The most common method of bleeding brakes is manual bleeding. The concept is simple - by forcing fluid through the hydraulic system, air and any other impurities in the system are carried along with the fluid and eventually out of the system.

To manually bleed brakes, the following items are needed:

• A clear rubber hose (about 2-3 feet long) that fits snugly over the end of the bleeder screws.
• Plenty of fresh brake fluid.
• A bottle to collect the fluid flushed from the system.
• A friend, cause you can't do this alone.

Each cylinder must be bled to expel air from all parts of the hydraulic system. Generally accepted practice calls for starting at the brake cylinder farthest from the master cylinder (right rear) and working in towards the closest. Before beginning, make sure the master cylinder is full of fluid.

WARNING: Do not allow the master cylinder to run out of fluid. If it does, air has been reintroduced into the system and you must start all over again.

At each cylinder:

1. Place a box end wrench onto the bleeder screw.
2. Push one end of the rubber hose over the nipple of the bleeder screw and place the other end into a bottle to collect the fluid.
3. Have your friend apply pressure to the brake pedal and hold it. If your friend lets up on the pedal while the bleeder screw is open (next step), air will be drawn back into the hydraulic system, so this part must be coordinated.
4. Open the bleeder screw and observe what is expelled. Air bubbles indicate there is still air in the hydraulic system.
5. When the flow of fluid decreases, close the bleeder screw.
   Tell your friend to release the brake pedal.
6. If you saw air bubbles in the fluid, return to step 3 (check master cylinder periodically to insure it does not run dry). If you saw a clear stream of brake fluid, you are done with this cylinder. Move on to the next.

It may take several complete rotations to expel all the air from the hydraulic system. If you don’t seem to be getting any results, check the following troubleshooting tips.

A new or rebuilt master cylinder has been installed
If you have not bench bleed your master cylinder, air may be trapped in it that cannot be expelled by this process. You may need to remove the master cylinder and perform a bench bleeding.

Bleeder screw is open and pressure is applied to brake pedal, but nothing comes out.

• Make sure master cylinder has not run out of fluid.
• If you have replaced any of the brake lines or drained the system of brake fluid, be patient. It can take quite a long time to pump fluid throughout the system.
• Check if bleeder screw is clogged – remove the screw entirely and apply pressure to the brake pedal. If fluid squirts from the cylinder, your bleeder screw is clogged and must be cleaned.
• Check if wheel cylinder is clogged – remove brake line from cylinder and apply pressure to the brake pedal. If fluid squirts from the line, replace your wheel cylinder.

Front or Rear brakes bled, but no luck at other end
The Pressure Differential Warning Actuator may be tripped. This would close off either the front or back hydraulic circuit and leave the other functional. It's easy to trip this when bleeding the brakes. If this is your problem, the brake warning light will glow brightly when the ignition is turned on. (Unless of course your brake warning light switch or bulb is not working...)

If the PDWA is tripped, the shuttle in the PDWA can be re-centered by the following procedure:

• Open a bleed nipple on the brake system that does work. 
• With the ignition switch on, observe the brake warning light. Press on the brake pedal carefully and watch the light. It and the oil pressure light should dim as the switch centralizes. You should also hear a click. Do not press too much or too fast, or the switch goes past center. Just keep repeating the proceedure until it works, varying the wheel/brake circut until you figure out which way the switch was on.

If the above absolutely does not work for you, the PDWA can be mechanically recentered, but is more difficult, involving partial disassembly of the PDWA unit.

ADDITIONAL WARNING: Brake fluid and paint are a bad combination, try not to get them in the same place. In fact, try not to get brake fluid on anything.