1955 Chevy Bel Air Blog

How to Bleed Hydraulic Brakes on a 55 Chevy Bel Air

Written by admin on June 23, 2009 – 8:04 pm -

Care and maintenance of your 55 Chevy Bel Air braking system is critical for proper performance and safety.  As mentioned in an earlier article you should bleed your hydraulic brake system at least every (2) years to reduce the potential of accumulation of rust and corrosion in the brake cylinders.

The brake shoes also need to be manually adjusted; since the 55 Chevy was designed long before the introduction of self-adjusting brakes (we will discuss this in another article).

Preparation:

• Jack-up and support the car as required, remember safety first, as my father always said, “Never get under an unsupported car”.
• Remove the wheels, it will make the job easier and give you an opportunity to inspect the brake hoses and lines.
• Locate the wheel cylinder bleeders (fitting with small bleed hole), clean and apply a few drops of penetrating oil to the bleeder and brake line fitting entering the cylinder.
• Verify the wrench size needed to open and close the bleeders, use a good box wrench or 12 point socket, start at 3/8 inch.
• Fabricate a drip pan out of an old aluminum baking pan to catch expelled brake fluid; the fluid will come out under pressure so be sure to protect the finish of the car and your eyes and skin.

Bleeding procedure using the “Buddy System”:

• Always start your bleeding procedure at the wheel cylinder farthest from the Master Cylinder, in order bleed the RR, LR, RF and LF hydraulic cylinders.
• Your buddy will pump the brake pedal as instructed, as you loosen (open) the bleeder have your buddy SLOWLY push the brake pedal to the floor.
• Have your buddy STOP when the pedal reaches the floor; re-tighten (close) the bleeder.
• Re-pump the brake pedal and continue this procedure until a clear stream of brake fluid with no entrapped air bubbles flows out of the wheel cylinder bleeder.
• Refill the Master Cylinder as required during the procedure; do not get brake fluid on the car’s finish.
• Perform procedure on each wheel cylinder in sequence order.
• Check for leaks and re-fill Master Cylinder, bleeding procedure is complete.

Visit out Part Shop to find 1955 Chevy Bel Air Brake parts for sale.

Tags: Bleed Brakes, Brakes
Posted in 55 Chevy Bel Air | 1 Comment »