your drain tube.

Brake fluid's hard on paint so try not to spill it.

 

X 2 on the paint comment.

 

Yeah, I knew about the paint thing. That's another reason I wanted to do the little hose thing so I had some control over where it goes. I'm just gonna feed all of the old fluid into an empty oil jug and drop it off at Advance for recycling.

 

Sounds about right. Make sure your friend knows to keep the pressure on the pedal until you tell him the bleeder is closed. At that the him can release, reapply pressure and hold until you open the bleeder. Repeat, repeat, repeat....

Remove as much fluid as you can from the master cylinder before you begin (and fill with fresh). That way you aren't pushing the old fluid through the system to empty it. It's going to take a while, and is a painstaking effort. You get such a small amount of fluid out each press. Especially on the rear, the brake lines are pretty long. So just be patient.

Also, be sure you purchased the proper brake fluid per manufacturer recommendations.

If you live in an area where corrosion is prominent, I'd start spraying the bleeders with a penetrant such as Pb Blaster in advance.

 

Yeah for sure hit it with pb and let it soak for a few minutes. I've broken one off that way before

 

Thanks!

 

I only have two jackstands, so I'm gonna have to do the back first, then the front. It's 103 outside, think I'll do it in baby steps.

Jack up truck, take wheels off, beer.

Bleed rear brakes, beer.

Put wheels back on, let rear end down. Beer.

Rinse and repeat for the front.

 

Wait......you forgot to get a beer before you started. Otherwise, your steps are absolutely correct!!


Oh, by the way, be sure to use wheel chocks. Really.

 

Must have STARTED with beer if he thinks he needs to raise the vehicle and remove wheels. LOL

The rear wheels have the bleeder screw exposed on the backing place, inboard side.

Front wheels, the bleeder is on the caliper, best accessed by turning the wheel to full lock for each side.

 

Must have STARTED with beer if he thinks he needs to raise the vehicle and remove wheels. LOL.

hahahahahaha!

 

Brakes are bled/flushed. Wasn't a bad job, probably would have been easier if I didn't take all of the wheels and tires off. If I didn't have someone to pump the brakes, it would have been a headache but I managed to get all four bled without letting a bunch of air in the lines.

Haven't went for a test drive yet, but they're all bleeding clean fresh brake fluid and that's good enough for me.

 

Brakes are bled/flushed. Wasn't a bad job, probably would have been easier if I didn't take all of the wheels and tires off.

LOL

If I didn't have someone to pump the brakes, it would have been a headache but I managed to get all four bled without letting a bunch of air in the lines.

Um, hopefully you didn't let ANY air into the lines? If you suspect you drew in air you might was well buy your buddy more beer and do the job again. I haven't tried a vacuum bleeder on mine yet, wonder how well that works. I WISH I had a pressure bleeder.

 

Nope. I don't imagine any air was let it. I made sure I had the bleeder tightened back up before I said "up!".

I kept the resivoir topped off too. Gonna need a new bleeder for the front right. The one that's on there now was rounded off by the previous owner I guess. I've never been around any of the brakes before. I had to tighten/loosen it with a pair of needle-nose vise grips.

 

Vacumm type bleeders work GREAT.. Makes it a one man job. Works best if you pack the bleeder screw with grease or it will always pull air in past the threads but no worries as it does not get into the brake lines. It is amzing how dirty the fluid gets in a sealed system. Happy Motoring...

 

Anybody know which bleeder to get for the rear brakes(drum)? Mines are pretty rounded. The fronts are M10-1.5 by 30mm. I couldn't find it online, at autozone, or even the chevy dealership.

 

RockAuto shows two brands, ACDelco and Raybestos. Only one of the three ACDelco part numbers seems valid (19244561) A search of that part number indicates the thread size is 8mm x 1.25. A search of the Raybestos part number (S22430) shows the same thread size. There isn't any reason that the Dealer couldn't look up the numbers and order them for you. You can get them online or take the part number 19244561 to the Dealer and tell them to order them. The bleed screws are not just found on 355s so they might even have them in stock. Either way, the Dealer price is $6.60. More than online, but you are not paying shipping. You could also take the thread size to AutoZone and see if they could match it that way. Dorman's website doesn't list a rear bleed screw.

 

Thanks, autozone didn't have the rears in the computer. The parts counter at Chevy told me that they were sold with the assembly...he printed a parts diagram and tried handing it to me and asked if I wanted it. I said no thanks and I walked out.

 

The part number I posted is for the bleeder valve. If you want just the bleeder valve, write the part number on a piece of paper, take it to the Dealer and tell him to order that part number (19244561). Don't ask them anything. Don't assume the parts guy is more intelligent or knowledgeable because he has a GM uniform on. Just tell them to get you that number. If they refuse, just go to any Dealer that sells GM vehicles. Replacing the cylinder involves more work that just the bleeder valve. Your choice.

 

It might not be a bad idea to replace the wheel cylinder since you're there anyway. More of a peace of mind thing - and a wheel cylinder isn't too costly.

 

Ahh ok, I thought it was a larger piece he was trying to sell me. Thanks