Brake flushing on 2016 Silverado

[mikeyk101]

As the title suggests, I want to ask about flushing the brake lines on my 2016 Silverado. I do it on my bikes every 2 years or so and every so often like to have it done on my vehicles. In the past, I have always had it done by dealerships or service shops. I did have it done once a couple years back on my Silverado but would like to give it a try myself. It does have the ABS braking system like other vehicles I have owned in the past. I read once quite a few years ago that ABS brakes may require a special tool in order to properly bleed them. However I just found an article on Internet ( yah I know...) that says even with ABS brake systems, I should be able to do the old, pump, pump, pump, keep brake lever pushed down, and then crack the bleeder and flush it that way as long as there is no air in the system.

 

I know that even with a "sealed" system, the fluid can still get contaminated. And there is nothing better than brakes on a new car the way they feel and grab right away. There is nothing wrong with mine and they still function ok but not quite the same as I remember back when my truck was still new in 2016. I got the opportunity to drive a friend's brand new Colorado this weekend and was reminded how mine used to feel.

 

So does that sound right? Can I just still do it the old fashioned way?

 

 

[CamGTP]

You only need to bleed the ABS pump if there is air in the system. If you just pick a line and start bleeding it, it will eventually run clear when enough fluid goes through it. You'll probably go through 2 quarts of fluid or more to do each wheel one at a time. It's how I do it, just one wheel at a time with 2 people.

[discgolf01]

7 hours ago, mikeyk101 said:

As the title suggests, I want to ask about flushing the brake lines on my 2016 Silverado. I do it on my bikes every 2 years or so and every so often like to have it done on my vehicles. In the past, I have always had it done by dealerships or service shops. I did have it done once a couple years back on my Silverado but would like to give it a try myself. It does have the ABS braking system like other vehicles I have owned in the past. I read once quite a few years ago that ABS brakes may require a special tool in order to properly bleed them. However I just found an article on Internet ( yah I know...) that says even with ABS brake systems, I should be able to do the old, pump, pump, pump, keep brake lever pushed down, and then crack the bleeder and flush it that way as long as there is no air in the system.

 

I know that even with a "sealed" system, the fluid can still get contaminated. And there is nothing better than brakes on a new car the way they feel and grab right away. There is nothing wrong with mine and they still function ok but not quite the same as I remember back when my truck was still new in 2016. I got the opportunity to drive a friend's brand new Colorado this weekend and was reminded how mine used to feel.

 

So does that sound right? Can I just still do it the old fashioned way?

 

 

 

Yes, it's easy.  Highly recommend these 2 purchases to make it an easy 1 man job:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TK9FE8?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_9&th=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L52B4CX?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_9

 

 

[kickass audio]

4 hours ago, CamGTP said:

You only need to bleed the ABS pump if there is air in the system. If you just pick a line and start bleeding it, it will eventually run clear when enough fluid goes through it. You'll probably go through 2 quarts of fluid or more to do each wheel one at a time. It's how I do it, just one wheel at a time with 2 people.

 

As Cam said, it will not require any special tools. I would however give great recommendations and suggestions to use a vacuum pump to help with bleeding the brakes. I have a mityvac vacuum pump that is hand pumped and can dispense fluid as well. I bought the mityvac MVA6000 kit that gives you a ton of rubber adapters for hooking up to items like your bleeder valves and you can make your own custom tip too. The pump I use is a MV7201.

 

You can of course get a cheaper pump elsewhere but I cannot recommend mityvac enough. My only problem with my pump is the rubber stopper that fits on the top of the cylinder for draining out fluid has enlarged itself to the point where it can be hard to pull out of the pump. I swear that is my own problem though as I stored it with the stopper expanded and I think it set in that position.

 

I will add that you don't want something as simple as a harbor freight hand pump that is meant for hot oil draining. 

 

I personally flush the lines out every 3 years to the point that the fluid coming out is crystal clear. Start at the furthest point from your master cylinder (passenger rear), then go to the drivers rear, go to the front passenger, and end at the drivers front. I also do not depress the brake pedal at all during the bleeding. I found that on my old 2014 when I changed the brake fluid out, I was able to capture just a tiny bit of air in the lines as the tube on my pump showed some bubbles in it and it made a huge difference in brake performance after the flush.

[mikeyk101]

Excellent! Thank you @CamGTP @discgolf01 and @kickass audio for confirming what I thought. 

 

And I've grown pretty fond of the Motion Pro mini bleeders. I just noticed they are getting a bit pricey now though

 

Motion Pro 08-0482 8mm Mini Bleeder https://a.co/d/067iiby

 

They are pretty slick and work well. They have an internal one way valve so no worry about letting air back in the line and it made it much easier to do it as a one man job. And they are also a wrench at the same time for loosening and tightening. I used it last year to flush the brake lines on my daughter's 2014 Honda Pilot. I just put the hose in a large mason jar to collect the old stuff. I just need to figure out what size the bleeders are on these trucks. I'm guessing that these are probably not 8mm bleeders though. Anyone have that info?

 

I used to have an actual mityvac pump but after so many years, it kind of crapped out on me. It served me well for a very long time so maybe I might consider picking up a new one sometime soon.

 

Looks like I now have another project once it finally warms up for good for the year.

[mikeyk101]

Looks like I found my answer. The head of the screws are supposed to be 10mm. Of course, the Motion Pro I have is an 8mm. That figures...

 

 

Edited March 25, 2025 by mikeyk101

[rav3]

Let me make an old DIYers method based on a couple items.

1. Brake fluid is Hygroscopic (that absorb moisture)

2. the 2 main places fluid sees moisture is the reservoir & the calipers. 

So, with said, first remove all brake fluid in the reservoir & replace with new DOT 4 fluid. (You can use a DOT 3 but pretty much same price)

Ok, here's my 2nd step. When replacing brake pads, crack the bleeding screw with a clear tube connected & depress the caliper piston to push out most of the old fluid into a catch container.

Then when you pump your brakes to expand the brake caliper pistons, line fluid then fills the calipers.

I find this procedure remove a lot (not all) of the contaminated fluid. 

One thing I always do before hand is find a gravel road in summer or a snow covers road in the winter & slamp on the brakes several time to activate the ABS. This will mover fluid through the ABS pump.

Just some old timer info. I always replace the reservoir fluid about once every year or so to keep freash fluid feeding the brake system. I know, I'm old school. Lol.

[mikeyk101]

3 hours ago, rav3 said:

Let me make an old DIYers method based on a couple items.

1. Brake fluid is Hygroscopic (that absorb moisture)

2. the 2 main places fluid sees moisture is the reservoir & the calipers. 

So, with said, first remove all brake fluid in the reservoir & replace with new DOT 4 fluid. (You can use a DOT 3 but pretty much same price)

Ok, here's my 2nd step. When replacing brake pads, crack the bleeding screw with a clear tube connected & depress the caliper piston to push out most of the old fluid into a catch container.

Then when you pump your brakes to expand the brake caliper pistons, line fluid then fills the calipers.

I find this procedure remove a lot (not all) of the contaminated fluid. 

One thing I always do before hand is find a gravel road in summer or a snow covers road in the winter & slamp on the brakes several time to activate the ABS. This will mover fluid through the ABS pump.

Just some old timer info. I always replace the reservoir fluid about once every year or so to keep freash fluid feeding the brake system. I know, I'm old school. Lol.

 

Great info, Thanks! I knew about #1 and because of that, I know it's a good idea to flush the lines every so often even though most folks don't bother doing that. On my bikes, I always did it every 2 years at least especially since they have less fluid in their systems to begin with. And I fully agree to almost drain the master cylinder before going further as then fresh fluid begins to get pulled in right away. 

 

The tip about cracking bleeder when pushing the pistons in when changing the brake pads is one I think I will start doing as it just makes sense. And the tip on activating the ABS system is one I never even thought of. I will also now try to empty the master cylinder reservoir once a year as that also makes a lot of sense. I will probably even start doing it on my bike too.  

[rav3]

One FYI, BMW, which I've had many, recommends flushing fluids every 2 years....but most people don't. It's easy to just forget about I utilize it.

Edited March 27, 2025 by rav3

[kickass audio]

You're right on the bleeder size. It's 10MM for the head. You don't need a fancy motionpro tool. If your bleeders are very rusty I just take a normal 6 point 10MM socket to the bleeder and try to tighten them to see if it can move a tiny bit then if it does back it off and get on it with a 10MM 12 point open end wrench and hook the tube up to the nipple on the bleeder and let it flow.

 

I personally have a kobalt thru-socket set that they don't make anymore but it has 6 point sockets and allows you to use the ratchet and hook the hose to the bleeder and makes for fast brake jobs in the driveway. A similar tool to mine but with maybe 1/4 of the socket sizes is https://www.lowes.com/pd/Klein-Tools-8-inch-Impact-Pass-Thru-Socket-Wrench-Set-with-Case/5014447181?gStoreCode=1881&gQT=1

 

Another good suggestion for firming up your brake, jack the truck up on all 4's and put it into gear and spin the tires in the air (no need to hit the throttle though since it's not pushing the truck your speed will get up to around 30 MPH sometimes) and get the speed up to 20-30MPH and apply the brakes slowly. Your ABS will kick in like nuts. Do that once and then put the truck in 4 wheel drive high and do the same procedure. I will give a word of caution, doing this if you do it too many times will cause a ABS fault code that will light up your dash and say you have reduced speed because your wheel speed sensors will not be reading the same speed and your truck thinks it lost a wheel speed sensor. It's a easy fix though if this happens, just get the truck back on the ground and roll it down your driveway back and forth a few times, the light will turn off and you will be back in full control/power of the truck.

[mikeyk101]

Well I wimped out. I was bringing truck in to dealership for oil change and just had them flush the brake fluid and replace the rear brakes. I do most of the other maintenance on my vehicles, I just never felt comfortable doing rear disk brake changes. Fronts, I will do all day, every day. It's just something about the rears along with parking brake that I don't want to mess with. I'm sure if I did it a few times, I would lose the anxiety but oh well. And I knew the rears needed to be done, just didn't realize how bad. One side the pads were at 2mm and the other side were completely done. Now I'm good again for a long while. Fronts were checked and still got plenty of meat.

[MikeBMW]

On 6/25/2025 at 10:09 AM, mikeyk101 said:

And I knew the rears needed to be done, just didn't realize how bad. One side the pads were at 2mm and the other side were completely done. Now I'm good again for a long while. Fronts were checked and still got plenty of meat.

When I took mine into the dealer, I swore the front brakes needed attention.
Dealer called me me back and told me the fronts were great, but the rears needed attention.
I was happy to let them do the replacement.