Ive been trying to bleed the drum brakes on my e body for about a month. Ive replaced m/c and bench bled, replaced all rubber hoses, replaced all wheel cylinders, cleaned out all the splitters.this time I bled the system with a power air vacume designed for a/c with some minor alterations. I pulled out about 3/4 of the m/c twice at each wheel, never let the m/c go dry. Got in and soft pedal. Pump it ip it gets firm, couple of seconds later its soft again. Tried this numerous times. everything is tight and no leaks.....ive had it. Never had such a problem in my life. Any ideas because im ready to cover it up and forget about it

I would only suggest to make certain that the adjusters are adjusted as close as you can before you slide the drums on.

That's where I'd start too. You will get a soft pedal if the rear is out of adjustment.

Will you sell me your car cheap because it don't have brakes?

Just in case you don't want to sell me your car cheap, check this out.

This is a true pressure bleeder, not no suction gimmick and works 100% every time without fail.

I have been using it for 25 years now.
It holds 1 gallon of brake fluid and has a rubber diaphragm inside separating the air pressure from the brake fluid. I have taken it apart at least 3 times in 25 years to clean it up, paint it to prevent corrosion, replace hardware and to inspect the diaphragm.

I pressurize the lower half with about 10-20 psi.
Then bleed any air out of the upper chamber before using. Connect it to the master cylinder and open the valve and apply 15 or so psi to your master cylinder.
Open the bleeders and the fluid shoots out allowing you to bleed each line 100% in seconds per wheel including the master cylinder.

I just put new pads and rotors on this truck and flushed the brake lines while I was at it, I just let it go on the floor and pressure wash it up when I'm done.

I keep brake fluid in it all year long and sometimes it sit's a for year until I use it again. The fluid stays good because it not exposed to any air, it's always under pressure to keep the air out.

I also use it to flush my brakes for preventive maintenance also.

The master cylinder adaptator on the right is the one I use on old cars with a double reservoir.


Find someone who has one and you can be sure it's bleed 100%, maybe that's not your problem. We can only guess from here, at least you know what a pressure bleeder looks like now.

Right after a fresh rebuild, little paint and new hardware and hose.

Anyone ever try this? Seems like a nice option to DIY
Price is right too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/brake-bleeder-and-vacuum-pump-kit-69328.html

I used that HB setup at work a lot.Mine is a Mighty vac pump though.It works good.I usually gravity bleed first then use it.As for the OP maybe a bad master.Its happened with more than one.Rocky

Something to consider.....

You may have a bad master cylinder?

Sometimes an individuals over-enthusiasm to bench bleed a master, you over stroke the piston while the bore is still dry and you tear/cut an o-ring in the bore leading to fluid bypassing the piston

....try a new master, bench bleed it slowly, and don't stroke it fully...just enough to bleed the air out of both chambers

I'd spoon em up tight & in fact it wouldn't hurt to lock em solid just till you get the air out then I'd get 2 brass inverted flare male plug fittings from the "Edelman" parts cabinet at your parts house (they're cheap & you will reuse em in the future) & cap the M/C ports. If the M/C is good (& bled out) the pedal will be rock hard with virtually no travel & press lightly and stomp it. If good there then put a block of wood under the brake pedal to limit it's travel to the normal range & hookup the front brakes to the M/C port next to the firewall (keep the rears capped) & with a helper to work the pedal as you work the bleeder(s) get the air out of the fronts, You & him want to be in symphony, you open it slightly then have him push the pedal down & him holler "down" then you close the bleeder quickly & holler "closed" then he lets up on the pedal & repeats as you want to drive as much fluid thru there as possible as fast as you can to agitate the air/fluid. When you get them good then hookup the rears/repeat. A common mistake is the guy on the bleeders letting air back up in them in the process. From your descrip there's alot of air in there

You also need to be dead certain that the metal lines are good. Trace them from front to back and look for wet spots. The strangest experience I had with bleeding brakes was a VW Rabbit. The brake lines ran inside the cabin to the rear in the left side of the driver's foot well. The radio antenna mount leaked water into the foot well and rusted the line. I had a foot well full of brake fluid and no pedal when I pressure bled the system Those cars also had mysterious electrical problems because the water dripped off the fuse panel first