mercdude wrote:
I'm not as old as WWdiesel, but I've done at least 6 different full brake jobs on 4 different car manufacturers, all had ABS and on all of them I just depressed the front (only!) calipers in without opening the caliper valves. The rear calipers rotate and ratchet, so it's best to rent the tool or in a pinch you can use a C clamp. Never even heard of bleeding the calipers while depressing the pistons. Probably the safest method, but I certainly have not had any issues with my ABS systems. In my thinking, opening up the brake system (at all) is a risky proposition for air intrusion and without a full brake bleed I couldn't be sure that I didn't get something in the lines. So I'll stick to my tried-n-true method. I've also never heard of someone changing brake fluid every year... wowzers!
I try to change my fluid every 5 years or so, and even doing that I think is a step further than most people. It's not uncommon for brake fluid to never be changed.
Opening the bleeder valve when depressing a caliper piston back in its housing when installing new brake pads will certainly work, buy like you said, not really necessary, done hundreds of them this way. It will push the brake fluid back up into the brake fluid reservoir and many times will overflow the brake fluid all over everything under it. Opening the bleeder valve when depressing a caliper piston can prevent that.
But if you are replacing the calipers or want to bleed the entire brake system, that is where having a power bleeder or a scan tool to operate the ABS pump can really be super helpful and beneficial.
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