Bleeding your brakes isn't rocket science, and is definitely not a hard job to do yourself. It can be a real pain in the posterior to get right though. Having bled the brakes of both cars and motorbikes, I know how tedious a job it can turn into. The first thing to do is get yourself one of those one-way brake fluid valve bleeder kits. This will allow you to do the job by yourself, without making too much of a dog's dinner of it.

Loosen the bleed valve on the brake calliper slightly. Depending on the age of your vehicle, you may find that the bleed valve may be quite reluctant to loosen off. Spraying it with a light oil should help it on its way, but don't go in too hard with the spanner. The last thing you want to do is snap the nipple off the calliper.

Attach the tube from the brake bleeding kit, and open the brake valve another turn or two, then remove the cap from the reservoir. Very gently pump the brake pedal or lever, and keep an eye on the reservoir fluid level. Don't allow the fluid to drop too low in the reservoir or you'll end up with more air in the system.

You will be able to see the air bubbles in the container on the end of the brake bleeding tube. Once no more air can be seen, tighten the brake calliper nipple. Repeat the procedure on the rest of the callipers.

Pump the pedal or lever to check that it has the proper level of movement. You should then check that the brakes are not binding, and that they are operating correctly. In other words, stopping the vehicle. Top up the brake reservoir if necessary, and that should be the job done.

If the pedal still feels spongy, then the whole procedure has to be repeated until the brakes operate correctly, and all the air is gone. Sometimes you may find that the air is quite high in the brake system, and you can see it bubbling up through the brake fluid reservoir. Sitting patiently pumping the pedal for ten minutes or so will help move the air out through the system.

If you don't have a brake bleeding kit, then grab a friend to help you bleed the system. Get your friend to sit in the car and very gently pump the pedal. As he presses the pedal down, you should open the bleed valve, having previously slipped a piece of tubing over end of it. The end of this tube should be in a jar with an inch or two of brake fluid in it.

Don't forget to close the brake bleed valve before the pedal is released, to prevent any chance of air being sucked back into the tube. Repeat this procedure until no more air is seen to bubble into the jar. Again, keep the reservoir topped up, and pump the brakes for a bit to settle everything down, and then re-check the brake fluid level.

As already stated, it's not rocket science, but it is one of those jobs that has to be done right. After all, a car's worse than no good if it can't stop, so if in doubt, re-check every step in the procedure until it works.

Learn more about this author, Mo Bruce.
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