The braking system has various components which work jointly to stop your truck when needed. Have you ever known how the wheels halt when you press the brake pedals? The braking system has a hydraulic fluid whose primary role is to transfer the pressure generated when you press the brake pedal to the other parts of the brakes on your wheels. The operation of the brake fluid is airtight, but faulty hoses sometimes give air space to get into the hydraulic system. In this guide, we will focus on how to bleed air from truck braking system.
How To Bleed Air From Truck Braking System
The presence of air in the hydraulic brake system can lead to the malfunction of the brakes. To solve this, you have to bleed your brake. How do you do it? This guide will teach you the simplest way on how to bleed air from your truck brakes.
Bleeding Air brake on a Truck
The primary purpose of bleeding your brakes is to remove air particles that may exist in your braking system and replace it with fresh brake fluid. Performing brake bleeding will help in maintaining the proper functioning of brakes. When bleeding your brakes, ensure your truck has cooled down because when driving, the braking system is some of the components which generate heat.
Consider topping up the fluids in the master cylinder when bleeding your brakes. Performing this procedure can reduce the levels of liquids in the master cylinder. Topping it up will help to maintain the levels of fluids in the master cylinder.
If you realize that the level of the brake fluid in your truck is low or when the brake check light appears on your dashboard, never try to do brake bleeding. Both indicate that your braking system has a problem you should consider fixing before bleeding the brakes.
Before you bleed your brakes, check on the condition of your parking cables. After this, put a pin in your truck’s power control module (PCM) and put the brake fluid into the master cylinder reservoir.
Steps to Bleed Air Brake
- Open the cap of the master cylinder and top up the brake fluid. Doing this helps maintain the minimum brake fluid level in the cylinder master reservoir.
- Raise your truck using a lift and remove the wheels.
- Locate brake bleeder fitting, which is usually located behind the brake disk.
- After identifying the brake bleeder, take a wrench that fits its fitting.
- Connect a rubber hose on the brake bleeder fitting.
- Connect the rubber hose to a bottle ¾ full of brake fluid.
- Have somebody help you perform this procedure by pressing the brakes to ease the bleeder fitting.
- Perform this procedure severally until you see no more air bubbles coming into the bottle.
- When all the air bubbles have left your braking system, tighten the bleeder fitting, fix your tires and lower your truck.
Conclusion
There is a procedure to follow to bleed air brakes. Besides following the above process, a hand pump can also bleed air brakes. If you are unsure of what you are doing, consider doing it under the instructions of a professional.