So i go to do my brakes today.....

[NightRydaSS]

In response to that post i made a while back with my "Low Trac" light coming on...i decided to install my SS braided lines, HAWK pads and Earls solo bleeders, and flush the system....

well....hmmm....the back went ok.... Once i found how to remove my stock lines and bolted in the solo bleeders and bled the lines, everything seemed fine. I had pressure and my car stopped very well. So i decided to do my front ones. Yea, #1 i found out the solo bleeders that are for the front calipers of my car don't fit. First i thougth that i put the front ones in the back (i was up at 7am and didnt seperate them and then didn't kno which ones i opened up to installed where). so i swaped the one from my back and moved it to my front. No dice; the nipple cap for the bleeder fit on but the rubber seal would seal, it just slipped arounf the nut of the bleeder when i tightened it up. so i was like *****!!! Ok, well it was like 1pm and i had lost about 3 lbs in sweat, i was covered in **** and pissed off. So i called my dad and tried to bleed the front brakes with the stock bleeder. well we still couldn't get pressure back into the peddle. So i had my Haynes manual open with me and read some MORE of it. Yea; it states that you CAN'T bleed the front brakes (or some crap like that) if your car has ABS and/or TCS. You need some special tool to do it and to take it somewhere. It also says you have to bleed the ABS module or something.

yea, so know i have to have my car towed to my mechanic and have him bleed the system. Yea; this wasn't the first time my dad ever bled a brake system, and i'm no dumbass. I bolted up the lines fine and of course the pads (not my first time either). so i couldn't see any flaw in what i did and i had NO leaks and the line was bleeding fresh clear fluid and the res was full.

So now my mechanic has to pick it up and install 2 brake pads, 4 new bleeders, 1 new brake line, and bleed the system. i already did 90% of the work, it is just the passenger front that needs to be finished.

I think i just about hit the limit of what i can do in my garage on my car. This should no way in hell be this difficult and i knew what the hell i was doin. Maybe there is some trick to doin our cars, i dunno, and don't f'in care now.

the rest of the mods i wanna do later (suspension, ect), ill just take it somewhere. Sure i can bolt the crap on, but i can't "tune" it, and god only knows how rusted crap is, and if something brakes or "pops up" i'm screwed.

EVERYTHING worked until i did the front ones, then my world blew up in my face. i will say those Earls solo bleeders are crap; but, their Stainless Steel lines are awesome. They worked, came with all hardware and didn't leak.

...all this to save a couple bucks...

[Batman]

Ummmm why can't you bleed them? . I've bled mine a few times and have TCS and ABS. Only thing you may need is a Tech II if you have problems with the ABS or a low pedal and that just resets the ABS system. What year is your car? The 4th Gen's with TCS have a strange order you have to bleed the brakes in. If you go in the wrong order it is going to F' everything up and you'll never get a pedal. It is right rear, left front, left rear, right front for . I used a pressure bleeder and followed the Shop manual and it worked just fine. I wouldn't use a Haynes manual to prop up my coffee table.

[BonzoHansen]

I might have left them to gravity bleed.

[BonzoHansen]

For S&G, I looked this up in the 99 Service Manual. Bleeding procedures look pretty routine, manual and pressure.

RR
LR
RF
LF

No mention of TCS. But this is a 99, so perhaps it changed later years.

[NightRydaSS]

Originally Posted by Batman

Ummmm why can't you bleed them? . I've bled mine a few times and have TCS and ABS. Only thing you may need is a Tech II if you have problems with the ABS or a low pedal and that just resets the ABS system. What year is your car? The 4th Gen's with TCS have a strange order you have to bleed the brakes in. If you go in the wrong order it is going to F' everything up and you'll never get a pedal. It is right rear, left front, left rear, right front for . I used a pressure bleeder and followed the Shop manual and it worked just fine. I wouldn't use a Haynes manual to prop up my coffee table.

make that TWO things i was failed to be informed about....i also had the bleed sequence wrong. I did: LR, RR, LF, RF. O well, those solo bleeders are still balls. and i didn't have a pressure bleeder.

i any event, i got the car back from the shop. Remeber that "LOW TRAC" light issue i had before, well the light still pops up if i slam on my brakes, HOWEVER, the car locks right up. I no longer feel like im sliding on ice and that my brakes just gave out. Now i have SS brake lines and HAWK pads and had the whole system flushed, so anyone of those things could have made the difference. I do feel a strong peddle, so i attribute that to the SS lines as i already changed the pads and rotors last yr (that was a walk in the park, not like bleeding these damn lines!) lol.

[Tru2Chevy]

On a "standard" brake system, you should always bleed the brakes starting with the one furthest from the master cylinder, and working towards the closest. For the vast majority of cars this will be RR, LR, RF, LF.

- Justin

[Batman]

Originally Posted by Tru2Chevy

For the vast majority of cars this will be RR, LR, RF, LF.

- Justin

true statement, but not for his . See if you can get a Tech II ABS diagnostic done now (cost about $80 or so) to reset your ABS and it should take care of the low trac light unless you have bad wheel speed sensors.
-Nick

[NightRydaSS]

Originally Posted by Batman

true statement, but not for his . See if you can get a Tech II ABS diagnostic done now (cost about $80 or so) to reset your ABS and it should take care of the low trac light unless you have bad wheel speed sensors.
-Nick

the "LOW TRAC" light pops on for a split second when i try to push the break peddle thought the floor, lol. The car stops on a dime when it comes on (now anyways). I no longer feel like im sliding. and Now i can hear my wheels "screach" when the light pops on. so i dont think i have a bad sensor.

maybe it was my stock rubber lines, maybe they were "ballooning" when i smached the peddle down. i dunno...

[NightRydaSS]

besides i have no "ABS INOP", "SES", or "CHECKK ENG" light on. At all, even when the "LOW TRAC" light pops on. I also have a hand scanner and no codes come up. I think it was just the fact the break system was old and needed to be serviced.

[BonzoHansen]

Originally Posted by Batman

true statement, but not for his .

What is the right procedure for his car?

[Batman]

Originally Posted by Batman

The 4th Gen's with TCS have a strange order you have to bleed the brakes in. If you go in the wrong order it is going to F' everything up and you'll never get a pedal. It is right rear, left front, left rear, right front.

there ya go

[qwikz28]

only the LT1 cars you needed to bleed the ABS unit

[BonzoHansen]

Originally Posted by Batman

there ya go

Good deal, I missed that. Just wanted to know for my own good. And Jake answered the other half of what I was thinking, since it wasn't in my 99 manual.

Good learning.

[Batman]

Originally Posted by qwikz28

only the LT1 cars you needed to bleed the ABS unit

That's the procedure from a 2002 shop manual

[BonzoHansen]

Was that in the brake bleeding section, or was it elsewhere in the book?

I wonder if they found out there was an issue and fixed it in later years manuals.

[Batman]

It is in the brake section.

[V]

i bled mine in the order... pass rear, driver rear, driver front, pass front

the lines into the ABS block were undone for 3 months
i didnt bleed the ABS unit any special way, and i did it the old fashioned way with my friend sitting in the car and me saying...
"pump it up... hold... release...pump it up...hold..."
i went around the car about 4-5 times till all the air was out and i was sure all the old fluid was out as well. brakes work fine since, no issues at all for me, and i have ABS and Traction Control

[deadtrend1]

When I did mine, I did my ABS box first I think. Then the wheels. Then repeated it all once more. No issues...