Blog – Page 96 – Brake Experts

When I was talking to a few of my car enthusiast friends this weekend, the term brake bleeding stood out to me in the conversation. With the curiosity of what this meant long after I got home, I did a search online to answer my own question. As a result, I put all of the details together in this organized article that will explain the full concept of brake bleeding. What is brake bleeding? Brake bleeding is a process that is done to hydraulic braking systems in cars. In short, this process includes purging the air bubbles that form in the brakes over time in order to avoid any larger problems or brake failure in the future. For anyone who drives or owns any kind of automobile, it is important to be aware of the necessary maintenance tasks that will go along with keeping a healthy braking system. The last thing that you want is to have to replace something in your braking system down the road, which is why you should pay attention to all of the credentials now. If you happen to be having a particular issue with your braking system, or you are curious about brake bleeding just like I was, this article will cover everything that you need to know from point A to point Z. What Is Brake Bleeding? Brake bleeding is a vital process that must be completed in any automobile at one point or another. If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, however, there is nothing to worry about. The entire process of bleeding your brakes is relatively easy and smooth, and will provide a quick fix to any problems that you are having with air bubbles inside of your braking system. We are going to start off this section by discussing the answer to the main question, which is what brake bleeding consists of. Take a look at the list down below for a general overview of the characteristics, and keep reading for a more in depth description. Brake Bleeding: Releasing air bubbles in brakes Removing brake fluid to get rid of pockets Brake bleeding, as previously mentioned, is the process of releasing air bubbles in brakes. Over time, air will sometimes enter the braking system of a car and limit its stopping functions, which can quickly become dangerous if not properly handled. When you bleed your brakes, you will essentially be removing the brake fluid that is currently inside in order to get rid of the pockets of air that are trapped inside. Using just a few simple tools that you might already have in your garage, you can achieve this process. However, before we get into the steps of bleeding your own brakes at home, we will be going into a little bit more detail about the necessity of brake bleeding, which you can find in the next section. Is Brake Bleeding Necessary? When the question of whether or not brake bleeding is necessary in an automobile, the answer is absolutely. This is an essential process that will help you to ensure that your braking system is working properly and that you will not run into any issues in the future, at least in this aspect. In general, brake bleeding will be needed about every 30,000 miles that you drive in your car, if not much earlier. Otherwise, it can be done on an as-needed basis, which will be whenever you notice air bubbles in your brake fluid. In order to understand how necessary and important brake bleeding really is, it might help to find out the bad things that can happen if you choose not to. Take a look at the list below to put the importance of this process into perspective. Consequences Of Not Bleeding Brakes: Brake pedal force will compress the air bubbles (instead of brake fluid) Force exerted on brake pedal will not make it through braking system Overextended brake pedal Spongy brakes If you fail to bleed your brakes on a regular basis as well as when it is needed, the brake pedal force will compress the air bubbles alone, instead of the brake fluid. To be more specific, the force that you exert on the braking system when you place your foot on the brake pedal will only put force onto the empty space that contains air, instead of directing all of the pressure toward the brake fluid that needs to be targeted in this circumstance. When your brakes are working properly, the push that is provided by the brake pedal will indirectly release the brake fluid inside of the system, allowing it to flow freely and begin to push its weight against different components in efforts to stop the wheels of the car. In the event that these areas are full of air instead, the brakes will essentially miss their target, causing a problem with being able to stop the car on command. In addition, you might experience an overextended brake pedal, or in other words, a brake pedal that nearly touches the ground when you apply pressure to it. In doing this, you will not see many results when it comes to your car actually coming to a complete stop. This concept can also be referred to as spongy brakes, meaning that the pressure that you put onto the pedal will not do much, and the pedal itself will feel soft, very similar to a sponge. How To Bleed Your Own Brakes: DIY Now that we have established what brake bleeding consists of and how important it is with any automobile, you might be wondering how you can complete this process yourself. To tie this up, we will go over a brief step by step outline of how you can achieve this right at home. DIY Brake Bleeding: Check owner’s manual for brake fluid Jack up the entire vehicle Prop up the car with jack stands Remove all 4 ties from the exterior of the carLocate all 4 caliper bleeding screws insideLoosen them slightly, without removing Pop the hood and check the fluid level (using owner’s manual to locate this area) Add more brake fluid if needed Place one piece of small clear tubing over the screw in the caliperPlace the other end of the tube into a catch container (placed higher than the screw) Have someone else turn on the car and pump the brake pedal until pressure is found Open the screw to release the fluid while the other person continues to push on the brakes Before the brake fully hits the floor, close the screw and check the fluid level again, adding more to the fill line if necessary Repeat all of these steps up to 5 times to make sure all air bubbles are gone Test the brakes at full power one more time (A slight disturbance in fluid will indicate a braking system that has been bled properly) Tighten everything back up and replace all components around the vehicle As you can see, the process of bleeding your own brakes can be done in a series of easy to follow steps, with some simple pieces of equipment that you might even be a able to find in your garage already. Whether you decide to take this on as a DIY project or just take it to the local repair shop, it is important to remember that brake bleeding is necessary for a healthy braking system and safe driving experience, no matter how you choose to get it done.