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How much, and how long to bleed brakes?

Just got brakes on my car (2001 Nissan Maxima) and need to bleed out the brakes. I have never done this before and don't know anyone who knows how to do it so I will need to take it to a shop.

Anyone have an idea of how long it would take for all 4 wheels? If a shop had to do it how much do you think it would be. I don't think its very complicated..??

Thanks!
 
AnonymouseUser

AnonymouseUser

Diamond Member
EDIT >> Time Warp - OP below
edit: and moved to the proper forum - Anandtech Moderator DrPizza

Originally posted by: thatsright
Just got brakes on my car (2001 Nissan Maxima) and need to bleed out the brakes. I have never done this before and don't know anyone who knows how to do it so I will need to take it to a shop.

Anyone have an idea of how long it would take for all 4 wheels? If a shop had to do it how much do you think it would be. I don't think its very complicated..??

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If all you did was change the pads then you don't need to bleed the brake lines. Just make sure you have enough fluid in the brake fluid reservoir.

 
Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
EDIT >> Time Warp - OP below

Originally posted by: thatsright
Just got brakes on my car (2001 Nissan Maxima) and need to bleed out the brakes. I have never done this before and don't know anyone who knows how to do it so I will need to take it to a shop.

Anyone have an idea of how long it would take for all 4 wheels? If a shop had to do it how much do you think it would be. I don't think its very complicated..??

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If all you did was change the pads then you don't need to bleed the brake lines. Just make sure you have enough fluid in the brake fluid reservoir.
Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't mention I changed the calipers as they were leaking brake fluid. The reservoir is full, but I still have VERY spongy brakes.
 
Originally posted by: JLee
Originally posted by: thatsright
Originally posted by: JLee
http://www.popularmechanics.co...ve/how_to/4213448.html

🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks man, that was pretty informative. But the problem is I don't have jacks, so I feel like I have to take it to a shop??
Click to expand...

How did you change calipers without a jack? 😕
Click to expand...

Well I got it done locally at a shop, but for whatever reason they didn't bleed them out.; Didn't realize this until after they were closed and now I have no confidence in them. So if I can't get them done there, well then....
 
It is very difficult for 1 person to bleed the brakes alone unless you have special equipments.

And if you don't even have a jack, are you planning on crawling under the car and reaching the bleeder from behind the hubs? Or use your tiny fingers and reach through the wheel spokes?
 
You don't need a jack as alluded to above, but you do need 2 people. The other person can be a lobotomy patient though, as all they need to understand are the words pump, and hold. The basic gist is you get them to pump the brakes, then push on the pedal. You loosen the bleeder screw, and the air(as well as some fluid) gets pushed out. You do that, until no air comes out. Top up the brake fluid as necessary, and repeat on all 4 wheels.
 
Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Read the thread guys, he's getting this done at a shop.
Click to expand...

He didn't really say that. He wasn't sure he could do it himself, so the shop was mentioned. It's an easy job to do, and you don't need anything but a wrench to to it.
 
Originally posted by: thatsright
Originally posted by: JLee


How did you change calipers without a jack? 😕
Click to expand...

Well I got it done locally at a shop, but for whatever reason they didn't bleed them out.; Didn't realize this until after they were closed and now I have no confidence in them. So if I can't get them done there, well then....
Click to expand...


Personally, I'd take the car right back to the shop that installed the calipers and have them finish the job, which should have included bleeding the brakes after the calipers were installed. That should be part of the caliper installation, no question!
 
Originally posted by: lxskllr
You don't need a jack as alluded to above, but you do need 2 people. The other person can be a lobotomy patient though, as all they need to understand are the words pump, and hold. The basic gist is you get them to pump the brakes, then push on the pedal. You loosen the bleeder screw, and the air(as well as some fluid) gets pushed out. You do that, until no air comes out. Top up the brake fluid as necessary, and repeat on all 4 wheels.
Click to expand...

Don't forget to start at the furthest wheel from the master cylinder (reservoir).

As mentioned before, it should be done with a helper, but you can do it alone even with just and ice scraper.......just jam your ice scraper between the brake pedal and the driver seat. Take longer, but it is effective.
 
First of all, if your car has ABS, then you cannot bleed the brakes yourself unless you have the factory computer tool that will cycle the ABS valves. Without this, the fluid in the ABS system will not be exchanged and old, contaminated fluid will remain in the system, potentially causing issues with your ABS unit down the road.

It should be a quick job for a shop, a half-hour to an hour at the absolute most, so $50-100 in labor plus a couple bucks to cover the cost of new brake fluid.

ZV
 
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
First of all, if your car has ABS, then you cannot bleed the brakes yourself unless you have the factory computer tool that will cycle the ABS valves. Without this, the fluid in the ABS system will not be exchanged and old, contaminated fluid will remain in the system, potentially causing issues with your ABS unit down the road.

It should be a quick job for a shop, a half-hour to an hour at the absolute most, so $50-100 in labor plus a couple bucks to cover the cost of new brake fluid.

ZV
Click to expand...

Is this definitely true for Nissans? I've never had a Nissan.

That's true for a lot of cars, but there are cases where it's not necessary. On my Honda Odyssey for example, per the factory manual, even replacement of the ABS modulator doesn't require you to cycle the ABS, only to bleed the brakes, which is spelled out in detail and doesn't require any ABS tools. It explicity says that bleeding the system and changing the fluid is the same as vehicles without ABS.

I did it myself, and I would recommend a power bleeder if you can't find another body to assist. My wife was busy watching the kids and it would have been impossible without it.
 
Originally posted by: thatsright
Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
EDIT >> Time Warp - OP below

Originally posted by: thatsright
Just got brakes on my car (2001 Nissan Maxima) and need to bleed out the brakes. I have never done this before and don't know anyone who knows how to do it so I will need to take it to a shop.

Anyone have an idea of how long it would take for all 4 wheels? If a shop had to do it how much do you think it would be. I don't think its very complicated..??

Thanks!
Click to expand...

If all you did was change the pads then you don't need to bleed the brake lines. Just make sure you have enough fluid in the brake fluid reservoir.
Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't mention I changed the calipers as they were leaking brake fluid. The reservoir is full, but I still have VERY spongy brakes.
Click to expand...

It's not difficult to do. You'll need two people to do it though, one to pump the brakes and the other to open and close the bleed valve on the caliper. It would probably take you about 15 minutes per wheel once you get the procedure down.

I replaced both front calipers on my motorcycle and it only took me about 20 minutes to bleed them.
 
Originally posted by: spigot
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
First of all, if your car has ABS, then you cannot bleed the brakes yourself unless you have the factory computer tool that will cycle the ABS valves. Without this, the fluid in the ABS system will not be exchanged and old, contaminated fluid will remain in the system, potentially causing issues with your ABS unit down the road.

It should be a quick job for a shop, a half-hour to an hour at the absolute most, so $50-100 in labor plus a couple bucks to cover the cost of new brake fluid.

ZV
Click to expand...

Is this definitely true for Nissans? I've never had a Nissan.

That's true for a lot of cars, but there are cases where it's not necessary. On my Honda Odyssey for example, per the factory manual, even replacement of the ABS modulator doesn't require you to cycle the ABS, only to bleed the brakes, which is spelled out in detail and doesn't require any ABS tools. It explicity says that bleeding the system and changing the fluid is the same as vehicles without ABS.

I did it myself, and I would recommend a power bleeder if you can't find another body to assist. My wife was busy watching the kids and it would have been impossible without it.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Must be a newer development where some of the more modern ABS systems are leaving the valves open to allow bleeding through them. I hadn't come across a system like this yet.

Give this information, I would suggest that the OP check his owner's manual to see what is recommended for his specific car.

ZV
 
Maybe I missed something, since I scanned the thread, but:

Are you saying you already had the calipers replaced at a shop? And they didn't bleed the brakes? How in the hell can you replace calipers and NOT bleed the brakes?
 
Clearly the mechanic at the shop is not their best or is not ASE certified. No brake shop in their right mind would ever let a car out the door with spongy brakes, or failing to bleed them if the brake lines were opened, as they must be, to change calipers.
Same holds for properly bedding in the new pads before the customer leaves the shop. Imagine the lawsuit against that shop if they did not the job correctly and you are in a wreck caused by bad brake work.
 
My guess would be they DID bleed the brakes, but didn't do it sufficiently.

I've had a lot of variation in the amount of fluid that falls out of brake line after taking off a caliper or wheel cylinder. The shop may even have to bleed the other side or like ZV said they didn't cycle the ABS, but probably they just didn't get all the bubbles out. I've had a bubble show up long after I thought I was done.

Take it back.

 
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