No Brakes...HELP

[saltshaker]

Just installed Wilwood front brakes , 7/8 Wilwood Tandem MC and have Explorer rear brakes with the emergency brake cables not connected. Bleed the MC and the brakes a few times and the pedal is very soft. I spoke to Wilwood and they said the emergency brakes had to be connected for the system to work....
sound correct ??
Jon

[sspano01]

doesnt sound right. i have the four piston willwoods on my cobra. they are a hassle to bleed when they are full of air, too many air pockets around all four of the pistons on each caliper.

i would gravity bleed it.

open the "top" bleeder screws on all four calipers. fill the master cylinder up, go watch tv or have a drink. check on it every 15-20 minutes. flush a large bottle of fluid and let it drain through all four calipers at once. dont let the master run dry.

that's the way I did it. its probably more proper to do one caliper at a time? but it works with all four at once, just keep topping off the fluid.

[Grubby]

I always gravity bleed the fronts as described above. I suck bleed the backs with a vacuum pump.

John

[FWB]

you will need the emerg cables hooked up.

if the master was empty, you should bench bleed it first, then gravity or pressure bleed the system. takes a lot of pumping to fill up the lines and calipers.....and not letting the master run all the fluid out is very good advice.

when i did mine i got it to the point of it being drivable, then took it to a shop to pressure bleed the whole system through the master with compressed air.

[bobcowan]

The Wilwood tandem MC is nothing special. You bleed it the same as you would a stock MC.

Start by "bench" bleeding the MC. Disconnect both brake lines from the MC. Connect short pieces of brake line that go back into the MC resevoir. One for each outlet. Then gently pump the brake pedal until there are no more bubbles. Then reconnect the brake lines. Move quickly so you don't loose too much fluid. As long as you don't touch the brake pedal, there's no risk of allowing air back up into the MC.

Bleed both front and rear calipers at the same time. That allows full stroke of the MC. Wilwood calipers have two bleeders, and you need to do them both. If they're properly installed, the Wilwood calipers are very easy to bleed.

Invest in some Russell Speed Bleeders. I have Wilwood calipers all around, which means 8 bleeders. I can bleed the entire system in <30minutes.

[Jaydee]

If you do one at a time, bleed the farthest caliper first. With a one way valve in the bleeding tube. Make sure you lift you foot of the pedal after each stroke. To intially bleed the mc, put your finger over the outlet, so when you release the pedal, the vacuum will suck the fluid into the mc.
JD

[saltshaker]

Thanks for the tips, I was also looking. For thoughts on what Wilwood said...
That the brake system wouldn't work without the emergency brakes hooked up..?
Jon

[FWB]

if your emerg brake uses the caliper and pads and actuates the caliper pistons you need to have them hooked up. if the emerg brake has a separate set of shoes inboard and are totally mechanical then no they don't have to be hooked up

[saltshaker]

I think the problem is the bleeders are on the bottom of the rear calipers and need to be switched...
Jon

[bobcowan]

Originally Posted by saltshaker

I think the problem is the bleeders are on the bottom of the rear calipers and need to be switched...
Jon

Yeah. If you installed the calipers upside down, you'll never get all the air out.