Brake help. 2003 Chevy Blazer.

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A few months ago the brakes started getting squishy like they needed bled. I took a wheel off to start bleeding, but the bleed nipple was rusted shut and I couldn't get it loose.

I figured I'd do one wheel at a time, and do one a night and have it done by the weekend.

I started with the rear passenger side. I bought new rear calipers and pads today. Installed them, everything seemed fine. Can not get it to bleed. I had Mrs. P pump and hold the pedal while I worked the bleed valve. No fluid comes out.

I tried using my vacuum pump. No fluid comes out. I don't see any leaks, but there could be a hidden one somewhere.

I've just never had the issue of not getting fluid at all when bleeding brakes.

Could it be the master cylinder?
 
Is it anti-lock?

Yeah.

Are you going to tell me the anti lock module has 20 valves and twists and turns in the line that are impossible to get air out of? I'm sure that's what you're going to say, but I really don't want to hear that.
 
Could be the anti-lock, but it sounds to me like a clogged brake line.

It should bleed, no matter what, if it is anti-lock or not.

Could also be a hole in the master cylinder, but it should bleed if you leave it overnight.....gravity works, you know?

Something's wrong, for sure.
Maybe leave it open overnight and see if you get anything out of it?
 
Could be the anti-lock, but it sounds to me like a clogged brake line.

It should bleed, no matter what, if it is anti-lock or not.

If it's a clogged brake line, should I go against conventional bleeding technique and start at the front drivers side and move further out until I stop getting fluid?
 
If it's a clogged brake line, should I go against conventional bleeding technique and start at the front drivers side and move further out until I stop getting fluid?

Not sure how yours is run.....

I've seen some weird stuff in the brake category ('99 Explorer, anyone?), but I have never seen one that didn't bleed before.

Something has to be clogged.

Has to be.

Or you have an air bubble the size of God in there.....(pinhole leak).

It may not hurt to bleed from front to back, you should get fluid for sure.

Maybe even bleeding that way will pump the clog out, who knows? (which would be ideal).....but I would definitely go through them all......you know what you're doing.......should jizz fluid when you stomp on the brakes with the key on. If not, there's a problem there.
 
What happens is the brake hoses get kinda fuzzy inside. Try replacing the hoses. I had to do mine at about 110k miles.
 
It should blow fluid whether the key is on or not.

I think tomorrow I'll crack the bleeder and just let gravity do its thing for while. If that doesn't get fluid flowing, I'll move to the driver's side rear and see if there's fluid there. Process of elimination. I've already got the new caliper for the rear driver's side, since I'd planned on replacing all 4.
 
It should blow fluid whether the key is on or not.

I think tomorrow I'll crack the bleeder and just let gravity do its thing for while. If that doesn't get fluid flowing, I'll move to the driver's side rear and see if there's fluid there. Process of elimination. I've already got the new caliper for the rear driver's side, since I'd planned on replacing all 4.

Gravity ought to work.
As for pissing fluid, I don't know how yours are run, but there is a vacuum pressure thing for some models that actually builds up pressure to force the fluid down the tubes (my Jaguar has one of these)......a pinhole in THAT hose can cause weird shit to happen (like a bit of fluttering when you first hit the brake after start up, when you hit the brakes at the end of the driveway kind of thing, then they're fine.....).
THAT particular vacuum thing-y is only charged when the key is on.
Same goes for anti-lock mechanism brakes. Only on when the sensor is powered.


I think through process of elimination, and leaving the cap off the master cylinder and the lines open, you should find your problem.
 
Yeah.

Are you going to tell me the anti lock module has 20 valves and twists and turns in the line that are impossible to get air out of? I'm sure that's what you're going to say, but I really don't want to hear that.
Well, yeah...

You should still be able to pull fluid through it with the pump...go with your idea and try all the other corners...if there's a valve stuck in the ABS you should be able to at least isolate it that way and get 3 wheels working...not that I'd drive it that way...
 
Well, yeah...

You should still be able to pull fluid through it with the pump...go with your idea and try all the other corners...if there's a valve stuck in the ABS you should be able to at least isolate it that way and get 3 wheels working...not that I'd drive it that way...

Three wheels working would probably be better than it's been the last couple of months. :embarrassed:
 
Did fluid come out of the line when you took the banjo bolt off the old caliper to do the swap?
 
Did you crack the left rear and see if you get normal fluid flow on bleed?

w/o looking at the brake circuit, that's an easy check to see if the problem is isolated to that line or both. If both, then you have to look further up the circuit, prob from the ABS modulator back.
 
I haven't tried the driver's side rear yet. I plan to try cracking the passenger side again today and seeing if it will eventually gravity bleed. I'm probably not going to get around to the driver's side today, because I'm also going to be replacing the caliper over there and I don't want to spend all evening under the car again.

I'll post my progress (and failures) as I have them.
 
OBDII Requires that the ABS be fully functional or it will automatically throw a code. Anything that affects the ABS will disable it, and trigger the check engine light.

Check the prop valve.

It is a high failure rate part.

If you can't get fluid out of both rear bleeders, while gravity bleeding with the cap off and the car level, it's definitely not the master, and definitely not the calipers.
 
Rubber lines. They deteriorate from the inside and plug up.

I actually bought new rubber lines, but after looking at the connection between the metal brake line and the rubber one, I didn't try to install it, fearing that I'd snap the metal line in the process.
 
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