Hello,

I just bought a '98 Blazer LT off of a friend a few days ago. I love it so far, but it needed a bit of work. The big thing it needed was brake pads. It was sqeaking like crazy.

I changed the pads today, but having not worked on brakes before, I was a little green. I disconnected the brake line from the caliper to make it easier on me.

I got the pads on and the brakes didn't work. Way too soft. Did some research, and I needed to bleed the lines.

So I got a friend to push the pedal for me and I bled the lines per what google told me which also agreed with the Haynes repair manual.

I drove it to the bar and everything was fine. Felt a little squishy on the way out, stopped at my friends house to drop him off and it still felt weird. I got home and checked the brake reservoir, TOTALLY DRY. I filled it up, but still nothing.

Do I need to bleed the master cylinder now? Or do I need to bleed the calipers again?

Why did I lose so much fluid? Was it just settling in after being bled or did I not tighten the bleed valve back down and lost all my fluid? It was filled up to max after I bled the calipers.

Thank you

 

Did you fill it at anytime you were bleeding the brakes? Fill the master cylinder & re-bleed the brakes. But watch the master cylinder while bleeding & keep it full.

 

I did keep an eye on it while bleeding. Didn't lose too much, and when i did I refilled it. Also checked it when done.

 

Unless you are replacing a caliper, it is easy enough to replace the pads with the brake lines attached. You will need to go back to the caliper(s) you disconnected and check for fluid leaks. If you find any, remove the line(s) again. These fittings have a brass crush washer between the caliper and brake line screw end. Possibly it fell off and you didn't notice. It would be good to replace the washer with new ones and re-install the brake line. Make sure the fitting is tight. Bleed your brakes again and check for leaks. One other note: the caliper sliding pins are known to rust and cause the calipers to stick. If unsure, have a pro fix it. We don't want you to lose your brakes while driving. Good luck.

 

If the master reservoir went completely dry, you may be forced to bench bleed it. But first try bleeding all the brakes...starting with the right rear.

Keep the master reservoir full.

I have been successful with gravity bleed on Blazers.
Remove master cap...open bleeder screws on both rears....let drip into a container. Keep master full. After a few minutes....close rear bleeder screws and open front bleeder screws. After a few minutes close front bleeders.

Then do a normal bleed: Pump the pedal several times...then with pedal up have person press pedal down as you open bleeder screw. Hold pedal to floor....tighen bleeder screw....pedal up....repeat several times for each wheel.

The ABS on the Blazers just seem to make brake bleeding take a bit longer and use more fluid.

Also rebuilt front calipers are like $20 with exchange...so if you want to go the quick route, just get these. Usually a stock item at most auto parts stores.

Good luck.