brake set up

[jay26]

hi guys just joined hope to gain alot of information here.i bought a 96 grand am se mainly for driving to work and back.and my first problem i noticed my brakes were feeling real soft and had to press the brake pedal 75% down to get it to brake,and noticed the master cylinder was completly empty well put fluid in and it still feels the same,so it has to be air in the lines.how do i bleed the lines?and second question is i noticed the rear does not use brake pads or rotors can you please explain what this set up is completly clueless.thanks

[rixGAphx]

Get a Haynes manual immediately, you will definitely need it.

The front of the Haynes will have a couple chapters explaining 'basic' automotive procedures, including brake bleeding at the four wheels.
It will explain both the 2-man procedure, and the equipment and procedure for 1-man bleeding.
Even when I work alone in the driveway, I always find it easiest to grab a neighborhood kid to sit in the driver seat and pump the pedal on my command.

Once the lines are bled at the wheels, you will need to bleed the MC itself, thru the two bleeder screws on its side and using a tube to direct the 'bled fluid' into a can a few inches away.

Finally, the pre-'99 GA's are conventional, 'old-fashioned', front disc/rear drum power brakes.
Read in the Haynes how drum brakes work.
They've been around since the '20's, and they stopped the entire world until the first disc brakes appeared on road cars in the late '50's.
They are quite a bit more complex than discs, so don't just dive-in without preparation.
Most brand-new econoboxes and 1-ton pickups are still rear-drum.

Good luck, and :welcome: to GAOC!
-Rick

[radarman012000]

Here is the procedure for bleeding brakes.

Do the fronts first, they are the "main" brakes....they do about 60 to 75% of the stopping....

First check the fluid level in the Master cylinder and make sure its full...
Next, get a helper...wife, son, daughter, neighbor, dog, cat, rat....etc....seriously...get someone to sit in the drivers seat to push the brake pedal for ya....

Jack up the car and remove the wheel...once done turn the steering wheel all the way to right or left to get easy access to bleeder screw.

Get the wrench on the bleeder screw, WRENCH, not socket...make sure its a closed end wrench..you dont want to strip the bleeder screw head.

ok..now have assistant press brake pedal three (3) times and third time have them hold the pedal as far as they can to the floor....then open bleeder screw and you will see some fluid squirt out....if that line has air in it you will see the fluid come out in spurts, not solid.

Close the bleeder screw and have the assistant do the pedal push again, open bleeder and observe fluid flow....if you see a steady flow, then you are done on that wheel...

close bleeder and check master cylinder fluid level....

Repeat procedure for the other wheels.

The Master cylinder is just as easy, but use a catch can cus you don't want brake fluid squirting all over your engine.

Hope this helps

[jay26]

seems simple enough thanks guys.big help