Bleed Brakes but still NO Brakes?

[Garn]

If I have bleed my brakes and yet they still don't seem to work (I can unplug the electrical connection and still back the trailer up) ..... what does that mean? Do I need to replace parts in my hitch? Replace the whole thing (might be easier then tearing it apart)?

Garn

[MLA]

How did you bleed them? I have found that pressure bleeding works better on a trailer then gravity bleeding. If they are drum brakes, they may need to be cleaned, lubed and adjusted. If they are disk, check frozen caliper slide pins. With the trailer disconnected from the hitch, is the coupler pin forward in the slot or rearward? If forward, how much resistance is there when you try to push it in manually? If its rearward, then couple may be sticking, master cylinder binding, air in the system. Can you pull is forward?

[NCSUmoomba]

MLA is right. Check the other stuff before dealing with the actuator. It turns out that I needed a new one, but I pulled the calipers of and checked and lubed everything else first.

[lewisb13]

http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=270744823988

[parrothd]

http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=270744823988

lol....Just buy a mityvac, $36...

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/OEM-Liquid-siphoning-vacuum-pump-kit/_/N-25j2?itemIdentifier=70116_0_0_

[lewisb13]

Yeah either one will work.

[Garn]

I have a Mityvac which is what I bleed it with. MLA, I will try those things you suggested. One questions, if I can manually move the coupler by hand, forward or back, what is that telling me?

[MLA]

I have a Mityvac which is what I bleed it with. MLA, I will try those things you suggested. One questions, if I can manually move the coupler by hand, forward or back, what is that telling me?

Theres no resistance, so its full of air, out of adjustment, or the fluid is bleeding past the piston seal. It should take a fair amount of force to compress the coupler and then it should return on its own.

[parrothd]

Theres no resistance, so its full of air, out of adjustment, or the fluid is bleeding past the piston seal. It should take a fair amount of force to compress the coupler and then it should return on its own.

How much fluid did you pull out with the mityvac? I think it took at least a small bottle of brake fluid when I did mine...

[parrothd]

How much fluid did you pull out with the mityvac? I think it took at least a small bottle of brake fluid when I did mine...

I can manually push my coupler about a 1/4 of the way in before it starts to kick in....

[Garn]

How much fluid did you pull out with the mityvac? I think it took at least a small bottle of brake fluid when I did mine...

Not that much. It seemed like I never could get all the bubbles out.