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Brake Bleeding


FIJI-9-Brother

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So... the bleeder valve on my TL for the front brakes is kinda tucked behind the caliper when its on the rotor... i dont have a wrench small enough to maneuver the valve nut to open the valve to bleed the fluid.

Question: can i bleed the brakes with the calipers off the rotors if i am using a vacuum pump rather than squeezing the brake lever to release the fluid...

thanks for any help and advice

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Take the rotors off and bleed the calipers off the bike with each pad surface against its corresponding sides of the rotors, once bled then reassemble. Stack something under each rotor so the calipers can reach them. Its the harder way, but you'll be sure that each line/caliper is bled completely, and you'll have easier access to the bleeders

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Take the rotors off and bleed the calipers off the bike with each pad surface against its corresponding sides of the rotors, once bled then reassemble. Stack something under each rotor so the calipers can reach them. Its the harder way, but you'll be sure that each line/caliper is bled completely, and you'll have easier access to the bleeders

Or this. :D

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Had another thought - if you pull the rotors to bleed the calipers away from the mounts, ziptie the rotor thru a bolthole and around the caliper so it can all stay together while you pump and purge over and over. That way you can move the caliper around without the rotor falling out each time you open the bleeder

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As long as you vacuum bleed, you don't need to worry about whether the caliper is attached to the fork leg. As a matter of fact, I usually use a wedge to push the caliper piston all the way in BEFORE I bleed the line to make sure all the old fluid is flushed and that I get the maximum amount of fresh DOT4 into the system. NOTE: When you do this, make sure your master fluid level is low enough to allow the fluid from the caliper to backflow into the reservoir without overflowing!!!

Once removed, the main thing to make sure of is that you hold the caliper so that the bleeder valve is UP to ensure all the air is expelled from the brake housing. I do agree with other posters that a 1/4"-drive socket--maybe using a universal joint or one of the wobble sockets--should be able to reach the bleeder valve, but I'm not familiar with your bike's set-up.

DO NOT bleed this way using the tried-and-true method of pumping the master cylinder piston!!!

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I've gravity fed through the master cyl before, takes a lot of tubing, a step ladder and preferably two people. With a big bottle of fluid up on the ladder, siphon down into tube attatchrd to open bleeder nipple, it will force air and old fluid up the lines and into the master, just need to either siphon it out or suck out with turkey baster as the cup fills.

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I used to take a small brass punch and put in the top of the bleeder and tap it lightly with a hammer before trying to loosen the bleeder. Seems to break it loose so you can open it without snapping it off. Depending on the location of the bleeder I always tried to used either a 6 pt wrench or socket to prevent slippage and rounding the bleeder off.

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Pauly beat me to it - i was going to suggest just using a spare rotor, or something of similar thickness. The calipers just have to be squeezing something. It doesn't have to be a brake rotor.

Heck, you could take off the rear wheel and use the front caliper to grab the rear rotor if you really don't have anything around that is proper thickness.

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  • 2 weeks later...
If you turn your caliper upside-down' date=' you will trap air in the bottom (well, now it's the top) and you will have a spongy lever. The bleed screw is on top for a reason... air rises.[/quote']

haha i was wondering when someone would catch on to that..

i used a vacuum pump when i did mine, my rear caliper bleeder screw was right under my exhaust and i could get like a 1/16 of a turn on it.. but it doesnt have to be open a ton..

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