Today it is too cold to work at the hangar. The thermometer is at 23o F, but
here we are. Today Tim, my grandson and
I decided to get the air bubbles out of the left brake lines. I connected the oil pump with brake fluid to
the left bleeder valve. I also removed
brake fluid from the reservoir. As I pumped fluid into the system the air
bubble (1-½") traveled into the bottom of the co-pilot left master
cylinder. As I continued to pump the
bubble did not come out of the line at the top of the cylinder. I continued to pump fluid. Finally I stopped and checked the
reservoir. It was full. I removed more fluid from the reservoir and
waited. The air bubble reappeared in the
line at the bottom of the cylinder.
GRRRRR. I pumped more fluid. The same thing happened. I repeated the remove and pumping process and
the same thing happened again! Frustrated
(and cold!) I called MATCO, the manufacturers of the brakes. I talked with the service tech for a few
moments and we discussed several things he thought might help. The first was to pump the brake after the air
bubble enters the cylinder. There were a
couple of additional suggestions but I decided to try pumping toe brake
first. I pumped more fluid and the bubble
entered the bottom of the cylinder. Tim
pumped the toe brake a few time and bubbles came out of the top line and formed
in the line to the reservoir. We waited
a few moments. Success!! I pumped in more fluid and the bubbles moved
to the reservoir. Spilled fluid on a
paper towel is evidence we worked on the brakes today.
Next we cut a notch in the top of the
upholstered baggage bulkhead cover where the new fuel vent line passes through
to the tailcone area. I only cut one
side of the vinyl on the forward side of the panel. By gluing the cutout part of the panel to the
vinyl I have made a hinge so the cut out piece can be moved out of the way to
remove and install the panel with the vent line in place. I used a clamp to hold the vinyl in place
until it dries.
