32 replies to this topic

[mandarinvx]

I best explain - I've never really bled brakes before - I had a go on an old mini once, but it didn't really work (tho I think that's because they were falling to bits anyhoo )

First off, I've read The TIS brake bleeding section, in which they bleed from all four corners at a time - I take it this is not necessary and I can do one corner at a time.
As for tools I'm hoping I just need a basic bleeding kit like this? as I will be doing it on my own - or are there any better solutions out there - will the Draper one even fit the bleed nipples, and are the AP / Brembo nipples the same size?
The TIS document above states that a Tech2 needs to be attached to purge the ABS system - I remember reading about this and the general consensus was that it isn't needed (Plans didn't do it when they bled mine about 18 months ago) but surely this will mean there is a slug of old (and potentially less effective) brake fluid in the system
And onto the clutch - looks simple enough - I take it I can just use the Draper kit again The TIS states the 'brake fluid resevoir' and the 'clutch fluid resevoir' - but they are the same thing I presume
And lastly, fluid. I've had a look at the AP Racing stuff, and it seems that 551 is the one to go for (600 is competition use only, apparently) - is THIS a decent price and how much will I need to change all of the fluid in the system - will one bottle do? Are there any 'better' fluids I should look at using

Sorry about all the questions - I want to make sure I do it right

Cheers

[vocky]

what you need is a pressure bleed kit bleed the calipers 'one at a time' and finally the clutch

[VXJON]

Try to avoid spilling fluid on to the wheels it can strip the paint only found this out a hour ago while change the fluid on a friends car and striped the powdercoating

[mandarinvx]

Cheers

what you need is a pressure bleed kit
bleed the calipers 'one at a time' and finally the clutch

Is this the 'Eezibleed' type kit - I had a quick look at these - says something like 'uses the pressure of your spare wheel to bleed the brakes effortlessly'

Try to avoid spilling fluid on to the wheels it can strip the paint only found this out a hour ago while change the fluid on a friends car and striped the powdercoating

Thanks for tip - must remember to keep the wheels well away then (which may not be that easy if I'm using it as part of the bleeding process )

[vocky]

eezibleed type makes the job so easy, no touching the brake pedal, just open the 'nipple' and watch the fluid come out just keep an eye on the bottle of new fluid, don't let it run out

Edited by vocky, 21 July 2007 - 03:01 PM.

[mandarinvx]

Cool, so that clears up the tools and clutch questions How about the ABS purging, and which type of fluid to use I've read through as many search results as I can, and it seems the ABS purging shouldn't be too much of an issue (in fact it seems that if you do it, and you get air in it, it can turn into a mini nightmare!)

[roy]

Hi, i need to bleed my clutch in hope that it solves the problem (clutch travelled straight to the floor the other day).....i have the pdf of the rough pic of the valve that needs opening is, but i dont know where to find it in the engine bay? could someone give me exact details of where this valve is & where the clutch housing is? a photo would be ideal. sorry for the probably stupid q's.....not had the vx long so just trying to get to grips of where everything is. Cheers Roy

[luna_s]

its this thing on top of the gearbox





brake fluid res and clutch res are the same,

you can see the clutch feed easily

[roy]

okay....found it. cheers

I'm thinking of getting one of those eezibleed things....found one on ebay.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...bayphotohosting

The only thing abou using this is it says you need to pressurise it with "spare wheel" .....a post above was questioning this aswell. have you guys used this type of thing before & if so.....how did u pressurise it? do you need extra connections etc?

cheers
Roy

[luna_s]

just use one of the wheels off the car ? - never used one myself but thats what i would do

[CheesyPuff]

Just use the pressure from one of the road wheels but remember to lower the pressure to about 10-12psi, any higher and there is a small risk of compressing air into the new fluid and you also risk blowing seals in the master resevoir that are not designed to take 25psi. Pressure bleading is defo to way to go as its so easy and you will be done in 20 mins you dont even have to remove the wheels if your lucky, keep a water hose or watering can handy to flush any spilled fluid away quickly as it will damage paint also dont leave the tops off the fluid bottles for too long as it absorbs moisture. To purge the ABS just find an empty road and brake so the ABS kicks in, this should allow new fluid into most of the system and the small amount of old fluid still in the system wont make any problems. Darren....

Edited by CheesyPuff, 22 July 2007 - 07:18 AM.

[tyre man]

Remember when bleeding the brakes to start at the furtherest away brake cylinder from master cyclinder , and then next closest and so on until you get to the one closest to the master cyclinder. ps don't get any fluid on the brake dics ,and if you do don't take it off with petrol use a brake cleanjng solvent.

[VXJON]

Bleeding Brakes How To from SE technical jedi master Robin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I still think the best way to bleed brakes is the old way, but you can do it with an easibleed by yourself. If you have a willing volunteer then you can pump most of the fluid out of the front caliper first, then bleed out each corner in turn. There is no right/wrong order to do it in. Simply put, you top off the reservoir with clean fluid. Loosen the bleed nipple (11mm spanner or six sided socket to loosen it), then slip a rubber pipe over the nipple - should be a tight fit - clear pipe is best. Other end of pipe in either a milk bottle or some other container. Open the bleed nipple about 1/4 of a turn. Shout "down". Your volunteer should now depress brake pedal to the floor. If you have a servo, you might want the engine ticking over as it makes it easier to move the pedal. Ideally to start with they respond "down" to let you know they've done it. You will see a squirt of fluid coming through the pipe. To start with it will be murky, but when the clear fluid comes through it will be clean. Now you tighten the bleed nipple (only needs to turn until it stops - you don't need it tight) and shout "up". They release pedal and hopefully reply "up". Repeat that until all the fluid coming out of the first corner is clear. Every 10-20 pumps top off the reservoir with clean fluid. When you're done with the first corner, tighten the bleed nipple with a 11mm spanner or a small 1/4" ratchet - do not go overboard. Wipe clean and before you stick the dust cover back on the nipple get the volunteer to press the pedal hard - look for weeping around the nipple - if there is any, you need to tighten a bit more. Now repeat that at each corner, never forgetting to keep topping off the reservoir before it get's half full. You can do the fronts through the spokes of the wheels, but the backs need the wheels off on a K-series variant anyway, and I would guess likewise for 111R. TBH it's as easy to remove wheels front and back, so jack and bleed one side, then the other. With an easibleed, the process is different. Deflate a tyre to about 15psi then hook up the remote reservoir (dry to start with) to the fluid reservoir. Then attach the airline to the tyre. Make sure it's all airtight and no air is escaping anywhere. Assuming all is OK, remove the airline, open the remote reservoir, fill with clean fluid, reattach to the tyre. Now you do much the same at each wheel as before, except (a) you need to make sure the remote reservoir doesn't drain, ( make sure the tyre pressure stays reasonable, so maybe pump up with a foot pump now and then and © you don't need to operate the pedal - open the bleed nipple and the fluid should gush out. For brake fluid I recommend any of the super DOT 4 or the DOT 5.1. DO NOT USE DOT 5 - it's different, won't work and eats small mammals.

[l14mha]

what you need is a pressure bleed kit

bleed the calipers 'one at a time' and finally the clutch

i bled my brakes 2 weeks ago when replacing hose's, discs and pads.

the pressure bleed kits are great howevery BE-CAREFUL !!! i reduced the pressure of my wheel down to 12 psi. i followed the instructions, tightened all pipe work up then pressurised the system from the wheel.

imagen my suprise when i realised that there was a few pin holes in the pipe work which proceeded to p155 brake fluid all over my wind screen, inspection hatch and front wing

luckly i got it off faster than frogs ( thats v.fast) to avoid any damage to the paint work.

like i said, just be careful i resulted back to the good old trusted way.

there is a huge amount of information availible from the search function, i printed off a fair bit of it and little comments from others proved v. helpful. for example

remember to rotate the front calipers during bleeding as there is a connection pipe between the pistons at the base of the calliper. further more when you remove the calliper and rotate it to do this make sure that you pack wook (or simmilar ) to avoid popping a piston out.

'mind your fingers' i cought my nail and it dam near ripped it off, it can be quite fiddley.

finaly, if you don't let the fluid drop all that low you can get away with out bleeding your clutch through as no air can get into the lines. i did this and have been driving mine daily with no problems.

i have switched off my abs so the fact that there will be old fluid in there really does not bother me. therefore no need for a tech2.

i hope that this has been of some help, good luck with it.

[Lozz]

Slightly confused by this 12psi.

Assuming a 1" master cylinder and stamping on the breaks in a emergency stop with a force of about 40kg.
I came out with a pressure of 130PSI and that’s without taking into account the vacuum assist.

Sure its not the seals on he fluid bottle with the bleeding kit or the fact they didn't want to have to pressure test every bottle.

what you need is a pressure bleed kit

bleed the calipers 'one at a time' and finally the clutch

i bled my brakes 2 weeks ago when replacing hose's, discs and pads.

the pressure bleed kits are great howevery BE-CAREFUL !!! i reduced the pressure of my wheel down to 12 psi. i followed the instructions, tightened all pipe work up then pressurised the system from the wheel.

imagen my suprise when i realised that there was a few pin holes in the pipe work which proceeded to p155 brake fluid all over my wind screen, inspection hatch and front wing

luckly i got it off faster than frogs ( thats v.fast) to avoid any damage to the paint work.

like i said, just be careful i resulted back to the good old trusted way.

there is a huge amount of information availible from the search function, i printed off a fair bit of it and little comments from others proved v. helpful. for example

remember to rotate the front calipers during bleeding as there is a connection pipe between the pistons at the base of the calliper. further more when you remove the calliper and rotate it to do this make sure that you pack wook (or simmilar ) to avoid popping a piston out.

'mind your fingers' i cought my nail and it dam near ripped it off, it can be quite fiddley.

finaly, if you don't let the fluid drop all that low you can get away with out bleeding your clutch through as no air can get into the lines. i did this and have been driving mine daily with no problems.

i have switched off my abs so the fact that there will be old fluid in there really does not bother me. therefore no need for a tech2.

i hope that this has been of some help, good luck with it.

[SteveA]

I wrote a how to in the useful thread guide, explains the procedure from start to finish.

[Retset]

Read the guide referred to above. It all sounds OK apart from the clutch. I want to change the brake fluid to 5.1 and use a pressure bleeder kit. No braided hoses and so no air should get in. But ... what happens if the clutch is not bled? Does it all mix up or will the DOT 5.1 stay in the brakes and the OEM stuff stay in the clutch?

Edited by Retset, 02 January 2008 - 09:02 PM.

[slindborg]

just bleed the clutch, it takes all of 5 mins.

[SteveA]

But ... what happens if the clutch is not bled? Does it all mix up or will the DOT 5.1 stay in the brakes and the OEM stuff stay in the clutch?

OEM stuff stays in the clutch. I found not bleeding it makes the clutch feel like it is slipping. It really is a quick job doing the clutch, just a bit harder to access.

[Retset]

It's the access that worries me. I was hoping to leave the car on it's wheels or just jack up the back. Does anybody have any diagrams or pics of where the clutch bleed nipple is?