97 Mazda Protege - brake bleeding

[edjano]

Hi - could use a little help. I just changed the calipers(front) on my 97 protege. What is the best way to bleed the brakes? I have a vacuum pump, but it did not seem to be working effectively. Also, do i have to bleed the rear wheels (drum) even though those lines were not touched? Any help would be appreciated!

[Doug Tatham]

You want to bleed all four. There are a lot of cheep brake bleeding kits out there, but I've never found one that works all that well. I generally connect a tube to the bleeder valve and loosen the valve, have someone press the brake, then I tighten the valve and have them release the brake. I have the tubing going into a clear container so I can see when the bubbles stop. I repeat the process until all the bubbles are gone. I usually start at the back passenger and work my way towards the master cylinder. Don't forget to add fluid every third or fourth pump or you'll suck air and really have to bleed them.

[Flash75]

It shouldn't be necessary to bleed the rear brakes if they were not worked on, unless you have a defective dual master cylinder. I have changed lots of front calipers on dual systems without bleeding the rear brakes.

Clifton

[Doug Tatham]

Clifton,
Your right about it not being necessary to bleed the back brakes, but I always do it as a matter of practice. It just seems like a good idea to have fresh fluid throughout the system.