Scrooge

Hello all,

Does anyone know how much I should be spending for the brake / clutch bleed that is recommended every two years on our cars (C-4s)? The car is scheduled to go in on Friday and I just wanted to know what to expect. Thanks for your help!

garrett376

$60 if you do it yourself renting the Hammer; $20 if you've already got a Hammer; $200 at the dealer if you've got nothing!

Tom W

You don't need a hammer to bleed the brakes or clutch slave. A Motive power bleeder is $40 (a one time purchase), a liter of ATE 200 or super blue is $11 and you'll need a 10 mm wrench (IIRC). A couple feet of tygon tubing from Home Depot for the drain lines will cost about $2. It will take an hour or so the first time if you do it by yourself and 15-20 minutes every time after that (not including time to remove the wheels). It's also a good time to check your brake pad wear. Pad changes are also extremely easy and a definite DIY and not pay the dealer.

I guess I'm getting old because I remember going to the drag strip with friends in the 70's to run a '70 'cuda (low 11's IIRC).

Kahdmus

What part does the hammer actually play in the brake bleed or clutch slave bleed?

garrett376

For the 2 year service interval to change out the brake fluid, the Hammer is required to get it all on a C4. Tom, you're right, for the brakes and clutch alone - you don't need it. But for the entire hydraulic circuit from the solenoids to the locks, you need a Hammer. The Hammer pulses each lock - so you can just hold open the bleeder and the fluid squirts out! Very easy - just need the right tool for the job!

Here's my play-by-play: PDAS bleed

Rennen

Just a heads up, all of my bleeder nuts on my calipers were 11mm and the bleeder nut on the clutch slave is 7mm. Don't go under the car w/o the 7mm or you're going to be crawling back out to retrieve it.

Tom W

Howard: Typically none. However, as garett376 points out, you need a hammer to bleed all parts of the system. It's required if someone does a DIY and runs out of fluid (not me... yet). That means air in the ABS system and the only way to get it out is with a hammer to cycle the ABS.

The slave can get really gunky, so a bleed every two years is a good idea. My brakes get bled about every 500 miles (every 3-4 track days) and I'll do the slave yearly.

viperbob

Tom, very good advice young Turtlehopper....

nman413

Hmm, I still need to get my slave bled.

My brakes get bled pretty much per track event. It's probably overkill but I want my brakes to work.

Rennen

I changed out my lines and so basically had to drain my system. Presumably this means that I need to do a complete bleeding with the hammer? I have only done the basic bleeding at this point. If this is true, where the heck can I rent a hammer to take care of the rest?

Arjan B.

Keeps your drain points out of corrosion.........

Tom W

Jauder, You should have that bum of a mechanic who works on your car do the slave while he's slaving away trying to make the car be able to go faster than a Turtle.

RedRS, it is unfortunate that you drained the system when you changed the lines (I assume by lines you simply mean the rubber parts that go to the calipers and not the metal lines). It was not necessary. If you let the reserviour go dry, you probably got air into the ABS system. I would take it to a garage (or dealer) with a hammer and have them flush the system and not try this as a DIY.

Rennen

Hmmm...how do you change lines w/o drying them out first?

Scrooge

Thanks for the help, everyone. I do not have the facilities to do the job myself, so it's off to the "stealership" for me. I am very wary of getting ripped-off by dealers. When I scheduled the appointment for this brake bleed, I asked how much it was going to run. I was told that they would not be able to give me an answer until they'd seen the car. It is my understanding that, as a routine procedure, there should be a fixed and readily quotable cost. I suppose it is easier for them to upsell customers on additional work if they already have your car in hand!

Unless I hear otherwise from any additional posters, I will assume that it should cost me no more than $200 for the work.

Tom W:
That sounds like one hot 'Cuda. Mine is good for 13.00s on street tires, which is pretty respectable as far as I am concerned. The car looks fully stock, but has a hotter than stock cam and higher-stall converter. It doesn't exactly go around corners very well, but I figure that is why I have the C-4 . . . completely different animals, but both enjoyable to drive.

Tom W

Scrooge: Make damn sure you tell them there may be air in the ABS and they nned to use a hammer. Otherwise they may do a simple bleed that costs a bunch, repeats what you have done and doesn't address the issue.

The 'cuda was modified by my high school gear-head friends and ran on the proper slicks for a drag race. One brother had the 'cuda and the other had a '70 vette that was also pretty highly modified.

RedRS: If you only replaced the rubber lines from the connection near the caliper to the caliper, you simply need to purge the extra air introduced - the main lines are still full of fluid and in the normal bleed procedure you will fill the new segments with fluid. No draining of the main system is needed or desired.