How to Bleed a Lucas Girling

The term sounds like more like sinister medical experiment seen in a low-budget horror movie, but those familiar with vehicle brakes know that bleeding a Lucas Girling refers to the process of eliminating air bubbles in the brake lines of a particular brand of brakes. The name Lucas Girling refers to two British companies that merged in 1938. Lucas manufactured vehicle components. Girling manufactured brakes. Brakes may need to be bled when the pedal feels spongy and almost touches the floor when you depress it. When brake pads wear thin, the brake fluid drops too low, allowing air bubbles to get into the brake lines. Bleeding the brakes will flush that air out.

Instructions

1

Raise the vehicle up in the air and remove all the wheels, exposing the brakes.

2

Loosen the bleeder bolts but dont take them off.

3

Look under the hood of the vehicle and locate the brake fluid reservoir. Remove the cap and suck out as much of the old fluid as you can with a turkey baster or syringe. Clean any dirt out of the reservoir with a clean rag.

4

Fit one end of plastic tubing over the bleeder bolt at the right rear of the vehicle. Put the other end of the tube into a plastic bottle with an inch or two of new brake fluid. This will prevent air from being sucked back into the brake cylinder.

5

Put a block of wood under the brake pedal to prevent the pedal from travelling when the line pressure is released.

6

Fill the reservoir with new brake fluid and put the cap back on.

7

Depress the brake pedal. This is the step that needs an additional person while you work the bleeder bolt.

8

Turn the bleeder bolt a quarter-turn. The old brake fluid will trickle down the tubing into the bottle. When the trickle stops, close the bleeder bolt completely.

9

Ease up on the brake pedal. Repeat this process until the brake fluid runs clear.

10

Repeat the entire process for the left rear and front brakes.