How to bleed Tilton balance bar brakes

[chopper]

Alternative brake bleeder tool:

http://store.yahoo.com/azmotorsports/hydbrakbleed.html

Works on the same principle as the bleeder valves shown earlier, but has a spring-loaded ball which requires that you build up a little pressure before opening. This helps purge the air bubbles faster. The spring also closes the check ball valve quicker once pressure is released, to avoid any air being sucked back into the system. I bought one of these little jobbers and it works well. Be aware that if you get one of these, you may have to remove the bleeder valve from the brake cylinder and seal the threads with some teflon tape to prevent air being sucked back into the cylinder on the up stroke of the pedal.

As to bleeding the Tiltons, Mr. Putnam's able assistant Doug advised me to jack the FRONT of the car up as high as possible, and SLOWLY pump the pedal full down and back up about 20 times. Take about 30 seconds from full up to full down on each stroke. This will help clear the air out of the master cylinder(s) by allowing it to exit the cylinder and migrate back up into the reservoir. I understand that, if you have Tiltons of more than a couple years age, the fluid inlet from the reservoir is through a very small inlet port. The small size of the inlet port makes it difficult to purge the air out of the Tilton cylinder. The newer cylinders (less than a couple of years, I understand) have slightly larger inlet ports and will purge air quicker.