Are you sure the rear bakes are hydraulically operated..? Not mechanically operated (Cable)..? On my 300, the fronts are drum brakes which are hydraulic. But the back brakes are drum but mechanically operated (Cable). The rear brakes on my 300 usually don’t work half the time. The rear handbrake and foot pedal are attached together and are adjustable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Not sure what year your Vinson is. I have an 06 and there is a single , rear hydraulic caliper on the solid rear axle. It brakes the entire axle rather than a select wheel, basically.

If you have no fluid, you have a system full of air. You are going to need to “gravity bleed “ the system. There is a fitting on the caliper that looks like a grease fitting. You will need to open this just a crack, fill the brake reservoir (probably located under the seat near the back right). Refill the reservoir and don’t allow it to go dry. If it does, you will need to start over. After that , you can bleed them in a convention matter if needed.

 

John
My vinson is a 2003 and it has a solid rear axle and it only has the rear brake on one side.
On the thing that looks like a grease fitting there is a rubber cap and it looks kinda like I could just take that off to bleed the brakes but I'm not sure.
Also to bleed the brakes do I just pump them until brake fluid comes out?

 

Ok, the 2003 has the same configuration as my 2006. One caliper brakes the entire rear axle. The caliper is on the right side.

That rubber cap you see on the caliper covers the bleeder screw that you want to loosen.

Locate the brake reservoir under the rear of the seat, on the right side. Clean the dirt off the best you can before you loosen the cap. Remove the cap, fill it with fluid (it probably stipulates DOT4). Remove the rubber cap over the bleeder on the caliper. Loosen the bleeder screw and wait for it to drip. Put some rags, or a container under it. Let it drip for a while and keep filling the reservoir. DON’T let it run dry, or you will introduce air. What you are effectively doing is called “Gravity Bleeding” the brakes. It will flush out the contaminants . Moisture / condensation, debris and old fluid hinder brake systems. When you gravity bleed you get rid of the old fluid, contaminants and air.

After you get a steady drip of fluid, you can bleed in the conventional manner. Close the bleeder, pump, hold down and open the bleeder screw. Just remember, don’t let the air back into the system. Keep the reservoir full.