First Time Brake Bleeding

jonesboy1983 · Post by **jonesboy1983** » 21 Jan 2012, 20:52

I want to bleed my brakes on my 98 S70 and I had a couple questions. I have not been able to find much about bleeding the brakes so I assume it is fairly straightforward but I wanted to have a few things straight before I started.

1. Do I have to have the car raised to do this? Most sources seem to say put it on jack stands but I only have ramps. Can I get away with ramps or do I need jack stands.

2. If I need to put on jack stands do I need to remove the tires?

3. How much new brake fluid should I buy if doing a power bleed?

Thanks.

Post by **rspi** » 21 Jan 2012, 21:31

1. The car does't have to be raised but you will need to be able to reach the bleeder ports, so the tires will have to come off.

2. Yes tires removed so you can reach the ports.

3. You will need .6 qts according to the manual: https://www.customers.volvocars.com/own ... .htm#pg137
I'd get more since you will loose a little in the bleed process.

Also, I believe there is a wheel order to do. LF, RF, LR, RR.

jonesboy1983 · Post by **jonesboy1983** » 22 Jan 2012, 12:45

Thanks for the reply. So should I jack the back of the car, put it on jack stands, remove the rear wheels and bleed them, and then jack the front of the car, remove the front wheels, bleed them and then that's it?

Post by **cn90** » 22 Jan 2012, 13:22

Actually you can bleed with the car on the ground.
Just turn the FRONT wheels in and out to expose the bleed nipples.
The Rear caliper is easy because of high ground clearance.
As long as you have a helper, then you are fine.
If you use 2-person technique, then place a piece of wood below the brake pedal to avoid "over-travel".

Myself, I use an air compressor to bleed and it is a piece of cake!

DIY: 1-man Hydraulic Bleeding Kit using Air Compressor!
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=29243

Post by **Xilikon** » 23 Jan 2012, 10:04

Actually, you would bleed from the caliper farthest from the master cylinder which mean this order : RR, LR, RF, LF.

It's doable with the wheels still installed but it's not ideal. Without wheels, bleeding is very easy and if the bleeding screw is struck or broken, you would need to remove the wheel anyway to deal with it.

Post by **LamboSE5** » 04 Feb 2012, 16:09

rspi wrote:1. The car does't have to be raised but you will need to be able to reach the bleeder ports, so the tires will have to come off.

2. Yes tires removed so you can reach the ports.

3. You will need .6 qts according to the manual: https://www.customers.volvocars.com/own ... .htm#pg137
I'd get more since you will loose a little in the bleed process.

Also, I believe there is a wheel order to do. LF, RF, LR, RR.

This is what I was just looking for, the bleeding order - if there was one. So I guess the order is:"from closest wheel to the fluid reservoir, to furthest wheel from the reservoir"... correct?

Other site(s) saying Rear passenger, Rear driver, Front passenger, Front driver -- which is the opposite.

Question: What if you're just changing 1 caliper? Like the front right? Can you just bleed that one?

I'm trying this method: "600ml soda bottle with clear tubing going from the bleeder screw, through the cap of the bottle (air tightly), to the bottom of the bottle. I will fill the bottle with enough fresh brake fluid to submerge the tube at the bottom of the bottle (and then some).

I will also have the bottle raised to a level above the caliper - like up near the coolant expansion tank. I read, and I figure, this way if there's any air bubbles, they'll rise up easier...? With gravity.

Or, should I just put the bottle on the ground. I would require less new brake fluid (shorter tubing). And really, I think the bubbles will still be pushed out - but I dunno.

Anybody use this method? Thoughts?

Thank you.

Example of bleeder method I'll be trying: (I'm not sure if you need to cut a "second" hole in the top of the bottle, but I think that would stop any building up of pressure inside the bottle...so, it's probably better actually. But I don't think it would matter for the amount of bleeding/pumping being done on 1 caliper at a time)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... fTmlOZbXgs

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 04 Feb 2012, 16:50

no. Bleed from the furthest to the nearest.

Just put the bottle on the ground. Raising it high does nothing. I watched part of the video, and I would not bother with the wire tie or the grease on the nipple. Just get plastic tubing that fits tightly over the nipple.

One thing to watch out for is to not let the master cylinder go dry as you bleed each brake. When the brake fluid flows into the tubing the level in the master cylinder will drop by the same amount, so check it frequently and make sure it does not empty, or you will have to bleed everything from the master cylinder to each of the brakes, and that is a bit of a pain. Just add fluid to keep it topped up as needed. Keep the tubing short to minimize the amount of fluid drained from the cylinder.

Post by **micah861** » 04 Feb 2012, 16:58

If you have any kind of suction tool, suck the resivore out before you start and fill it with new fluid. Also, flush a good quart through the system, brake fluid is cheap and you make sure you get all contaminates out.

Post by **LamboSE5** » 04 Feb 2012, 17:04

instarx wrote:no. Bleed from the furthest to the nearest.

Just put the bottle on the ground. Raising it high does nothing.

Thanks.

micah861 wrote:If you have any kind of suction tool, suck the resivore out before you start and fill it with new fluid. Also, flush a good quart through the system, brake fluid is cheap and you make sure you get all contaminates out.

Even if I'm only changing 1, or even 2 calipers? Like, if I did 1 caliper, are you saying change it -- but bleed a quarter of a "quart" through each of the 4 calipers. Or just flush it all out through the one caliper? 'Cause there could be 'contaminants' in the lines of the other ones, right?

I'll buy more synth. dot 4 before I do this anyway.
Thanks guys.

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 04 Feb 2012, 17:09

If you are just changing one caliper, you only have to bleed that brake line, not all of them.

There is some confusion here about brake bleeding and brake flushing. If you are just bleeding the brakes to get air out of the system that was introduced during some brake work, you don't need to flush large amounts of fluid through the system. Only enough to get the air bubbles out of the line where you broke it. That only takes a few cc's usually. If you want to flush your system then feel free, but it isn't necessary.