Bleeding the Front Brakes

[phil swanson]

Hello GMCers,
Hope you all liked my "killer deal" on the KYBs (that I originally
posted, but was not mentioned). It is nice to see some fellow GMCers are
saving some money. I know it was a hard deal to beat. I sure like to
see us comparison shop to get the best deals to save us all money
collectively. That's what it's all about, along with the exchange of
technical information and assistance of course. That's why I am writing.

I was wondering if you really need to use the special tool from
Cinnabar to hold the pin in on the combination valve to bleed the front
brakes. Has anyone done this with common hand tools? Also, I was
wondering if anyone can clarify what happens electrically when you move
the switch on the dash from Battery Normal to Battery Boost. Is it
simply directing the generator output from one battery to another or
from one battery to both batteries or ??. The manual I have doesn't give
a functional explanation, only to switch it to Boost when your main
battery gets low. Any information is appreciated. I had problems trying
to figure this out on the wiring schematic as well, although it looks
like it does tie into the battery isolator somehow.
Maybe one of the guys that got the cheap KYBs can help me out...
Just kidding !!
It's always fun helping each other.

Phil Swanson

 

[thomas g. warner]

Battery boost puts your living area battery in parallel with the engine
battery and has nothing to do with the generator.

>Hello GMCers,
> Hope you all liked my "killer deal" on the KYBs (that I originally
>posted, but was not mentioned). It is nice to see some fellow GMCers are
>saving some money. I know it was a hard deal to beat. I sure like to
>see us comparison shop to get the best deals to save us all money
>collectively. That's what it's all about, along with the exchange of
>technical information and assistance of course. That's why I am writing.
>
> I was wondering if you really need to use the special tool from
>Cinnabar to hold the pin in on the combination valve to bleed the front
>brakes. Has anyone done this with common hand tools? Also, I was
>wondering if anyone can clarify what happens electrically when you move
>the switch on the dash from Battery Normal to Battery Boost. Is it
>simply directing the generator output from one battery to another or
>from one battery to both batteries or ??. The manual I have doesn't give
>a functional explanation, only to switch it to Boost when your main
>battery gets low. Any information is appreciated. I had problems trying
>to figure this out on the wiring schematic as well, although it looks
>like it does tie into the battery isolator somehow.
> Maybe one of the guys that got the cheap KYBs can help me out...
>Just kidding !!
> It's always fun helping each other.
>
>
>Phil Swanson
>
>
>

 

[russ bethel]

Phil,

Sorry about not mentioning your name in the repost. I was in a hurry and
highlighted the text in the old message, hit control C to put it on the
clipboard and then did replied to question. I'll try to do better next
time.

When I bleed my front brakes I used a syringe that I bought from the auto
parts store for bleeding brakes. I filled the syringe with brake fluid,
pushed on the plunger until all the air was removed, coupled the syringe to
the bleeder fitting on the caliper, opened the bleeder plug and injected the
fluid into the brake system. All this was done with the engine off and the
cap off the master cylinder. Two things to watch out for, (a) don't push
the syringe plunger real fast and hard as it will either come off the
bleeder plug or a fountain of brake fluid will come out of the open master
cylinder, (b) remove most of the fluid from the master cylinder first so
there will be room for the fluid you inject from the syringe. If you have
not upset the shuttle on the combination valve before hand it should not
need to be messed with. If you do have a brake light on you will need to
get the shuttle back in it's normal position. The fellow that does some of
the work on my coach (Dale from Casteel, Texas (915)247-3616) says you can
bleed the front brakes using the gravity method. Make sure the master
cylinder is full and open the bleeder port on each caliper and allow the
brake fluid to run out. Be sure to close the bleeder plug before the master
cylinder runs out of brake fluid.

Since I made mention of Dale I would like to recommend him to anyone that
needs major mechanical work done on their GMC. He does front bearing and
hub replacements, exhaust systems ( including headers ), engine and
transmission overhauls, and probably about anything else you could think
of. He has a bay in his shop that has lifts in it that will lift the GMC
about 4 feet in the air. (limited by ceiling ) I understand he has over
300 GMC coach owners as customers. He is not cheap but is reasonable and
very good. He also stocks many parts for the GMC.

The solenoid under the battery isolator, located on the passenger side under
the hood, connects the rear battery to the front battery when you push the
battery boost switch. I found it to be a real life saver when I lost the
alternator belt and was in the middle of no where without a spare belt. I
had to push the switch into the boost position and hold it there for a half
a minute every few minutes to get enough electricity in the main battery to
keep the engine running. I since have a spare belt and alternator.

Hope this answers your questions. A lot of information is passed along on
this net and it sure helps me. It would be hard to say how much money I
have saved from the information and contacts in these posts on the net.

Regards,
Russ Bethel
rbethel

 

[phil swanson]

Russ,
Can you fill me in on how you use the Control "C" command, I never
have been successful forwarding parts of messages back to the list.
Thanks, Phil Swanson

-
From: "Russ Bethel"
To:
Subject: Re: GMC: Bleeding the Front Brakes
Date: Thu, 28 May 1998 13:24:58 -0500

Phil,

Sorry about not mentioning your name in the repost. I was in a hurry and
highlighted the text in the old message, hit control C to put it on the
clipboard and then did replied to question. I'll try to do better next
time.

When I bleed my front brakes I used a syringe that I bought from the auto
parts store for bleeding brakes. I filled the syringe with brake fluid,
pushed on the plunger until all the air was removed, coupled the syringe to
the bleeder fitting on the caliper, opened the bleeder plug and injected the
fluid into the brake system. All this was done with the engine off and the
cap off the master cylinder. Two things to watch out for, (a) don't push
the syringe plunger real fast and hard as it will either come off the
bleeder plug or a fountain of brake fluid will come out of the open master
cylinder, (b) remove most of the fluid from the master cylinder first so
there will be room for the fluid you inject from the syringe. If you have
not upset the shuttle on the combination valve before hand it should not
need to be messed with. If you do have a brake light on you will need to
get the shuttle back in it's normal position. The fellow that does some of
the work on my coach (Dale from Casteel, Texas (915)247-3616) says you can
bleed the front brakes using the gravity method. Make sure the master
cylinder is full and open the bleeder port on each caliper and allow the
brake fluid to run out. Be sure to close the bleeder plug before the master
cylinder runs out of brake fluid.

Since I made mention of Dale I would like to recommend him to anyone that
needs major mechanical work done on their GMC. He does front bearing and
hub replacements, exhaust systems ( including headers ), engine and
transmission overhauls, and probably about anything else you could think
of. He has a bay in his shop that has lifts in it that will lift the GMC
about 4 feet in the air. (limited by ceiling ) I understand he has over
300 GMC coach owners as customers. He is not cheap but is reasonable and
very good. He also stocks many parts for the GMC.

The solenoid under the battery isolator, located on the passenger side under
the hood, connects the rear battery to the front battery when you push the
battery boost switch. I found it to be a real life saver when I lost the
alternator belt and was in the middle of no where without a spare belt. I
had to push the switch into the boost position and hold it there for a half
a minute every few minutes to get enough electricity in the main battery to
keep the engine running. I since have a spare belt and alternator.

Hope this answers your questions. A lot of information is passed along on
this net and it sure helps me. It would be hard to say how much money I
have saved from the information and contacts in these posts on the net.

Regards,
Russ Bethel
rbethel

 

[russ bethel]

It is a basic Windows command. You highlight the text that you want to copy
to the clip board by positioning the cursor over the first letter you want
to copy, hold down on the left mouse button and drag the cursor over the
rest of the text you want to copy to the clip board. With the text
highlighted you hold down on the control key and type a c. That action will
put the highlighted text in the Windows clip board. You then place the
cursor at the place you want to insert the text that is on the clip board
and hold down on the control key and type a v. That will put a copy of what
ever is on the clip board at that location.

It is a quick way to copy large amounts of text. You usually can copy text
from one Windows based program to another Windows based program.

Russ Bethel
rbethel

 

[jim bounds1]

>
> Hello GMCers,
> Hope you all liked my "killer deal" on the KYBs (that I originally
> posted, but was not mentioned). It is nice to see some fellow GMCers are
> saving some money. I know it was a hard deal to beat. I sure like to
> see us comparison shop to get the best deals to save us all money
> collectively. That's what it's all about, along with the exchange of
> technical information and assistance of course. That's why I am writing.
>
> I was wondering if you really need to use the special tool from
> Cinnabar to hold the pin in on the combination valve to bleed the front
> brakes. Has anyone done this with common hand tools? Also, I was
> wondering if anyone can clarify what happens electrically when you move
> the switch on the dash from Battery Normal to Battery Boost. Is it
> simply directing the generator output from one battery to another or
> from one battery to both batteries or ??. The manual I have doesn't give
> a functional explanation, only to switch it to Boost when your main
> battery gets low. Any information is appreciated. I had problems trying
> to figure this out on the wiring schematic as well, although it looks
> like it does tie into the battery isolator somehow.
> Maybe one of the guys that got the cheap KYBs can help me out...
> Just kidding !!
> It's always fun helping each other.
>
> Phil Swanson

Phil,
A super source for KYB shocks, anyone reading this should but from there
if they nned shocks.

To the boost switch, it simply energises the solenoid located above the
battery up front which electrically ties the rear and the front 12 volt
electrical systems together momentarilly. This will bypass the isolator
which has the job of splitting the 2 systems and allow the engine
alternator to charge both while the engine is running. This is
desireable in that the chassis battery can be saved for starting the
engine even after that wild night where you left the coach lights on
because the lamp shade on your head prevented you from seeing that you
had left them on after the belly dancers had left!

There are differences in the wiring logic of this circuit between the
early and late coaches. I have found modifications for both that their
use. Give me a call toll free (1-877-275-4462) and we can go over the
wiring together.

Jim Bounds www.gmccoop.com