555e bleeding new master cylinders?

Nick350 · May 22, 2021

I ended up putting 2 new master cylinders in my 1998 Ford 555e because one was broken and the other quit working.

I bled them per the manual, "open bleeder screws until oil comes out", by using the L/R bleeders on the rear end. I had them open for about an hour and had a small drip coming out of both. I still am not building any brake pressure at the pedal and am also not losing fluid so I don't think its pumping into the rear end, is there a trick to bleeding them right? should I vacuum bleed them?

Thanks for the help!

jimg984 · May 22, 2021

takes two people to bleed them, one pushing on petal with the bleeder open, other person close the bleeder with petal still down, repeat till no air in system good luck

Nick350 · May 22, 2021

I had a second person and we did the pump and bleed technique and the pedal wasn’t building any pressure. We were squirting some fluid but it wasn’t like a regular car brake building up.

jimg984 said:
takes two people to bleed them, one pushing on petal with the bleeder open, other person close the bleeder with petal still down, repeat till no air in system good luck

Vetech63 · May 22, 2021

Swetz · May 23, 2021

Nick350,
A couple of things come to mind:
1. Did you bench bleed both master cylinders prior to installing
2. Did you use the special NH brake oil (brake fluid is no good)
3. Is the plug in figure 5.95 below orientated properly (bleeder needs to be on the top or it will not bleed properly)
4. Is it possible that the brake apply pistons is leaking into the rear (loosing fluid level in the reservoir is a tell tale sign of this, and is common)

Be sure to let us know how you make out!

Good luck!

Nick350 · May 23, 2021

I did not bench bleed them, I do have the correct NH mineral oil.

I am not sure on the plug orientation but oil does come out of the drain. I don’t think the seals are bad because I’m not losing any oil from the revisor.

today I’m going to try and vacuum bleed them, if it doesn’t work I will pull the output hoses and try using a syringe to bench bleed them while they are still in the machine.

Thanks for the tips

Swetz said:
Nick350,
A couple of things come to mind:
1. Did you bench bleed both master cylinders prior to installing
2. Did you use the special NH brake oil (brake fluid is no good)
3. Is the plug in figure 5.95 below orientated properly (bleeder needs to be on the top or it will not bleed properly)
4. Is it possible that the brake apply pistons is leaking into the rear (loosing fluid level in the reservoir is a tell tale sign of this, and is common)

Be sure to let us know how you make out!

Good luck!

View attachment 239666

View attachment 239667

Swetz · May 23, 2021

I have a feeling the new masters have the air in them...How bout getting someone hold the pedal down while you crack the line on the master. If there is air, you should see it come out.

Nick350 · May 23, 2021

Yeah we tried regular bleeding the other day for about 30 mins and weren’t getting any pedal.

today we used the vacuum pump while isolating each master cylinder (holding the opposite pedal down) to draw some oil through each.

after this we were starting to get some firmness to form so we proceeded to bleed each side. That got them rock solid and I even got a couple hours of work in with it.

Thanks for help!

Swetz · May 24, 2021

Nick350 said:
That got them rock solid and I even got a couple hours of work in with it.

GREAT! Glad it all worked out...Happy Tractoring!!

Mike-G · Jul 2, 2021

Swetz said:
GREAT! Glad it all worked out...Happy Tractoring!!

Swetz,
I have a 1999 555e as well and when I add the special fluid to the reservoir it leaks out onto the floor. The brakes work great, there's just no oil in the reservoir. Do you know what's going on?
Thanks,
Mike

Swetz · Jul 3, 2021

Hey Mike-G,
Looking at the pic below, it could be the reservoir, the hoses to the master, the switch on the left master, or the masters themselves. I doubt it is the piping coming out of the masters, because when there is fluid the brakes work.
I know it is tight where the masters are, but take off the covers in that area to get a good look. That special oil is a bit pricy, so the sooner you find the leak the better

Nick350 · Jul 3, 2021

[QUOTE="Mike-G, post: 982166, member: 7367]
Mike[/QUOTE]
I agree with everything Swetz said above.

When my reservoir leaked out it was one of the hoses going to the master cylinder.

if it leaked on the floor of the cab, my bet is the reservoir hoses near the connection or the reservoir itself.

If it’s on the ground I would say it’s a hose or the connection to the master cylinder.

Mike-G · Jul 3, 2021

Thanks so much for your replies. I will check it out when I can and let you know what I find. It may be a few days.
Thanks again.

Flat Thunder Channel · Jul 3, 2021

I think you got it whooped! However it's worth noting the cheep brake bleeders are awesome. I bought a $10 Lisle unit years ago and was skeptical. It was one of the best tool purchases to this day. Try one out on the next bleeding job

Mike-G · Jul 4, 2021

Hey guys thanks for your help. Here's the story. When I bought the machine and got it home (2018) I was checking all the fluids and the brake reservoir was empty. I was surprised because the brakes worked great. I filled it with the expensive oil and later noticed it all over the floor. As I recall i looked it over and it appeared to be leaking out the seals on the back of the cylinders (no pressure side?). I must have added more fluid and left it alone thinking I would replace cylinders when I had to. I checked yesterday and was surprised to see oil in the reservoir. I topped it off. My guess is the seals were dry and after lubed they started sealing again? Anyway if there is no oil on the floor I'm calling it good! Yay!
This forum is great.
Thanks again
Mike

Nick350 · Nov 6, 2022

video of our install if anyone comes here looking for help

cosmaar1 · Nov 7, 2022

Nick350 said:
video of our install if anyone comes here looking for help

I’ve watched a couple videos you guys have put out and it’s been helpful. Hopefully you guys will put out more, but that means your machine needs to break….. sorry!!

If you really want to help me out, take a part the radiator and oil cooler as that’s a job I need to do this winter. Boo.

NH575E · Nov 7, 2022

cosmaar1 said:
I’ve watched a couple videos you guys have put out and it’s been helpful. Hopefully you guys will put out more, but that means your machine needs to break….. sorry!!

If you really want to help me out, take a part the radiator and oil cooler as that’s a job I need to do this winter. Boo.

HA HA HA!

Flushed my radiator in the machine in February, installed a new 180 thermostat, and it has maintained temp all summer. https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/what-are-you-doing-to-your-hoe.93195/#post-1026312

NH575E · Nov 7, 2022

I'm envious of you guys with brakes. My slave seals will leak into the rear axle in a couple of days last I tried. I even tried filling the masters with Lucas hydraulic oil leak seal. It's as thick as STP. Leaked right into the rear axle. When I got the tractor the axle was about 5 gallons over filled from them dumping oil in it.

cosmaar1 · Nov 7, 2022

NH575E said:
I'm envious of you guys with brakes. My slave seals will leak into the rear axle in a couple of days last I tried. I even tried filling the masters with Lucas hydraulic oil leak seal. It's as thick as STP. Leaked right into the rear axle. When I got the tractor the axle was about 5 gallons over filled from them dumping oil in it.

That sucks. I haven't looked into it, but I'm sure is a job to get the brakes working again.

555e bleeding new master cylinders?

Active Member

Senior Member

Active Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Active Member

Senior Member

Active Member

Senior Member

Active Member

Senior Member

Active Member

Attachments

Active Member

Senior Member

Active Member

Active Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member