Bleed both brakes?

Putting new drum brakes on one side only (I'll mess with the other side some other time). Do I need to bleed both sides?

Re: Bleed both brakes?

Ya mon.

Re: Bleed both brakes?

If you are replacing the Brake cylinder that is the farthest from the actuator, you may be able to get away with it.

As long as you are bleeding brakes, why not just bleed both sides just to get fresh fluid into the other piston while you're at it.
If you are replacing the drum on one side you will need to replace the shoes also.
If you already have both sides opened up to replace shoes, bleeding is a no brainer.
Brake fluid does age! It is not that big of a deal.
Is taking an extra five minutes to bleed the other side something that you consider way too much extra work?

Re: Bleed both brakes?

yeah, do both sides.

Re: Bleed both brakes?

why are you not pulling all the wheels,ur half done...whenyour on the side of the road you will say,,,why didnt i do the other side..when i do my trailers from my hydraulic to my bunk trailers all the wheels get pulled.bearings and seals get thrown out....when it comes for brakes its cheaper to put on new backing plates and all wheels adjusted and bled out with new fluid...brake fluid will hold moisture over time and affect the stopping ability of your trailer..with a coupler you have some issues to check as well, and are harder to bleed than other systems....it can be done manually or by a brake bleeder..trailer maintenance is a must for a safe trip to the water...take care ED

Re: Bleed both brakes?

And you wonder why people complain when they have brake problems.Some of the things people do. I just don't get it .I guess you would only change brakes on one side of your auto???

Re: Bleed both brakes?

Yep do both sides, you don't know how far up the line the air will get when you take off the one side, it only takes a few minutes and its good to both 1) move the bleeder valve so it does not get frozen by corrosion and 2) flushes out the old fluid and whatever moisture got in there.

What I have been doing to make my drum brakes last longer is I take a new wheel cylinder and remove the dust boot. I pack the area under the boot with OMC/Bombardier Triple Guard Grease and put a bit on the upper edge of the piston. Then I put it back together but I seal around the groove in the cylinder where the boot fits with high temp RTV and also in the hole where the pushrod goes.
Also I extend the adjuster all the way and pack the threads with the same grease and the area between the front shoes to so that they don't get frozen. Doing these things has made my drum brakes work better and last longer.