Hello, new to the board. Linked over from Moparts.

I've got a '72 dart (4 door sedan) that I've just about finished replacing the enitre brake system (9" brakes: new shoes, hardware, soft lines, master cylinder, wheel cylinders, etc). Are there any special concerns in filling/bleeding an "empty" system? I know about bench bleeding the master cylinder, that's no problem.

I checked previous posts up to page 10 or so, but didn't see anything specific about this.

Thanks

Nope, just proceed as normally, starting at the right rear wheel, then left rear, then right front, then left front, then right front, then left rear, then right rear, and so on in opposing "circles" around the car until you get solid fluid (no air at all). It can help to overadjust the brakes so that the shoes are right up against the drums (wheels locked), this way there's no lost motion during which the air can be compressed/moved instead of swept out.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Sweet. Thanks.

Welcome, glad to have you. For future reference, instead of back-tracking through post after post, use the search button at the top of the page and look for specific key words. Sure saves a lot of time, and you'll end up with posts even years old.

As far as the brake line bleeding, you'll need a helper to give you a hand (or foot) to operate the pedal while you open and close the bleeder valves. Or, you can get one of those one-man kits and do it yourself. It's basically a small plastic bottle with a magnet to mount it somewhere on the frame. It also has a plastic tube and various sized tips so you can find one that will wedge into the bleeder and stay in place while you pump the pedal.

Come back often,
Jerry

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Another way to bleed the brakes without help: I use "Speed Bleeders" on my Dart. They replace the normal bleeder screws with one-way valves. This makes bleeding the brakes a lot easier.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

der volkswagen? Fahrvergnugen!

Herr D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Naw, its a 4 door, plain-jane dark green Dart sedan. When I got it the wife said it looks like some low-level Communist Party staff officer's car, hence, the People's Car. Transport for the proletariat.


Loved you in "The Duel" by the way.

...you callin' a good ole' American Dart fit for a commie

Let them drive Ladas! A Dart would be a Cadillac to a comrade back in the U.S.S.R.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

You gotta admit, a green 4 door with zero trim, a slant 6 w/ three on the tree, an am radio and a heater comes about as close to the "classic" Russian design aesthetic as any American car ought to....

No comparison. The fact that your Dart is still rolling while all ladas of that vintage have long since fallen apart and returned to dust speaks volumes. I'd stop at calling the Dart a taxicab.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Taxicab, staff car, whatever. Four doors are the pariahs of the gearhead world. What're ya gonna do? I'm a high school history teacher with a wife in grad school. Can't quite afford to run with the "big dogs" in Hemicudas, A12's and Superbirds, so I embrace the populist/everyman nature of my car. Call it the Anti-Muscle Car.

Besides, the nice man on CNN told me the Cold War ended 25 years ago.

Georgie and Vlad lightin' 'em up!!!!

In 1980? Nobody told Ronnie Reagan that the "evil empire" wuz through before he even took office! But then CNN stands for Communist News Network...

Four doors will never be as cool as their two-door counterparts, but they sure are fun to beat around in. I like your "anti-muscle car" concept.

D/W

P. S. - what the heck is an A-12 (besides the CIA version of the Blackbird?)

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Err, uh, 15 years ago. Right.

A12: 69 1/2 factory 440 six-pack cars.

Never, ever heard anyone call them that, but I believe you. Must be a new thing with the resto crowd...

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!