Brake fluid flush

[Fordboy300]

Hey guys hope everyone is doing great.  

What would be the proper way to do a brake fluid flush my passenger front caliper gave out about two weeks ago and I found these nice looking calipers on rockauto from Powerstop that come powder coated.

So I was gonna changed them out yesterday but I looked at the brake fluid and it look pretty nasty and I thought to myself I dont wanna run this stuff in the new calipers what if I do a brake flush.  I never done one in my life ever!

All I know the old school way on bleeding the brakes with my dad.  I was thinking of going all out and buying that Harbor freight unit.

[Machspeed]

Flush it like you'd bleed it, starting from the right rear, then left rear, right front, and then left front. Check your master and add fresh fluid frequently so no air gets in. Basically, flush till clean fluid comes out each wheel cylinder.    

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'll add that you should suck the nasty fluid out of your reservoir and wipe all the scunge out of there before you start.
Then fill it and commence bleeding.

There's no reason to run a bunch of junk through your system.

[Machspeed]

Good point and exactly what I did when I replaced my master.

[Rusty_S85]

Fordboy300 wrote

Hey guys hope everyone is doing great.  

What would be the proper way to do a brake fluid flush my passenger front caliper gave out about two weeks ago and I found these nice looking calipers on rockauto from Powerstop that come powder coated.

So I was gonna changed them out yesterday but I looked at the brake fluid and it look pretty nasty and I thought to myself I dont wanna run this stuff in the new calipers what if I do a brake flush.  I never done one in my life ever!

All I know the old school way on bleeding the brakes with my dad.  I was thinking of going all out and buying that Harbor freight unit.

Me personally I have one of those hand operated mityvacs with the brake adapters, I simply use it to pull the fluid out of the master cylinder pour in fresh fluid then go to each wheel and pull fluid through till I get clear fluid.

You can also do it via bleeding as well considering brake lines dont hold a whole lot of fluid themselves.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I wish my Silverline had a bigger catch bottle.
I think it's only around 4-5oz, and that means emptying it a few times to get clear fluid on that first  (RR) slave cylinder....

[Gary Lewis]

I hope you have the newer plastic Mityvac.  I had a metal one and brake fluid got in it when the container got full and it KILLED it.  Replaced it with the plastic one.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I've had the metal one for 30 years.
I did have to replace the diaphragm a couple of years back.
It works fine, but a bigger reservoir with a non-tip base would be nice.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, a larger reservoir w/a non-tip base would be helpful.  But I gave up using my Mityvac to bleed brakes 'cause of the air bleed around the threads on the bleeder screw.  That's why I love the later master cylinder - single screw-on lid so it is easy to pressure bleed.

[Pete Whitstone]

When I replaced my MC a few weeks ago, I started with my metal Mityvac, but realized my hand would turn to rubber from all the pumping long before I ever got done... got to be a better way... I started eyeballing the shop vac. I found a leftover chunk of 1/8" metal from a hole saw operation, it covered the end of the shop vac nozzle except for the hole in the middle from the "guide drill". Then I plugged that smaller hole with a cone-shaped piece from my Mityvac kit, which had a hole down the center of it. I pushed that cone into a tube, which lead to the catch reservoir, also from the Mityvac kit. Connected all that to the bleeder nipple and pulled the fluid through in the correct wheel sequence. It comes through pretty fast so be careful not to run the MC dry. Took me about 20 minutes to do all 4 wheels.

[Gary Lewis]

Now THAT is ingenuity!!!  

[Jstas]

Honestly, if you're replacing calipers, a new master cylinder isn't that expensive on these. Might be a good idea to get a new one instead of messing with the grungy old one. Only reason I say that is depending on age, I've had master cylinders get seals destroyed when you have to do a heavy bleeding project like replacing calipers. But last I checked, master cylinders for 1980-1996 Ford F-series that don't have ABS are less than $100 at Rock Auto.

Side note, though, I'd replace both calipers unless you are doing a stock remanufactured one. Honestly, just upgrading one side to new and leaving the other side old can tend to create a problem where the old side will start dragging a pad.

Also, the HF auto-bleeders, I've heard good and bad things about them. They are simple to use but I've heard many complaints that they don't hold up to multiple bleeding efforts and sometimes don't make it through one bleeding effort. So fair warning there.

I have multiple vehicles, though, so I went and got a better auto bleeder from a company called Motive. It wasn't expensive, $50-$60 from Summit Racing. I've used it several times and all I needed was an adapter to fit the different resevoir cap threads. The adapters weren't expensive, though. But, again, I've had to use it multiple times and I didn't want to mess with possible failures from an HF unit when I was trying to get brake work done.

Here's Motive's website: https://www.motiveproducts.com/

[Jstas]

Just make sure you don't leave it sucking on a single too long, especially with wheel cylinders. That amount of suction can pull any seals out of alignment and create leaks. Also, like what was said, don't let the MC run dry!

[Gary Lewis]

If buying a new master I’d urge considering the later one with the aluminum body and plastic reservoir. No leaks and it can be a bolt-on.

[Rusty_S85]

Gary Lewis wrote

I hope you have the newer plastic Mityvac.  I had a metal one and brake fluid got in it when the container got full and it KILLED it.  Replaced it with the plastic one.

Mine is plastic, about 15 years old now if not 20.  I got the big floor model that holds I think its 2 gallons.  I use it for coolant as well.  Like if im doing a timing cover for example I will stick the tube down into the block through the water pump passage to drain the block further to prevent that constant seepage of coolant as the vehicle rocks as you are cleaning the gasket material off.  Helps prevent the coolant from messing up any silicone I apply to said gasket and gasket surface.

I even used it to drain axle gear oil seeing as the only way to drain it on a 9" is to pull the center pumpkin which is a pita to do just to drain the fluid.  Im actually contemplating drilling the bottom of the axle housing when I get my new currie center pumpkin and install a pipe plug as a drain plug in the bottom to make life easier.

[Rusty_S85]

Jstas wrote

Honestly, if you're replacing calipers, a new master cylinder isn't that expensive on these. Might be a good idea to get a new one instead of messing with the grungy old one. Only reason I say that is depending on age, I've had master cylinders get seals destroyed when you have to do a heavy bleeding project like replacing calipers. But last I checked, master cylinders for 1980-1996 Ford F-series that don't have ABS are less than $100 at Rock Auto.

Side note, though, I'd replace both calipers unless you are doing a stock remanufactured one. Honestly, just upgrading one side to new and leaving the other side old can tend to create a problem where the old side will start dragging a pad.

Also, the HF auto-bleeders, I've heard good and bad things about them. They are simple to use but I've heard many complaints that they don't hold up to multiple bleeding efforts and sometimes don't make it through one bleeding effort. So fair warning there.

I have multiple vehicles, though, so I went and got a better auto bleeder from a company called Motive. It wasn't expensive, $50-$60 from Summit Racing. I've used it several times and all I needed was an adapter to fit the different resevoir cap threads. The adapters weren't expensive, though. But, again, I've had to use it multiple times and I didn't want to mess with possible failures from an HF unit when I was trying to get brake work done.

Here's Motive's website: https://www.motiveproducts.com/

Same can be said about the eastwood one man bleeders that they sell.  I got the set the one with the wrenches that snap over the bleeder screw and you hook your hose to it with a one way check valve.  work great the first few times then it stopped working as the check valve constantly keeps getting stuck.  Its not like I left it dirty after each use I ran water through it and used compressed air and gently blew through it to dry it out.

[Fordboy300]

Hey everyone sorry I've been MIA.   I have been working night shift at work and I sleep in the morning.  So I literally have no life right now haha.  I just changed both calipers and I bought the HF pneumatic brake bleeder and it works good and all but when it came down to bleeding I didnt like it or maybe i didnt do it right so my dad and I just bled them how we usually do.  

I'll post picture of what the calipers look like they look very nice!  

Also I did read about changing out the MC and I didnt because the one I have isnt too old