Automotive

How to Get Air Out of Brake Lines Without Bleeding? – Without Confusion!

The air inside the brake lines can affect the braking performance of your car in a vary bad way. And if you want to remove them, you are at the right place. Here, we will explain the different methods of how to get the air out of brake lines without bleeding. If you have this question in your mind, you are in the right place!

Different Methods of How to Get Air Out of Brake Lines Without Bleeding

How to Get Air Out of Brake Lines Without Bleeding

The brake system of your car is a very important system that provides the required safety for your car. And the brake system of your car must work properly for your safety and that the other people are using your car.

The air inside the brake lines and brake systems can be a very problematic issue. There are different parts in the brake system; brake lines, calipers, master cylinder, and brake fluid container. So, we will explain the different methods available to apply to the air inside the brake parts of your car.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD TAKE THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR EACH METHOD. WEAR YOUR PROTECTIVE GLASSES AND CUT-RESISTANT GLOVES TO SAVE YOU FROM THE ACCIDENTS.

Tools You Need

You will need different kinds of tools for each application and these are the general tools that you need;

  • Screwdriver set, pliers, needle nose pliers, hydraulic jack system to lift your car, an assistant to help in different methods, towels to clean the bleeding brake fluid, other standard car service toolboxes and bleed screws.

Getting the Air Out from Master Cylinder

This is the first thing that you need to do. The master cylinder is the system that regulates the brake fluid through the brake system of your car. So, if you want to get the air out from the master cylinder, you can apply these steps.

  • You need to lift the car and find the location of the master cylinder. You need to place the hydraulic jack in a proper position and lift your car to a certain degree.
  • Once you find the master cylinder, you will see that there are 3 plugs in it. You need to tighten down these 3 plugs to remove the air inside the master cylinder. But do not take them completely.
  • Tighten up the 3 plugs again. Do not open these plugs completely to prevent the coming of the brake fluid.

Steps to Apply to Remove the Air in the Brake System

The master cylinder is an important part that we need to consider if we need to deal with the problem completely.

  • Find the location of the master cylinder and loosen the plugs on the master cylinder. You need to use a flag screwdriver to do it.
  • Keep your container beneath the master cylinder to prevent the brake fluid leaks to the ground.
  • After that, you need to use assistance to deal with the problem. The assistant must pump the brake pedal several times that if the air bubbles are coming or not.
  • If you see that no bubbles are coming outside, you need to close the plugs again.

How to Get Air Out of Brake Lines from Mater Cylinder Reservoir Cap?

Master cylinder bleeding cap.
Image Source: Walmart

This is another way that we can apply if we want to remove the air inside the brake system. You can follow these steps if you want to remove the air.

  • You need to park your car on a safe and even surface. And take the car brake and hand brake. Every time you should do it before dealing with the brake system of your car.
  • Inside the hood of your vehicle, there is a master cylinder reservoir cap. You can add brake fluid from this cap.
  • Remove the reservoir cap by turning it in a counterclockwise rotation. Once you take it, clean it completely.
  • And put the cap it places again. And from the pumping screw, rotate the screw to the arrow that shows the pumping.
  • Ask your friend to pump the brake pedal 20 times up to pedal gets hard to pump. When the pedal becomes hard, this means you removed the air from your brake system.
  • Add additional brake fluid to the master cylinder container up until it is filled to the required level shown on the container. Make sure that you spill it correctly without creating any bubbles.
  •  Firmly close the master cylinder cap and the pumping screw.

Bleeding the Brakes to Get Air Out of It

First of all, we need to state that it is not an easy thing to do. You need to have a good level of knowledge about car mechanics. You can follow these steps to remove the air in the brake system from the brake pads.

  • You need to use a torque wrench to remove the brake pads and rotors. Before it, you need to remove the rim of your car.
  • And also you need to calipers by depressing the pistons with a torque wrench.
  • By pushing from the calipers, you need to remove the pads from the rotor.
  • And you need to disconnect the hose that comes from the master cylinder from the bracket by using a screwdriver.
  • And remove the bleeding screw on the master cylinder to remove the air trapped inside the brake system.
  • And you need to pump the brake up to the fluid level below the master cylinder bleeder screw.

Vacuum Cleaners and Plungers

Also, you can use these kinds of different vacuuming applications to remove the air trapped inside the brake system of your car. They provide the required vacuum to the brake system and remove the air trapped inside.

In general, the use of these systems is not recommended. Because it can harm the brake lines and master cylinder of your car. If you do not have an expensive brake system on your car, you can easily apply them.

Getting Air Out of Brake Lines with Brake Bleeding Kit

Also, the brake bleeder tools are used to release the air trapped inside the brake lines. These brake bleeder tools are used with the bleeding screws on the brake pads.

There are bleeder screws that you can easily loosen by using a screwdriver application. And you can use the brake bleeder tool to remove the brake air.

They are very useful and basic systems if we compare them with the other methods in general. But most of the time, you probably do not have a break bleeder tool.

General Symptoms of Air in the Brake System of Your Car

There are different symptoms that you can feel if you have air in your brake lines.

  • The most common symptom is the decreased braking ability of your car. Because the air inside the brake system will cause compression in the fluid. And this will decrease the total force coming to the calipers of your brake system.
  • When you brake, there can be screeching sounds coming from the brake system of your car. The main reason for these sounds is the friction between the air and the surrounding environment inside the brake system.
  • If your vehicle pulls one side once you apply the brake pedal, this means, not equal brake force going to the wheels. And this causes inequality in traction. This is also a very dangerous thing to consider.
  • Excessive wear on the brake pads and the caliper may take place because of the uneven braking of your car.

General Causes of the Air inside Brake Lines

There are different causes of the air inside the brake lines in general. If you make these considerations well, you can prevent this problem from happening in your brake system.

  • The porous brake lines and applications can cause bubbles inside the brake system of your car. The trapped air in the microscale can occur in a very bad situation because of these porous brake lines.
  • The external leaks through the bleeding screw can cause this problem also. The bleeding screw is a very important application that you need to make it tight correctly. Without tightening it, you will prevent it from working properly.
  • If the system absorbs water because of some reasons such as brake fluid replacements, it can cause the air inside the brake lines in general.
  • In general, after the brake jobs, the air can be trapped inside the brake lines.

Some Maintenance Tips to Consider to Prevent Air Inside the Brake Lines

There are very basic brake maintenance tips to prevent any big problems that you can have with the brake systems of your car.

  • You need to check the brake fluid levels of your car from the brake fluid container. Make sure that you add the brake fluid without creating any bubbles.
  • Inspect and clean the cap on the master cylinder. Make sure the cap is tight enough to prevent any air leaks inside the system.
  • You need to bleed the brakes if you have the symptoms above. You can use the different methods that we explained above.
  • You need to replace any rubber hoses and connections.

Conclusion on How to Get Air Out of Brake Lines Without Bleeding

 As you see above, the air inside the brake lines is a very problematic issue that you need to deal with. Because it can cause accidents and safety issues in general. We gave the general methods that you can apply and the general tips for maintenance. And you know the general causes and symptoms of the air inside the brake lines.

If you have additional questions about the question of how to get the air out of brake lines without bleeding, leave them in the comments below.

If you want to learn additional things about brake systems;

Brake Lamp Bulb Fault Problem; Causes and Solutions

If Your Brake Pedal Suddenly Sinks to the Floor? What to Do?

Brake Hold System Problem – Common Causes

References;

Action Gator Tire – 5 Keys to Brake Maintenance

Master Cylinder – My Car Dictionary

Uğur Uygun

Hello everyone, I am Uğur. I am a mechanical engineer who has experience in different R&D departments of HVAC companies. With my best friend, I decided to build this website to share out knowledge and experience. And also, I am interested in automotive. So, I am writing about automotive and automotive-related articles here. Sharing my knowledge and experiences on these topics is a very big pleasure for me. I am willing to answer all of the questions people have about these topics.

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