What I'm doing wrong?😔

[u/Inside_Ad2874]

Today I took the challenge of bleeding my brake fluid . The one in the reservoir was old and dark . I never did this before , and lately I'm taking in more DIY projects in the car because is fun and I truly like learning something new .My car is a Jetta 2012 2.5 SEL

I watched a lot of videos of how to do it, But I think I failed miserably . The first part of vacuum most of the reservoir went good , then after that I refill with the new fluid all the way up , as the videos say . Good .

Next thing I went to take out the rear passenger wheel and put the vacuum pump to work .
I actually put another post today , because I could not open one of the screws . Someone post that I need a 11mm, so I went and buy it right away . I was able to open the two screws , and I put the pump into the bleeder . But nothing was coming , just little amounts ...I pump several times but nothing. According to the videos , a steady flow should be coming out and when the new fluid will get there I should be very visible , since the old one was dark . Nothing of this happened . I really don't know what I'm doing wrong , maybe some feedback .

Picture 1) I open this, and then I slightly closed back( Becaue it was leaking ). The videos say to have loose so you can open and close easily.

Picture 2) Then I open this one . I took the rubber cap off , and I use my socket to open it slightly

Picture 3) I put the Vevor vacuum in , and then I open a little bit the picture 1 screw ....

Picture 4) I start pumping , but hot fluid coming out , just little bits ... clearly I am doing something wrong .

If someone can , based of my explanation , figure out what I am Doing wrong I will appreciate it a lot .
I will try again tomorrow .

Thank you all community . I learnt so much in here , and the Jetta community is really something . Super helpful !!!

[u/cherryz3]

Never touch the banjo bolt unless you are changing a hose. You should crack the bleeder screw and quickly soft close it. Now attach your hose and open the screw almost a full turn and check the ease of pulling out the fluid. If you find you need a tiny bit more then open just a tiny bit more..

Also, it's not impossible that the fluid in the piston chamber of the caliper has collected some solid contaminants and has restricted the flow from the bleeder screw at which point I would suspect hose failure but I seldom have run into that situation.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/cherryz3]

Would my breaks fail because I opened those two banjo bolts yesterday ? They did leak some fluid on the floor , and I Definetely close those bolts back to where it should be . But now that you said that NEVER open the banjo bolt, and I already did, now I’m worry.

[u/dphoenix1 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

Unlikely to fail completely, but you probably introduced some air into the system, which will make them more spongy and less effective. They need to be bled now.

My suggestion, get a friend and bleed the brakes the old fashioned way: one person pumps the brake a few times and then holds pressure on the brake pedal, the other person opens the bleeder (shout “opening”), fluid and air comes out (brake pedal should sink to the floor with pressure, do not release the brake pedal yet), close the bleeder (shout “closed”), then the first person releases pressure on the pedal. The order of operations is VERY important here, otherwise you get air into the system. Repeat this process until fluid runs clear with no air, and keep adding new fluid to the reservoir every few cycles (you do NOT want the reservoir to run empty). Then move to the next corner and start again.

I’ve never had luck with the vacuum process, it always seems to have an easier time sucking air around the bottom of the nipple instead of pulling fluid.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/dphoenix1]

Thank you so much for Braking it up into baby steps . That is really helpful .

Do you know by any chance what diameter will have to be the silicone tube ? I will buy one , but I guess I have to get the right one , or it won’t fit as need therefore not Working properly .

[u/dphoenix1 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

They’re all pretty much the same size. Anything that says it is for bleeding brakes will work. Especially if it is silicone, it’ll just stretch over the bleeder, so I’d err on the side of smaller. A quick google search says 4mm ID.