may i ask, with the brake-fluid change, how much fluid does the complete system hold? and is it necessary to have the wheel removed to access the nipple and bleed? i ask because, i'm trying to visualise it, ie did you take all the wheels off first and then bleed them one after the other in one go, or just remove each wheel as necessary?
You can bleed the brakes easily enough without removing the wheels, as long as you know where to find the nipples. Make sure you bleed them in the right order to prevent air remaining in the system. I think the system holds about 600ml, and obviously you'll use a little more whilst bleeding, so a litre sees you right.
wow, only 600ml? i was expecting at least a litre, dunno why. one final question, is it ok to change all the discs and pads, both front and rear, at the same time? i assume braking ability will be markedly reduced until all the new braking surfaces bed together properly. i take it there are no adverse affects from doing them all together? thanks
Harper, I don't know why; I'm sure more knowledgeable folk can say.
Roobs, it's fine to change all at once. Of course they take a while to bed in, but they will still stop you the first time you use them. If you want to be cautious try to make your first journeys low-speed ones.
so is there any reason why i couldn't change each disc and pads and then bleed that respective brake before moving onto the next wheel? as long as i start LHR then RHR etc will it matter about the gap between the bleeds, or am i better to do all the discs/pads all round before replacing/bleeding tthe brake fluid in one go? cheers guys
so is there any reason why i couldn't change each disc and pads and then bleed that respective brake before moving onto the next wheel? as long as i start LHR then RHR etc will it matter about the gap between the bleeds, or am i better to do all the discs/pads all round before replacing/bleeding tthe brake fluid in one go? cheers guys
I wouldn't; as you change each set, you will be forcing air back into the system as you wind the calipers back to fit over the new pads. It's easy enough to bleed the brakes with the wheels on afterwards, do it that way for peace of mind.
I really don't think it makes a difference which order you bleed them in
Winding the calipers back in won'tadd air to the system, it will force it out if anything as the fluid returns to the master cylinder, in fact you will have to remove fluid with a turkey baster or something. If air is added at this point, you have a leak somewhere, empty reservoir or pipe issue
Process I found that worked fine:
Bleed half the fluid out on any wheel (as in half of the reservoir fluid)
do the brake changes (this way the reservoir won't overflow as there is space for the fluid returning from the pipes when you force the calipers back in)
Bleed brakes.
I didn't use any partucular order, did front first, then thought may aswell do back and change out all of the fluid - but can't for like of me think why it makes a difference where you start and finish in a closed hyrualic system
and thanks again villager. i'll do the discs/pads all round before i start on the fluid replacement then. should be tackling this next weekend, so i'll let you know how it goes.
@harpersimon: i hear what you're saying, but the same rule applies when bleeding a closed central heating system too, so it kinda makes sense to start at the furthest point and work inwards to me. i'll certainly be following that format, to be on the safe side.
yeah cool am not saying don't follow it if you want to, just saying that in all my experience bleeding brakes, I have never done it that way as it makes no real difference to getting air in the system, but is a good method of making sure you get all the old crap out (start at the furthest run)
in all honesty, its the bleeding afterwards thats worrying me more than the disc/pad swap. i'm thinking i'll do the rear discs/pads next friday, the fronts on saturday, then swap out the brake fluid and bleed etc on sunday.
but is it necessary to bleed the brakes immediately after fitting the new pads? i'm unclear on that.
and, could someone tell me how to drill out the screw heads for the discs, if it should come to that? i saw cjj did it in his howto for the front, but he didn't explain about how he removed the thread of the fixing screw, only that he drilled off the head. do you drill it through and re-thread the hole, or just drill off the head and somehow remove the rest of the screw?
and, could someone tell me how to drill out the screw heads for the discs, if it should come to that? i saw cjj did it in his howto for the front, but he didn't explain about how he removed the thread of the fixing screw, only that he drilled off the head. do you drill it through and re-thread the hole, or just drill off the head and somehow remove the rest of the screw?
i see.. so then, how did you get the new screw for the new disc in, if the old one is still in there? and you know that tool you use to reset the calipers.. where do i get one of those? cheers
I have completed my brakes now, so here are the pics.
Just thinking back to when I did ours, I copper greased nearly everything but didn't do between the brake disc and the alloy wheel. What a brilliant tip and superb "how to".
What software do you use to do all the circling and arrows on these "How to's"?
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