Originally Posted by
cpach
You aren't describing the full service procedure. With a bleed block inserted, you should push fluid from the caliper into the bleed funnel until no more bubbles come out. Then you should close the bleed port at caliper and operate the lever tapping and rotating it to dislodge any additional bubbles before replacing the lever. It sounds like you just pushed fluid to the top and closed the bleed port.
It's also possible there's still air somewhere. Try unbolting the calipers when pushing fluid so that there's a good direct line to the levers and gravity is helping air rise. Bleed a bit more.
Thanks. Guess I didn't do a very good job of describing what I did, but in fact I did just that: Pushed fluid from the caliper to the bleed funnel, closed the bleed port at the caliper, then operated the lever with the bleed funnel in place while tapping it gently. Didn't rotate it but I did repeat the procedure, still with no success. For whatever reason, it would appear that there is no fluid in a key part of the master cylinder.
Think I'm going to try using the My-T-Vac that I use to bleed the brakes on my motorcycles. This method is the reverse, so I'd connect the My-T-Vac to the caliper after attaching and filling the bleed funnel, then draw the fluid out, topping up the funnel as needed.