The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Bleeding brakes on 1940 1.5 ton

Evidently I have a leak somewhere and ran the reservoir dry, refilled and now soft pedal. Any tips on bleeding the brakes on a big bolt by myself? I only know the old two person “pump em up and hold em” while the other guy cracks the bleeder method. My wife and kids are not gearheads and are not going to be much help.

You can't even get one to pump the pedal for you?

Did you find and fix the leak? Where was it...brake fluid doesn't evaporate, it went somewhere...

Mike B

Haven’t put it on the lift yet. No obvious leaks or puddles on the ground.

Could be filling up the inside the Hydrovac canister if you have one...

Mike B

I have had brake systems dry out/leak/whatever over long periods and come back to life with just a fill and bleed, never leaving any traces of where the fluid went. Doesn't seem right I know.

My hrdo-vac is trashed and I have it bypassed for now. No problem bleeding the system with a inexperienced helper on the pedal. Make sure you have the shoes adjusted real close, a slight drag is good.

Found the leak!! Master cylinder. Wiped it down to make sure the wetness wasn’t just from the tiny bit spilled while filling it, and the next day was leaking again. Now it’s time to start digging to see who sells the seal and maybe the entire unit. If anyone knows where to get the parts, I’d love to know.

Get the brand and casting number from the cylinder, NAPA auto parts would be the most common decent place to start, Raybestos brand brake parts was the ringer for all of the wheel cylinder kits, master cylinder kit, rubber brake hoses for mine.