shizmd

i am trying to bleed my is350 brakes and i installed earl's bleeder. my problem is noticing air in the line. here's what i did: i pumped the brakes a few times while engine is off and turned on ignition. then i unscrewed the one way brake bleeder valve(earl's) less than 1 turn and started pumping the brakes until the fluid changes color. once i'm done, i turned off engine and as i go to tighten the earl valve, i noticed lots of air bubbles coming out of bleeder valve.

1> should the engine be off or on to properly bleed?
i turned engine on as pedal is hard when engine is off and hardly any fluid would come out with each pedal press.

2> Where's all this air coming from? Am i missing something?
the air bubbles is only noticed as engine is off. As i'm pumping the brakes with engine on and fluid gushing out, there was no air in the tubing.

Thanks for all your input.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Air is leaking around the threads and letting the fluid drain through the tube. It's not a big deal it just looks weird.

I bleed brakes with the engine off. There is no need to turn it on. You should open the Earl's Solo Bleeders one full turn so they can allow fluid past the check valve easily. I have Earl's SB on my Supra, IS-F, and the wife's Scion. I have LOTS of practice with them since the Scion had a stuck caliper slider pin in the rear. I spent a lot of time bleeding the brakes to "cure" a soft pedal that was actually a stuck caliper problem. I observed exactly what you're talking about and it has no effect on the brake system once you close the bleeder valve.