Jump to content

Brake flush procedure?

askibum02

Recommended Posts

askibum02 Enthusiast

askibum02

Posted
Posted

I'm getting ready to flush my brakes next weekend with a Motive pressure bleeder.  Is there anything special I need to do with these particular trucks?  My plan is to start with the furthest point and work my way around, i.e passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front.  Do I need to worry about cycling the ABS or anything?

davester Senior Enthusiast

davester

Posted
Posted

If you have the regular/basic Motive pressure bleeder, it comes with a plastic cap that screws onto the brake reservoir.  You don't want to exceed about 10-12 or so psi using it, as going higher, the cap may pop off, spraying corrosive brake fluid all around your engine bay.  This happened to me when I tried to use the pressure specified in GM's full-service manual for my truck (IIRC, 25 psi).

 

The lower pressure works just fine, perhaps not quite as fast.  If you really want to use a higher pressure, Motive sells a metal adapter cap, which stays on at higher pressures.

 

The main thing to be careful of, is for the reservoir on the truck to not get empty.  If it does, everything you've done up to that point is wasted, and you have to start over with bleeding the master cylinder, then all 4 corners.  If you are at all in doubt of having enough fluid to bleed a corner without the reservoir running dry, release the pressure, add more fluid, pump it up and then continue.  It may take a couple minutes, but WAY less time than starting over.

 

The ABS system will retain a small amount of the old brake fluid.  Because you haven't introduced air into the brake system, there is nothing special you need to do to bleed air out of the ABS system (unless, of course, you run the reservoir dry, in which case you should bleed the abs system as well).

 

If you want to get that last bit of old fluid out of the abs system, you can either use a computer (tech ii system, autogenuity w gm enhancement, or other system tools, which should/will have the procedure for doing it), or you can do it "redneck style", by bleeding all 4 corners as you decide (furthers from MC to nearest), then do a couple of panic stops on a gravel road to activate the abs system several times, then go back home and bleed all 4 corners again.

 

You may also want to spring for the little rubber caps for the bleed screws, as water tends to sit in them and then rust the screw to the brake assembly...

Nitrousbird Enthusiast

Nitrousbird

Posted
Posted
On 6/2/2019 at 3:48 AM, davester said:

If you have the regular/basic Motive pressure bleeder, it comes with a plastic cap that screws onto the brake reservoir.  You don't want to exceed about 10-12 or so psi using it, as going higher, the cap may pop off, spraying corrosive brake fluid all around your engine bay.  This happened to me when I tried to use the pressure specified in GM's full-service manual for my truck (IIRC, 25 psi).

 

The lower pressure works just fine, perhaps not quite as fast.  If you really want to use a higher pressure, Motive sells a metal adapter cap, which stays on at higher pressures.

This.  Motive bleeder is the way to go.  Our German cars use DOT-4, which requires a change out every 2 years, so I do it frequently.  Just used mine on my boat trailer as well.  I will never, ever do the pump the brakes method again.  This makes it quick and painless.  I just replaced all the brake lines in my trailer last weekend and it took maybe 20 minutes (wheels on, boat on the trailer, so lots of sliding on my back) to get it fully bled.  It would have taken 2 people a good hour+ to do it manually.  

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • twgraham
      Video processing module location

      By twgraham · Posted

      Can someone tell me where the video processing module is in a 2023 Silverado? I'm getting conflicting results that it's in the front passenger area or the rear passenger area behind the seat.
    • Chuck FB
      Missing thrust bearing? And oil selection

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      Yes I agree, its what amounts to free advertising to let people know about his UOA testing company, and not that there is anything wrong with that but certainly that is a motivator for putting out videos about the science of oil as well as other topics such as oil and air filtration etc. The interesting part I found with his last video is not only the physics behind the reason for the varying wear due to a diesels working torque range causing more bearing load and that higher viscosity oil is of benefit, it was also that the chemistry behind the GM Dexos 0W-20 and the Mobil Dexos licensed 0W-20 are far enough apart that its showing up with a difference in wear even though the two oils are matched in viscosity and in that comparison viscosity was not having the finger pointed at it.    There are a few youtubers out there or one anyway that I have watched a bit of who has gone through the pains of accessing various countries manuals for a certain engine platform and while in the US/Canada it may say use 0W-20 or what have you for some Toyota product, in some other countries it sings a very different tune for the very same engine with the typical traditional oil viscosity/ambient temperature charts to help choose which oil viscosity is correct for the conditions the vehicle will be used in and in some cases its taken an engine in a US manual that states only use 0W-20 as per warranty coverage and yet that same engine in certain other countries may have up to a 15W-40 etc oil option that meets the spec. Another words the guy who is driving through Death Valley or Phoenix and south weather at 120f is often being fed a line of bs by the US system that has forced vehicle companies to restrict the warranty to a specific low viscosity oil for anterior reasons as well as the long drain interval suggestions.    Thankfully youtube is free ( yet anyway ) for viewers to sift through information and of course comes with the good and the bad ( truth and lies ) and we can choose to turn off/not watch what a person finds is bs or just not interested in the topic.         
    • Atlas
      Missing thrust bearing? And oil selection

      By Atlas · Posted

      No doubt... But, as someone who doesn't pay for his services, but who has provided a few views/clicks on his Youtube platform, the data around the Mobil oil testing I think does have some value including to "freeloaders" like me.   A lot of what he's doing is likely showing the OE's work in their oil selection, something that many of us had kind of assumed was true all along, a good balance of both excellent protection and efficiency.
    • Z45
      Missing thrust bearing? And oil selection

      By Z45 · Posted

      Lake Speed is drumming up business for his company just by being in the spot-light so he has a vested interest in stoking the 0W-20 fire.  IMO  
    • Chuck FB
      summer road trips in the 2026 2500HD

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I knew when I bought my truck that it had off road hill decent or craw control or whatever they call it and rolled my eyes at that but it gets throw on with other options my truck has, I just never had a heads up if the highway speed regular cruise setting had anything to do with the brakes and that took me by surprise. If you've ever been to the top of Pikes Peak and watched those ahead of you on the way down with their brake lights on constantly, one can guess they are probably not gearing down or not enough anyway if their vehicle will allow and a good reason their is a brake check spot part way down where they use an infra red heat gun to check how hot ones brakes are front and rear.    Your right that once one gets out of the front range by Denver and I've not been on that stretch of 285 between Denver and Fairplay myself but I know its high and Fairplay at 10000 feet, Buena Vista at 8000, it drops a bit from there but then your going back up and over the 11000 pass and Durango is at 6500 . So yes your definitely right that 6500 and a lot higher is the theme of going anywhere out in that direction from Denver but hey, the down hill sections give fantastic fuel mileage !.    I don't even look at the fuel pumps for what premium costs here, since I live on a farm and up to this point get fuel delivered I am rarely in front of a fuel pump and when I am, I am often using card lock bulk fuel stations so it tells me what the price is AFTER I buy the fuel. Looking up on gas buddy and converting to US gallons but in Canadian dollars, regular on average of the prices listed was around 5.95 and premium is around 7.00 . That was one reason I did not go for the 6.2 half ton aside from its lack of carrying/towing if one was going by the rule of using premium fuel and until recently one could only buy regular farm gas if playing the few cents off game for farm dyed fuel for a "farm licensed pickup". But yes I hear you on the fuel price difference and like the diesel theme with it often being more expensive then gas it doesn't have quite the charm to it either as it once did although right now here for some reason the price of diesel has come down more so its now inline with the price of regular gas. 

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...