The brake cadence

# Chapter 187

“Press” . . . pause . . . “let off” . . . pause . . . “press” . . . pause . . . “let off” this cadence, this sequence, that I have been doing with my dad for 50 plus years is a brake bleeding chant. When replacing the brakes and most brake repairs, you have to “bleed” the brakes to make certain that you have removed all air from the brake lines. This involves one person turning the bleed valve on the back of the brake panel, and one person in the driver seat pumping the brakes when instructed. I have always been the little kid, or guy, sitting in the driver seat pumping the brakes. My dad has always been the guy bleeding the brakes and calling out “Press” or “let off”.

When I was eight or nine years old, my dad would often need this kind of assistance late at night, because he worked a regular 40 hour a week job and then came home and worked until late at night doing brakes and engine rebuilds, so that we could eat and have a life. But that is really difficult for little kids to get their brains around, and plus I have been asleep more than once, when he would come and wake me up to help him bleed the brakes. As a kid I was an incredibly deep sleeper, and this was really difficult to do - to wake and be helpful. Plus it was often cold up there in the shop. All these factors put me off mechanicing for most of my life. My dad was just trying to make a living.

Now doing this with my dad when I am nearly 60 years old, is nostalgic fun for me. It’s more difficult for my dad now that he is 80 years old, but he didn’t complain too much. It was a good day and now we have solid brakes on this 55 year old pickup, and we built more memories while doing it.