problem bleeding breaks

[monster 84r]

hey guys i bled my brakes last night, but i went untill it was dry. now when i pull the lever, theres no presure or resistance. im using dot3 fluid, what did i do wrong? i know the brake is good because it worked descent before.

[xd 200x]

use dot 4 I had the same problem till i searched the forum and found the answer

[monster 84r]

thanks, i thought i messed up somethin important like a seal etc.

[xd 200x]

nope dot 4 will fix it Trust me i had the same problem and went through a whole container of dot 3. If it went for these forums I wouldnt have been able to ride sunday.

[resto250r]

I think your supposed to use dot 4 anyway but I have toped off with dot 3 no problems. If you ran it out in the reservoir while bleeding you'll have to bleed it more to get all the air out.

[faf_racing]

I think your supposed to use dot 4 anyway but I have toped off with dot 3 no problems. If you ran it out in the reservoir while bleeding you'll have to bleed it more to get all the air out.
Yes never run it DRY!! thats when you get air.

[Glenn J]

I've never heard of the DOT 4 trick before. I'll have to look into that.

If the system is dry, start by filling up the resi, cracking the bleeder, pumping, closing the bleeder, then letting off. Repeat that a few times and you should have all the air out. I've bleed the brakes on my trike solo, just takes a little cordination.

[Jason Hall]

If you have air in the system it really does'nt matter what you put in there you have to get the air out. You should run what ever the master cover recomends. From what I have been told you should never mix dot-3 & dot-4, but I have probably have done that myself also. I have found that the simplest way to bleed brakes on quads & motorcycles is with a vacume pump. It pulls the fluid rite through, you don't have to keep pumping the master cylinder. When you keep pumping the master cyl it airates the fluid, & it takes time for the air & fluid to separate. I have also found that if you gravity bleed, (leave the master lid off, & leave bleeder open),until fluid runs out of the bleeder. Then close the bleeder & pump the brake once then open the bleeder. Then you can get the air out quicker. Once your sure you have most of the air out by pumping once & opening the bleeder, then you can pump it more times,& open the bleeder. The problem is the master cylinder on quads don't have alot of volume when you pump it, so the fluid & air just moves back & forth it wont push the fluid all the way out in one stroke.

[ATCWRENCH]

if ya want a real easy way to bleed your brakes and make them rock solid got www.jlatvproducts.com, left side of the page look for online catalog, click on it.

on the left side of the next page everything is put into alphebetical order, look for brake bleeder in the B section. for $30 its the easiest bleeder I have ever used. I have used it on all of my ATC's, my cars on brake jobs and I've used it to bleed a clutch system with remarkable results.

it pushes the fluid through the bleeder up to the master cylinder so the air goes up and out of the master cylinder. you have to leave the master cylinder cap off so the air can exscape(sp). when you see fluid in the cylinder tighten the bleeder and finish pouring fluid in the cylinder and pump the lever one time and you are done bleeding the brake system. re-install the cap and go ridin.

[TeamGeek6]

DOT 4 replaces DOT 3 but not the other way around.

[xd 200x]

dot 4 works. actually if you feel the temp of the fliud when you are bleeding them dot 3 gets hot as hell. cot 4 does not. just try it once you will see what Im talking about.

[honda200]

if you switch from DOT 3 to DOT 4, you hve to flush your system out before running the DOT 4

also, when you close the bleed valve, pump your brakes, but hold it to the bar (or as close as you can to the bar) and get someone else to open the bleed valve, repeat that process until all the air is out

thats a simpler way, and we use it at work all the time ;)

Curtis

[Old 179]

Honda service manual has "Do not mix DOT5 with Dots3 or 4". Clymer has "Do not intermix different brands or types of brake fluid as they may not be compatible". Which has been said above, look at the mastercylinder plate and use what is recomend. I'll add that it is good to flush and replace brake fluid every two years as stated in service manual. I use a whole quart and flush it out real good. Fluid is cheap, brake repairs cause by not changing fluid is not