Advice on a couple of problems with the Arrow

("Newps" wrote)
Sounds like an air bubble or two in the line. Bleed from the bottom,
not like you bleed your car.


What does this mean? Bottom?


My experience with 20 year old cars is:

Pump, pump, pump. Hold. (HELPER - "Like this?")
Open (YOU, at the wheel ...which I thought was the bottom??)

Press slowly on brake pedal (HELPER listening to the radio. "Huh? What?")
Fluid squirts out (YOU - "Turn off the d*** radio.")

Close
Check and refill brake fluid reservoir (which I thought was the top??)

HELPER - "Pump again?"
YOU - "No. Not yet, I'm still filling the....You pumped didn't you?"
HELPER - "Sorry."
YOU - "Turn off that d*** radio."

Rinse and repeat :-)

How do you do it in planes?

Thanks


Montblack

On Mon, 16 May 2005 09:29:45 -0500, "Montblack"
wrote:

("Newps" wrote)
Sounds like an air bubble or two in the line. Bleed from the bottom,
not like you bleed your car.

What does this mean? Bottom?

Go to the auto-parts store and buy a cheap pump-type oil can and a couple of
feet of clear nylon tube that fits over the spout.

Fill the can with aircraft brake fluid. Go to the airplane, and remove the cap
from the brake master cylinder. Go to the wheel and look at the brake assembly.
There should be a metal nipple with a screw in the end as a plug. The nipple is
about the same OD as the ID of the nylon tube on the end of the oil can.

Pump the oil can until the nylon tube is full of hydraulic fluid. Unscrew the
plug on the end of the nipple and slide the tube over it.

Start pumping. You're now forcing any air upwards towards the master cylinder,
filling the brake cylinder and brake line with an uninterrupted stream of fluid.

Have a friend inside the plane, watching the master cylinder to shout when the
fluid reaches the top (on my plane, I can actually sit by the wheel, reach up,
and put my finger in the open hole). When the master cylinder is full, have him
cap off the master cylinder, then pull the nylon tube off from the nipple and
re-insert the plug screw.

Ron Wanttaja

LOL! How true...
-Cory

Montblack wrote:
: ("Newps" wrote)
: Sounds like an air bubble or two in the line. Bleed from the bottom,
: not like you bleed your car.


: What does this mean? Bottom?


: My experience with 20 year old cars is:

: Pump, pump, pump. Hold. (HELPER - "Like this?")
: Open (YOU, at the wheel ...which I thought was the bottom??)

: Press slowly on brake pedal (HELPER listening to the radio. "Huh? What?")
: Fluid squirts out (YOU - "Turn off the d*** radio.")

: Close
: Check and refill brake fluid reservoir (which I thought was the top??)

: HELPER - "Pump again?"
: YOU - "No. Not yet, I'm still filling the....You pumped didn't you?"
: HELPER - "Sorry."
: YOU - "Turn off that d*** radio."

: Rinse and repeat :-)

: How do you do it in planes?

: Thanks


: Montblack

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Montblack wrote:
: How do you do it in planes?

I believe he was talking about bottom-feeding bleeding. Rig up a pump to a
can of fluid and connect it to the bleeder fitting at the wheel. Force the fluid
backwards through the sytem (and keep the can under the cowling from overflowing).
That should help in chasing the air out.

My mechanic has done some work on a couple of them, and says that there's a
small washer/valve in the toebrakes that generally needs replacement. It does sound
like a bitch, and something I should do before we get our new carpet. Unlikely it'll
happen before then, though.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************