Mjk
XS400 Member
First and foremost, thanks to all who have commented on my two most recent threads. You have been awesome, and I hope my dumb questions and your answers have benefitted others besides myself.
My question is straightforward: how do you dry bleed the rear brake on a '78 XS400? I disassembled and cleaned the whole thing while it was working (it was absolutely filthy with tobacco spit colored fluid and deposits), and all the parts are there and in better working order after some vinegar, CLR, brake cleaner, and elbow grease.
After putting it all back together though, my issue seems to be that I cannot bleed the system. Pumping the lever with a fully cylinder builds no pressure at all when following normal bleeding procedures, and no bubbles appear like I feel they should.
For those who might criticize disassembling a working brake, my rationale is that it's better to fix it and know for sure it is good than let an unknown working brake continue as is. Also, the hoses were made in October of 1977, so they needed replacing as the internals were beginning to turn to crumbs.
My question is straightforward: how do you dry bleed the rear brake on a '78 XS400? I disassembled and cleaned the whole thing while it was working (it was absolutely filthy with tobacco spit colored fluid and deposits), and all the parts are there and in better working order after some vinegar, CLR, brake cleaner, and elbow grease.
After putting it all back together though, my issue seems to be that I cannot bleed the system. Pumping the lever with a fully cylinder builds no pressure at all when following normal bleeding procedures, and no bubbles appear like I feel they should.
For those who might criticize disassembling a working brake, my rationale is that it's better to fix it and know for sure it is good than let an unknown working brake continue as is. Also, the hoses were made in October of 1977, so they needed replacing as the internals were beginning to turn to crumbs.
