Sab-a-dab-a-doo! The back-country LJ build has officially started

sab · Aug 29, 2026

FarFire70 said:
Been there on a design. Even worse can be coming back to a design you haven't worked on for a while and needing to walk through the build steps to remember how you had put it together.

Yes, I first used parametric design tools in 1993 (Pro/Engineer) at Harley-Davidson and also used it a decade later at Polaris, and I've embraced that functionality ever since. However, I frequently "outsmart myself." I try to think ahead and put those parametric relationships in place, but they occasionally blow up later...

For those who don't know what I mean by "parametric design tools," I believe Parametric Technology Corporation was the first to successfully market it in their Pro/Engineer software, which debuted in the late 80s. What parametric means is that you can tie dimensions of your part together using mathematical relationships so that as you tweak your dimensions, other related dimensions change appropriately.

The best example of that I can give is placing a hole in the center of a square piece. If the side of the square is 2" long, the hole center needs to be 1" from the edge. In the software, each dimension has an ID number assigned to it. Let's say that 2" side dimension is called D1 and the 1" distance from the side to the center is called D2. So, I set D2 = D1/2. That way, if I increase the square to 2.2", the hole position will change from 1" to 1.1" from the edge, keeping it centered. I don't have to go back in and change D2 manually. This capability is very useful! A common use for parametric design is when making a family of parts of different sizes. You can design it once, and then change one root dimension to generate the other parts in the family.

Fusion360 is parametric, like most all modern 3D CAD software. Here's one instance in this vent cover model of using a parametric relationship:

What that does is equally space the louvres out (the "fx:" prefix to a dimension above means it's based on a parametric formula). Initially, I didn't do this, and that's one reason I started over. When I needed to change the overall height of the vent cover, the louvre sizes and spacing got wonky. I then added this parametric constraint so that as I tweaked the dimensions, the louvres stayed nicely sized and spaced.

My favorite, and most complicated, parametric design of mine was a coil spring that changed as you compressed it in a suspension assembly. Accomplishing that seems simple, but it wasn't. Just like a real coil spring, the coils got closer together as you changed the length in the model. There were two reasons for doing that. One was aesthetics - so that, as you cycled the suspension in Pro/Engineer, the spring stayed on the shock (without doing so, the shock would compress, but the spring stayed a constant length.) The other reason was mass properties. Although a small difference, the CG of the spring wasn't correct as the suspension moved if the spring height and coil spacing didn't change. In performing some dynamic simulations later in another software package, we wanted it as accurate as possible.

Hopefully, some of you find this helpful if you're using Fusion360 and don't know about its parametric capabilities. Maybe it's common knowledge these days, but in real time, when it was introduced, it blew minds...

Stay tuned!

FarFire70 · Aug 29, 2026

sab said:
There's plenty more to come - stay tuned!

FarFire70 · Aug 29, 2026

sab said:
Yes, I first used parametric design tools in 1993 (Pro/Engineer) at Harley-Davidson and also used it a decade later at Polaris, and I've embraced that functionality ever since. However, I frequently "outsmart myself." I try to think ahead and put those parametric relationships in place, but they occasionally blow up later...

For those who don't know what I mean by "parametric design tools," I believe Parametric Technology Corporation was the first to successfully market it in their Pro/Engineer software, which debuted in the late 80s. What parametric means is that you can tie dimensions of your part together using mathematical relationships so that as you tweak your dimensions, other related dimensions change appropriately.

The best example of that I can give is placing a hole in the center of a square piece. If the side of the square is 2" long, the hole center needs to be 1" from the edge. In the software, each dimension has an ID number assigned to it. Let's say that 2" side dimension is called D1 and the 1" distance from the side to the center is called D2. So, I set D2 = D1/2. That way, if I increase the square to 2.2", the hole position will change from 1" to 1.1" from the edge, keeping it centered. I don't have to go back in and change D2 manually. This capability is very useful! A common use for parametric design is when making a family of parts of different sizes. You can design it once, and then change one root dimension to generate the other parts in the family.

Fusion360 is parametric, like most all modern 3D CAD software. Here's one instance in this vent cover model of using a parametric relationship:
View attachment 707023

What that does is equally space the louvres out (the "fx:" prefix to a dimension above means it's based on a parametric formula). Initially, I didn't do this, and that's one reason I started over. When I needed to change the overall height of the vent cover, the louvre sizes and spacing got wonky. I then added this parametric constraint so that as I tweaked the dimensions, the louvres stayed nicely sized and spaced.

My favorite, and most complicated, parametric design of mine was a coil spring that changed as you compressed it in a suspension assembly. Accomplishing that seems simple, but it wasn't. Just like a real coil spring, the coils got closer together as you changed the length in the model. There were two reasons for doing that. One was aesthetics - so that, as you cycled the suspension in Pro/Engineer, the spring stayed on the shock (without doing so, the shock would compress, but the spring stayed a constant length.) The other reason was mass properties. Although a small difference, the CG of the spring wasn't correct as the suspension moved if the spring height and coil spacing didn't change. In performing some dynamic simulations later in another software package, we wanted it as accurate as possible.

Hopefully, some of you find this helpful if you're using Fusion360 and don't know about its parametric capabilities. Maybe it's common knowledge these days, but in real time, when it was introduced, it blew minds...

Stay tuned!

I love this style of CAD design. I too have screwed my future self, but, instead of dimensions, I tend to 'over use' construction lines and constraints. Works great on the first design. Can get really wonky when you make future adjustments in overall dimensions.

Mike_H · Aug 29, 2026

sab said:
Yes, I first used parametric design tools in 1993 (Pro/Engineer) at Harley-Davidson and also used it a decade later at Polaris, and I've embraced that functionality ever since. However, I frequently "outsmart myself." I try to think ahead and put those parametric relationships in place, but they occasionally blow up later...

For those who don't know what I mean by "parametric design tools," I believe Parametric Technology Corporation was the first to successfully market it in their Pro/Engineer software, which debuted in the late 80s. What parametric means is that you can tie dimensions of your part together using mathematical relationships so that as you tweak your dimensions, other related dimensions change appropriately.

The best example of that I can give is placing a hole in the center of a square piece. If the side of the square is 2" long, the hole center needs to be 1" from the edge. In the software, each dimension has an ID number assigned to it. Let's say that 2" side dimension is called D1 and the 1" distance from the side to the center is called D2. So, I set D2 = D1/2. That way, if I increase the square to 2.2", the hole position will change from 1" to 1.1" from the edge, keeping it centered. I don't have to go back in and change D2 manually. This capability is very useful! A common use for parametric design is when making a family of parts of different sizes. You can design it once, and then change one root dimension to generate the other parts in the family.

Fusion360 is parametric, like most all modern 3D CAD software. Here's one instance in this vent cover model of using a parametric relationship:
View attachment 707023

What that does is equally space the louvres out (the "fx:" prefix to a dimension above means it's based on a parametric formula). Initially, I didn't do this, and that's one reason I started over. When I needed to change the overall height of the vent cover, the louvre sizes and spacing got wonky. I then added this parametric constraint so that as I tweaked the dimensions, the louvres stayed nicely sized and spaced.

My favorite, and most complicated, parametric design of mine was a coil spring that changed as you compressed it in a suspension assembly. Accomplishing that seems simple, but it wasn't. Just like a real coil spring, the coils got closer together as you changed the length in the model. There were two reasons for doing that. One was aesthetics - so that, as you cycled the suspension in Pro/Engineer, the spring stayed on the shock (without doing so, the shock would compress, but the spring stayed a constant length.) The other reason was mass properties. Although a small difference, the CG of the spring wasn't correct as the suspension moved if the spring height and coil spacing didn't change. In performing some dynamic simulations later in another software package, we wanted it as accurate as possible.

Hopefully, some of you find this helpful if you're using Fusion360 and don't know about its parametric capabilities. Maybe it's common knowledge these days, but in real time, when it was introduced, it blew minds...

Stay tuned!

Do you write your equations and relationship in the Parameter dialog, or just in the Dimension box?

Knowing you, I'm sure all dimensions and features are named and everything is defined. This example is something I'm currently playing with, and I'm generally lazy when I'm trying to knock something out quick to prototype. That is one thing I don't like about Fusion, is that there are too many steps to get to the parameters and pulling them up when you're dimensioning isn't easy either.

sab · Aug 29, 2026

Mike_H said:
Do you write your equations and relationship in the Parameter dialog, or just in the Dimension box?

Both. My preference is in the dimension box because I can do it within the sketch, but some things can't be done there, and in those cases, I use the Parameter dialog box.

Mike_H said:
Knowing you, I'm sure all dimensions and features are named and everything is defined.

I do name sketches, planes, bodies, etc. because without useful names, it takes too long to figure out which features contain the data I need to modify. However, with dimensions, I don't so much name them in my personal models, but when I did that for a living, I did that mainly so that others could pick up my designs and modify them. Here's the Browser in Fusion for the vent cover showing my named features:

Mike_H said:
This example is something I'm currently playing with, and I'm generally lazy when I'm trying to knock something out quick to prototype.

Any time I'm lazy like that, it bites me, like with this cover and how it blew up on me because I didn't use formulas for the louvres originally (I used an array).

Mike_H said:
That is one thing I don't like about Fusion, is that there are too many steps to get to the parameters and pulling them up when you're dimensioning isn't easy either.

No, it's not, which is why I like doing it in the sketch using the dimension box. As long as all your dimensions (except offsets - those don't seem to be accessible for parameter setting) are in the current sketch, you can just hover over a dimension to get the ID number, and then enter it in the dimension box. If the dimension I need to reference is out of the current sketch, I close out the sketch with just a numeric value in the dimension, go get the dimension number from either the parameters dialog box or, most often, from the sketch where it was defined, write it down, and go back in the sketch to add the formula.

sab · Aug 29, 2026

I got a late start in the shop this morning and ended up working in the heat - not my favorite! I set about cutting the reliefs in the armor for the tabs on the tailgate vent. I had marked their locations earlier (see Post #1,033). I determined I had to remove about .070", so I grabbed the 1/2" end mill (the largest I can chuck in the drill press), set the depth stop on the drill press, cranked up the speed to an appropriate rate for cutting aluminum, and tested it on the piece I cut out yesterday. It worked great:

Next, I clamped (more clamps, just for you, FarFire70!) the actual piece in. I thought that with the 1/2" end mill, I'd have to make two relief cuts, side-by-side, so I cut the first one:

Then, I moved it over and cut the second relief next to it to the same depth:

Next, I did a test fit:

Success! However, in doing so, I realized that the second cut wasn't required, as long as I line up the cutter accurately. So, I finished the other three cuts and did some work with a Christmas tree burr to square them up with the tabs:

And Bob's your uncle. Here's the outside, with the cover in place:

And the inside, showing the tabs locked in place:

It sure isn't my best work having done it on the drill press locating the cuts by eye. However, all that half-ass work will never be seen since it's on the inside. I'll probably have to file some reliefs in the edges of the hole in the tailgate for the legs of the tabs so the tailgate doesn't keep them from locking. I didn't get to that today.

The other thing I did today was get ready for the Keenserts (due Monday) in the bottom of the top hinge by drilling and tapping for them. They are 7/16" tall, and the chamfer on a 1/2-13 taper tap is about the same. I rounded up and ended up drilling about 1" deep. Rather than use the depth stop, I used marks on the quill of the drill press to determine when to stop advancing the spindle. First, I ran the bit into the piece (motor off):

With the quill locked there, I marked the location in blue Sharpie, and then removed the workpiece, advanced the spindle down, and marked a new line 1" above the blue line in red Sharpie:

I then drilled both holes out to 29/64" per the Keensert instructions. I should be honest here. They're actually not Keenserts. McMaster-Carr's version is made by Acme Industrial Company. I wonder if Wile E. Coyote is a McMaster-Carr customer? [insert pause for your Dad-joke response groan here]

The last step was tapping them using the drill press (as a guide only - no power):

That tap handle I used was addressed previously in Post #762 when Jeff asked about them, in case you'd like to know what those wonderful tap handles are. They make it easy to get a nice, straight, tapped hole.

I think I'll start re-plumbing all my air stuff tomorrow because I have leaks everywhere. I'm getting close to starting work on the mid-arm fab work for the axles, too. Stay tuned!

sab · Aug 30, 2026

This morning, rather than start on the air plumbing re-do, I decided to test fit the vent in the armor on the tailgate to see if I need to file some relief in the tailgate sheet metal to avoid the tailgate unlocking the tabs and causing the vent to fall out. My suspicions were accurate - it does unlock the tabs.

The tabs have two "webs" on them (red arrows below), so filing slots for those webs will keep them from unlocking the tabs, but if the decision is ever made to remove the armor and install the vent directly to the tailgate, the tabs will still lock on the tailgate because there will be material left between the web slots:

With the armor off the tailgate, I installed the vent and marked the location of the webs. Then, I placed the armor on the tailgate and transferred the marks to the tailgate. Then, I used a thin tapered flat file with a toothed edge to cut the slots:

I also filed the slots wider at the top to guide the webs into the slots. After filing, I cleaned and waxed the tailgate:

And that fixed the issue. I didn't take a picture with the vent installed because it would have looked just like the one I posted yesterday of the front side of the armor with the vent and cover installed.

sab · Aug 30, 2026

After finishing the vent installation, I decided to determine the length needed for the tire snubber that mounts in the center of the valance armor. In Post #797, I detailed how I'd designed one in Fusion360 after getting my 3D printer. The design used a TPU (rubber-like) filament for the base and tip, with a plastic filament in between. The idea with the two different materials was to reduce cost, but have flex at the base to seal to the valance armor and at the tip to engage the tire.

To start, I mounted the tailgate armor, hinges, spare carrier, valance armor, with the snubber I printed last November on the valance armor:

Then, I mounted the spare tire and closed the tailgate until the tire contacted the bumper:

After that, I measured how much shorter the snubber needs to be so that the tailgate will close with a bit of pressure on it. When doing so, I realized that the alternating-width side lugs on my tires mean that the position (clocking) of the spare tire on the carrier matters:

If I re-mount the tire with the wide lug lined up with the snubber, it's going to torque the top of the tailgate in about 1/4", which won't be good. It may even break the tailgate glass. Knowing that I'll forget about this, I put some warnings on the spare carrier:

I'm sure that either those labels will get destroyed by having the wheel hub against them, or I'll simply ignore them later. Hey, at least I tried to warn future sab not to screw up his tailgate or window!

I test-printed a new snubber, and I'll be checking fit shortly. Stay tuned!

sab · Aug 30, 2026

The shorter length snubber is just right. Here it is with the tailgate closed:

I’m not sure which durometer filament I’m going to use for the final print, so stay tuned for more on that later.

It’s pretty toasty out here in the shop right now, but I’m going to at least pressurize the air components and identify the leaks before I retreat to the AC. Stay tuned!

sab · Aug 30, 2026

Previously, I identified three leaks in my air system:

After I found those leaks, I pulled everything out of the engine compartment, so today, I finally got around to fixing the leaks. The elbow at the ARB compressor is a 1/8" BSPT street elbow, and it's not so easy to find those. I originally purchased that stainless steel one from England via Amazon. Since it has to be clocked accurately, and it has to be tight when clocked, I wasn't able to tighten it as tight as I'd like, and that's why it leaked.

In anticipation of fixing this leak, I decided to buy a handful of them to pick out one that was tight when clocked correctly, but those stainless ones were, as they say in jolly old England, dreadfully dear. I swear I looked at McMaster-Carr before I bought those and couldn't find anything. However, this time I was able to find some brass ones, which was preferred for better thread deformation/sealing. And, they weren't as dear. The third one I tried fit the bill, and that leak was solved. sab 1 leaks 2.

For the other two leaks, I disassembled the NPT joints, cleaned everything up, and on Mr. Blaine's advice, I used red Loctite on them, then tightened the bejesus out of them. sab 3 leaks 0 - hooray!

The last thing I wanted to do was correct an interference issue with the Switch-Pros wiring next to the ARB compressor. With the bracket I designed for the compressor and Switch-Pros box, I realized when I installed it that it was impossible to unplug the cruise control connector without removing that bracket. That's too cumbersome - I'm not one of those engineers everyone blames when you have to remove the transmission to change the cabin air filter on your brand new F150 (I made that up - hopefully that's not a real problem.) I think about the poor shlub doing the maintenance. In this case, I'll be that poor shlub...

Here's the issue:

Even if I unplug that connector from the Switch-Pros box, there's still a stub that sticks out enough to prevent disconnection of the cruise control connector. So, my solution was to rotate the cruise control servo in its bracket by drilling two new holes:

And, for the second time in two days, Bob's your uncle:

And that wrapped another day in the shop. I may actually be starting on the axles soon. It'll be nice to get those done so that I can use the lift for our other vehicles. Stay tuned!

sab · Sep 4, 2026

This week was very busy at work, but I managed to get a snubber printed. Before that, I tested the Shore A durometer of the OEM tire snubber:

I tend to stick to Bambu filaments, for the most part, and the lowest durometer TPU they have in their lineup is 85 Shore A, so I printed one using that filament and tested it:

It's about 10 points harder, which is noticeable, but likely not a big deal. I'll likely run with it, unless I can find a 75A filament from another manufacturer to try - more "just because" than because it's required. It was a bit tricky printing the 85A one. I think it took four tries because the PTEG in the middle of the print seemed to cause the TPU to lift off the build plat around the edges. I ended up trying three different build plates, and ended up using some glue to get a successful print. Bambu cautions that TPU that is softer than 85A is very difficult to print. I also used the new TPU feed assist system for the first time. It worked well (it pushes the filament into the machine.)

Here's the final design, with a plug I designed and printed for the screw hole:

Stay tuned!

sab · Sep 6, 2026

I haven't made it out to the shop this weekend, yet. I've been tending to some maintenance around the 3D printer. A lot of my open filament (meaning removed from the package) has absorbed water, despite sitting in sealed containers with desiccant in them. Humidity in the AMSs and containers is high, and my PETG was a bit stringy when printing the tire snubber. I've dried the desiccant and printed some desiccant holders to go in the AMSs (still printing some of those.)

Since 3D printing is on my mind, I thought I'd share a couple things I considered when printing the tire snubber. The first is the material choice to match up with TPU. I would have liked to have used ASA for the harder material due to it's superior resistance to solar radiation, but its glass transition temperature is too much higher than that of the TPU material. If I'd tried that, the TPU would have warped horribly, I'm afraid. I used PETG instead because its glass transition temperature is much closer to TPU's. It's not nearly as UV resistant, but since the snubber is hidden behind and beneath the tire, I think (and hope) it will be okay.

The second consideration was doing my best to prevent the TPU and PETG from separating. I discovered a nice feature in the Bambu slicer (probably came from the Prusa slicer, I suppose) that I used for the multi-material print of that tire snubber. It's called "beam interlocking", and what it does is create little beams of each material that project into the other material, giving a mechanical lock in addition to the chemical bond between the two materials. Beam interlocking can be enabled, and its parameters can be found, in the "Others" portion of the parameters:

Here's a screenshot from Bambu's Wiki page about beam interlocking:

If you ever do a multi-material print, consider using beam interlocking to give your part a bit more strength at the interface between the two materials.

I'm planning to get out to the shop a bit this afternoon. Stay tuned!

FarFire70 · Sep 6, 2026

sab said:
I haven't made it out to the shop this weekend, yet. I've been tending to some maintenance around the 3D printer. A lot of my open filament (meaning removed from the package) has absorbed water, despite sitting in sealed containers with desiccant in them. Humidity in the AMSs and containers is high, and my PETG was a bit stringy when printing the tire snubber. I've dried the desiccant and printed some desiccant holders to go in the AMSs (still printing some of those.)

Since 3D printing is on my mind, I thought I'd share a couple things I considered when printing the tire snubber. The first is the material choice to match up with TPU. I would have liked to have used ASA for the harder material due to it's superior resistance to solar radiation, but its glass transition temperature is too much higher than that of the TPU material. If I'd tried that, the TPU would have warped horribly, I'm afraid. I used PETG instead because its glass transition temperature is much closer to TPU's. It's not nearly as UV resistant, but since the snubber is hidden behind and beneath the tire, I think (and hope) it will be okay.

The second consideration was doing my best to prevent the TPU and PETG from separating. I discovered a nice feature in the Bambu slicer (probably came from the Prusa slicer, I suppose) that I used for the multi-material print of that tire snubber. It's called "beam interlocking", and what it does is create little beams of each material that project into the other material, giving a mechanical lock in addition to the chemical bond between the two materials. Beam interlocking can be enabled, and its parameters can be found, in the "Others" portion of the parameters:
View attachment 708521

Here's a screenshot from Bambu's Wiki page about beam interlocking:
View attachment 708527

If you ever do a multi-material print, consider using beam interlocking to give your part a bit more strength at the interface between the two materials.

I'm planning to get out to the shop a bit this afternoon. Stay tuned!

Nice to on the interlocking feature!

For the filament, take a look into the Sunlu dryer that mounts in the AMS.

https://store.sunlu.com/products/sunlu-ams-heater-upgraded-your-bambu-ams-save-an-ams-2pro-for-you

Extra desiccant holders for the front of the AMS are a must in any application . They do a great job keeping everyone dry in there.

I've had my Sunlu since Feb and I'm very happy with it.

I still run the extra desiccant holders but I need to print a new design the one I used warped for the hydrometer holder. I used a different design for the other holders and they've been fine.

sab · Sep 6, 2026

FarFire70 said:
Nice to on the interlocking feature!

For the filament, take a look into the Sunlu dryer that mounts in the AMS.

https://store.sunlu.com/products/sunlu-ams-heater-upgraded-your-bambu-ams-save-an-ams-2pro-for-you

Extra desiccant holders for the front of the AMS are a must in any application . They do a great job keeping everyone dry in there.

I've had my Sunlu since Feb and I'm very happy with it.

I still run the extra desiccant holders but I need to print a new design the one I used warped for the hydrometer holder. I used a different design for the other holders and they've been fine.

I have the AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT units - they all have dryers built in already. My problem is that, over time, without drying occasionally, the filament picks up moisture from our humid air. I guess they're not sealed all that well.

Apparition · Sep 6, 2026

sab said:
I have the AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT units - they all have dryers built in already. My problem is that, over time, without drying occasionally, the filament picks up moisture from our humid air. I guess they're not sealed all that well.

I really like my tetras units. They monitor the humidity and automatically dry if the humidity gets to 20% and it’s spool specific so each spool has its own dryer and settings.

sab · Sep 6, 2026

I got the Keenserts installed in the top tailgate hinge today. That's the afternoon report. Stay tuned!

sab · Sunday at 4:14 PM

We got some rain on Friday, so I spent most of the weekend working on my rainwater collection system. Yesterday, I designed and 3D-printed a bunch of caps for the tubes on the huge tank stand I made because the wasps were moving in. Today, I installed them with RTV and then transferred about 700 gallons of water from the collection pipes to the garden tank. Of course, my transfer pump was finky, so I had to break out the spare. I'm guessing some debris has wrecked something in the pump. Another project for another day...

However, since this is my build thread, here's a build update, too (I did manage to get some work done on the LJ!) I wanted to put the interior back together, but the cutting brake assembly is buried (inaccessible) deep inside the console, and I don't want to take everything apart later to bleed the brakes when the axles are done and re-installed. So, I bought the fittings needed to put temporary bleed valves on the end of each of the four hard-lines on the frame.

Yesterday, I bench bled the master cylinder since I'd run it out of fluid. Or did I? I don't think so, after all. Bench bleeding revealed fluid at the ports with one press of the piston rod each. This morning, Mrs. sab sat on a 5-gallon bucket for a seat (she's a trooper!) and pressed the brake pedal, and pulled the cutting brake levers, while I worked the temporary bleeder valves, one-by-one.

I've now got a firm pedal and firm cutting brake levers, so once the axles are done and installed, I'll be able to just bleed from the hard lines to the calipers. It was too hot to put the interior back together this afternoon, so I hope to tackle that next weekend.

Stay tuned!

B00mb00m · Monday at 9:02 PM

sab said:
We got some rain on Friday, so I spent most of the weekend working on my rainwater collection system. Yesterday, I designed and 3D-printed a bunch of caps for the tubes on the huge tank stand I made because the wasps were moving in. Today, I installed them with RTV and then transferred about 700 gallons of water from the collection pipes to the garden tank. Of course, my transfer pump was finky, so I had to break out the spare. I'm guessing some debris has wrecked something in the pump. Another project for another day...

However, since this is my build thread, here's a build update, too (I did manage to get some work done on the LJ!) I wanted to put the interior back together, but the cutting brake assembly is buried (inaccessible) deep inside the console, and I don't want to take everything apart later to bleed the brakes when the axles are done and re-installed. So, I bought the fittings needed to put temporary bleed valves on the end of each of the four hard-lines on the frame.

Yesterday, I bench bled the master cylinder since I'd run it out of fluid. Or did I? I don't think so, after all. Bench bleeding revealed fluid at the ports with one press of the piston rod each. This morning, Mrs. sab sat on a 5-gallon bucket for a seat (she's a trooper!) and pressed the brake pedal, and pulled the cutting brake levers, while I worked the temporary bleeder valves, one-by-one.

I've now got a firm pedal and firm cutting brake levers, so once the axles are done and installed, I'll be able to just bleed from the hard lines to the calipers. It was too hot to put the interior back together this afternoon, so I hope to tackle that next weekend.

Stay tuned!

Great idea! What was your process to bleed the cutting brake MC? Once it’s hooked up you shouldn’t need to crack any of the fittings or need access to it I thought?

sab · Monday at 9:13 PM

B00mb00m said:
Great idea! What was your process to bleed the cutting brake MC? Once it’s hooked up you shouldn’t need to crack any of the fittings or need access to it I thought?

I was worried that I'd have to crack fittings, but so far - no. I had Mrs. sab work the pedal first, then pull the appropriate cutting brake lever, and then the pedal again, until no air came out. Seemed to work fine, but until I have calipers on, I won't know for sure. I hope not, because like I said, once I put the interior back together, I don't relish having to get to the cutting brake master cylinders to crack fittings...

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