Questions on brake fluid flush

[nysimonsez]

I have an '04 ltd and will be doing a full brake pad and front rotor change soon, and will likely need to change calipers but I haven't check those yet. At that time I want to also do a brake fluid change. I have read many threads on here and think I have the procedure but have a few questions before I do it.

I'll do the fluid change as a last step after I change the pads and rotors. I'll be doing it by myself without a helper, with a sequence of rear right, rear left, front right, front left. Is the following general procedure right?

1. Open master cylinder, remove fluid with baster and refill with new.
2. Connect bleed tube to bleeder valve
3. Submerge bleed tube to fluid collecting bottle
4. Hold down brake paddle and open bleed valve
5. Wait until new fluid flows out then close valve

A few more questions:
1. Can I buy flex tube from Home Depot and use as bleed tube? What size do I need? I plan to rig it up to an empty bottle and secure the tube to the bottom of the bottle.
2. When bleeding rears, I assume I just need to hold the paddle down with ignition in the ON switch and let the pump just get all the old fluid out until new fluid passes thru. The fronts I'll need to pump the brakes?
3. Will 32 oz of new fluid be enough?

thanks for your help.

 

[00328]

When I bled my brakes on another of my vehicles, I went to Autozone and they loaned me a pistol grip brake bleeder. They don't really loan it to you, they have a program where you purchase a tool and when you are finished with it you return it and get your money back.
Anyway, it's so much easier to sit at the corner your working on and just pump this bleeder and it sucks the fluid through the lines. Do it until clear/new fluid comes through, tighten up the valve, top off the fluid reservoir and move to the next corner. Very easy, no pumping of the brake pedal required.

 

[fourwd1]

I have an '04 ltd and will be doing a full brake pad and front rotor change soon, and will likely need to change calipers but I haven't check those yet.

Why would you have to change calipers? or even rotors? unless you let things get so bad worn pads have cut grooves in rotors, but even then why calipers?

And the rest of that doesn't all sound quite right, like the bleed order for instance. I could be wrong, but off hand it sounds odd. I'll check it out.

 

[cali_axela]

The bleed order is correct -- you just start furthest from the master cylinder and work your way towards it. But I agree, don't replace the rotors or calipers unless they have unexpected problems, which hopefully they don't.

 

[nysimonsez]

thanks. I won't replace rotors/calipers unless I have to. However, the front rotors have deep grooves in them so likely need replacement. I'll take the wheel off and inspect the calipers too to make sure I don't have the frozen caliper issue. I just want to get more info in the event i need to replace them.

So on the brake fluid drain tube what diameter do I need, 3/8 or 1/8 ID?

 

[cali_axela]

Personally, I just have a large catch basin on the ground inboard of the corner I'm working on, and squirt directly from the caliper into that. I don't get it all in there, but I get a good 90% of it in, and it's a lot quicker/easier than hooking up tubing... (this is just my long-winded excuse which basically means "i don't know what size")

 

[KB084RUNNER]

I would recommend you get a helper to pump the brake pedal while you bleed. Using a vacuum pump will not work due to the accumulator pump in the system. No need to use the turkey baster as the real contaminated fluid is at the caliper. Just fill up the MC and pump away.