Brake bleeding

[jetallman]

Well I just finished installing new pads, rotors and one caliper on the rear of my F250, bled over a quart of fluid through the rear now I have brakes but they feel spongy and soft more so than before, never had problems bleeding my classic cars before but this seems like I'm missing something here, any ideas appreciated

 

[JRNOLL]

I know that on some fords you have to pull the fuse for the anti lock brakes in order to bleed them properly. If you don't they feel mushy(air still in system). I just don't know which fuse.
Hope this helps

Joe

 

[DaveBen]

I recall having to do that on a friend's truck. I don't recall what fuse it was either.

Dave

 

[jetallman]

I found the 2brake breakers gonna try that because the brakes suck right now.
One was abs the other was a power break motor I think

 

[DaveBen]

The one for the ABS is what you want to disconnect. The one for the Brake Booster you want to leave along (Connected) or your pedal will be very stiff from no boost.

Dave

 

[jetallman]

Just curious but why would pulling a fuse change how brakes are bled? Unless running and drawing voltage it seems they would bleed the same as on all my older cars while shut down

 

[DaveBen]

There are two seperate braking systems, the front and the rears. This is why we have dual master cylinders. There is some sort of a reason to keep them seperate during bleeding and I think that is accomplished by pulling the ABS fuse. Now I could be wrong as I did this on my 1980 F-350.

Dave

 

[jetallman]

I'll give it a try, see what happens thanks

 

[DaveBen]

There is something, in the back of my mind, that is telling me there is a small button or lever that you push/pull to bleed the ABS cylinder. I have not found anything on this yet. I will look further into my Ford DVD, later today.

Dave

 

[DaveBen]

I found the section of my DVD that shows the ABS system. This is going to take you a while to diagnose. What codes did you get when (if you did) scan it?? This would help a bunch. The codes I am looking to see are; C1113, C1115 or C1185. These codes relate to a low voltage or a short. I can email you this section but you will need to Private Message (PM) me your email address by clicking on my user name and selection Private Message.

Dave