The banner above is an advertisment - if it asks you to download software, please ignore.
Site News - 7/1: Members: Log In to See Fewer Ads! | 5/28: SAAB Evolutions/TSN T-Shirts $14
[General | Members | C900 | 9000 | NG900 & OG93 | 93 | 95 | NG95 | 99 | Sonett | Vintage Models | Clubs | Other Cars | FAQs | Gifts | Member Photo Galleries | Member Directory | Classifieds | Manuals | *Buddy Registry | *Mileage Registry | Polls | What's New | Raffle | Photo of the Month | Sponsors]

C900 Bulletin Board
1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest]
(Search Author's Posts: e.g. Keyword:username)*Members Only

[Main C900 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ | Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ] Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Re: Tools for Brake Bleeding
Like This Post: - Subscribe to Daily Digest for this Bulletin Board
Posted by RayF (more from RayF) on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:16:54 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: Tools for Brake Bleeding, Elizabeth, Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:51:00
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup

So, Elizabeth, you've been given lots of tips. I trust after reading them you've wondered if you should do this yourself. The risk of twisting the bleeder screws off is very real.

NEED to bleed, as in, there's air in the system but whatever component failed and let it get in there has been repaired or replaced? That's real need.

NEED to bleed, as in, there's air in the system (but nothing has been done to fix whatever let it get in there)? Bleeding it then is probably just an exercise in frustration, till you know what went wrong and fix it - - bad master cylinder, bad caliper, leaky brake line or brake hose?

NEED to bleed, as in, have taken to heart the advice that with an older car it's well advised to bleed out and replace the current old, moisture laden and dirt filled fluid? That's laudable but might be asking for trouble.

Anyway, make sure you have down pat the technique of doing this first, which I can't advise on, not having tackled this on a 900 - - i.e., which wheel to do it on first, and in what order, till done. Whether to do it with a helper, pumping the pedal, or whether using some kind of one-man bleeding setup, and which one.

And also, go around, wheel to wheel, cracking loose the bleeder screws first, before making any attempt to bleed, then set the screws back down onto their seats first. THen you know they each will move when you want them to.

You need to be really careful with bleeder screws - - they're hollow and thus much weaker than you'd think from their size.

My personal preference is to whack them straight down with a hammer before breaking them loose, as a way to shock the threads loose and bust up any rust that might be on the top of the threads. NOT hard enough to damage them, and it has to be a straight vertical blow. Then the safest way to loosen them is to put a six-point socket on them and a 1/4" ratchet, then twist counterclockwise. With this setup your twist is likely to be straight radial ?tangential, I guess I mean?) and not bending at all, and so you aren't going to twist their hollow necks off and break them. (With a box-end wrench, the handle is at an angle and it screws up your force enough that it's partly bending as you twist, and more likely to break the screw.)

Another technique I've used when everytihing is really rusty is, despite above advice, use a box-end wrench on the screw, pushing carefully, and hit the bleeder screw with a hammer, timing the push on the wrench to be just as the hammer comes down. They pop free quite easily just as they are being shocked by the hammer blow.

I don't set a lot of store by penetrating oils, at least, I don't put all my faith in them. I'd use them in combination with the above techniques.

Once they're cracked free with the socket and ratchet, you then are free to use a box end wrench for the actual cracking and tightening during bleeding.

If the bleeder screws don't have the original rubber protective caps on them, they might have mud or other dirt down inside them, and if you can see any, it might be a good idea to spin the screw out all the way first before doing any bleeding, and poke and blow the hole clean.

Replacement screws are available at auto parts stores but if you crack one off in the caliper, it often makes sense to give up the idea of bleeding, if it was just a precautionary thing, and leave the broken stub in place. That's why I say crack them all free first before starting bleeding. If you break one doing that then you can just give up and no harm done.

posted by 70.105.244...
Posts in this Thread:
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Post a Followup

No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.

Name: Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
E-Mail: (Optional)
Re-Enter E-Mail: (Confidential & Secure - Not revealed to other users!)
Note: Please check your spam folder for BB responses.

Subject:

Posting rules are simple - No for sale/wanted ads may be posted here - use the site classifieds.
You may not cross-post your message to multiple BBs.
Not permitted: political/religious topics and being disrespectful (personal attacks, insults, etc...).
 Site Members do not see any red text, inline ad links, bottom of page anchor ads, box ads, or anti-spam check.

Message: (please no for sale/wanted classifieds - post those in the Saabnet.com Classifieds)
Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).

Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post above, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).
Optional Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/)
Link Title: (Optional)
Optional Photo/Image Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/img.jpg)
Photo/Image to Upload: (Please be patient while file uploads)



StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2024 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

Random Saabnet.com Member Gallery Photos (Click Image)
This is a moderated bulletin board - Posting is a privilege, not a right. Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY. Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages. This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes type of forum. Saabnet.com has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the Saabnet.com Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are not anonymous. Site Contact | Site Donations | Other Sites by SP - Poverty2Prosperity.org | Run Club Menlo Park | ScreenBot


Site Members do not see red text instructions, bottom of the page anchor ads, or box ads.
Click here to see all the Site Membership Benefits!