Right, they’re XTR M985 and it’s the rear brake, the lever is higher than the caliper but roughly the same height as the syringe that’s attached to the caliper.

I’ve got a syringe suspended vertically (attached to a ladder leg) with a bit of hose attaching said syringe to caliper, filled with brake fluid.

I’ve then got another syringe (dunno if it’s relevant but the plunger is intact) jammed hard as poss into the reservoir hole at the lever, also with a substantial amount of brake fluid in it.

I open the nipple (teeheehee) at the caliper 1/8 of a turn and push the plunger of the syringe that’s attached to the caliper, air and brake fluid are forced into syringe at lever.

I then pump the brake lever like I haven’t pumped since I was fifteen and little bubbles drift up through the hose into the syringe at the caliper.

When air stops bubbling into syringe at caliper, I repeat AND IT’S NOT BLOODY WORKING!!!!!

Please, what am I doing wrong?

Not chuggin’ enough!

The thing is,you pay for something else with xtr that nobody,until now,knows about. They have built in hormone sensors behind the pistons and they refuse to bleed if they sense excessive testosterone. Good luck!

Keep at it. It will eventually come good. Maybe try the bleed without all the lever pumping. It sounds like you might be getting closer to something along the lines of a milkshake.. instead of an air free system. I sometimes pull the lever very slowly about 5-10mm once I see the fluid appearing but I don’t continue doing it. Shimano are some of the easiest brakes to bleed and set-up so you should get there fairly quick.

But I was at it for hours last night, literally 6 effin hours. Surely that’s not right?

Could air be getting in somewhere?

Are you not using the oil funnel from the bleed kit? You really need to use this- it screws into lever. I did my xtr’s following the instructions and it worked great, took about 30mins

Bleed from lever to calliper. Fill the reservoir. Pull the lever while you loosen the bleed nipple. Tighten the nipple. Release the lever. Repeat! No syringe needed!

In principle it looks like you are doing it right..

..BUT it isn’t working.

As posters above confirm (and some YouTube videos) there are alternative ways of doing it.

However, if it’s not working, why not just stick with the manufacturers instructions – funnel and all – and follow them precisely ???

Discovered what I was doing wrong. I didn’t have a yellow shimano spacer so I was using a wrench between the pistons, turns out the wrench was tooooooo big so i never got enough fluid into the system!!

IGMC

just buy a MityVac vacuum pump. None of this syringe nonsense.

Clot.

Just my 2p but I gave up bleeding brakes when I found out the lbs does them for £15 & they’re perfect every time.

You’re not following the instructions, or using the bleed funnel.

– Bleed from the caliper up into the bleed funnel, by pushing fluid up from the syringe attached to the caliper.
– Plug bleed funnel, close the nipple, remove syringe, DON’T TOUCH THE LEVER.
– Open nipple & allow contents of funnel to drain through the caliper into plastic bag, tapping the hose, caliper, lever as it goes. Top up funnel to ensure you’re not pulling air into the system & continue until no further bubbles appear from the caliper.
– Close nipple, plug funnel
– Pump lever. Bubbles will rise into the funnel. Continue pumping until no further bubbles rise into the funnel.
– Lever should feel rock-solid; not remotely spongey. Repeat steps above if it does.

This is the bit that isn’t in the instructions, but made a difference to the feel of mine:
– Remove bleed block, add pads & red pad spacer.
– Pump lever to move pistons to where they’ll be when on the bike.
– Bubbles should rise into funnel.
– Plug funnel & remove.

– Find Hope video about caliper centralisation. Following instructions to fit the caliper central to the disc & ensure you don’t have a dominant piston. I’ve found you’ll need to fiddle with the piston positions every couple of rides to keep them feeling firm.