Brake bleeding

Lanu

Hi guys,

I want to bleed my brakes, i figured that its something that I need to know how to do and im fitting new EBC front pads anyway. What diameter hose do I need? Should I just but one of the easybleed kits from probestore? Also, any tips on how to do it best would be good as at present im a brake bleeding virgin.

Cheers,

Lanu

jamesmx3

its pretty simple to do, I use a cheap bleed kit, the little pot with the hose attached.

start at the N/S/R
I 'crack' the bleed nipple on the caliper,
Attach the hose and pot,
and get someone to press and hold the pedal,
If air comes though, do it again untill there are no bubbles.

All you have to do is make sure you dont let the res empty, if it does i belive the clutch has to be bled too (might be mistaken here)

Im sure someone will come along and confirm/rubbish what I've written!!

Raines

In order to ensure that all the air is removed from the brake system,
it will be necessary to bleed the brakes on all four wheels.

The order in which you perform the bleeding is not critical but it is recommended that you start at the rear and do these two wheels first and then the front two.
This will minimise the amount of potential cross-contamination between the new and old brake fluid.

1. Jack up and secure the car, remove the wheel and locate the bleed screw on the rear of the brake caliper body.
It will more than likely have a protective rubber cover over it that
you will need to remove and refit later.

2. Place your spanner onto the bleed screw (probably a 8mm spanner/ or which ever size as i cant remember on the mx3… lol)

3. Place one end of the clear plastic hose over the nipple (end) of the bleed screw.

4. Place the other end of the hose into the disposable bottle. If you already have a brake bleeding kit then this is what you will be using.

5. Place the bottle for waste fluid on top of the caliper body or drum assembly.
Hold the bottle with one hand and grasp the wrench with the other hand.

6. Instruct your assistant to pump the brake pedal three times, and then hold the pedal down firmly. At this point your helper should NOT to release the brakes until told to do so.

7. Loosen the bleed screw by ¼ turn to release fluid into the clear pipe.
The screw only needs to be open for one second or less.
(The brake pedal drop down as the bleed screw is opened.
Your assistant should still keep their foot firmly on the brake pedal.)

8. Close the bleed screw gently and not using too much force.

9. Instruct your helper to take their foot off the brake pedal.
Note: do NOT release the brake pedal with the bleed screw is open,
as this will suck air back into the system.

10. Look at the brake fluid inside the clear pipe for air bubbles.

11. Continue with steps 1 to 10 until there are no more air bubbles visible and clear new fluid is coming through..
You should find yourself repeating this process 5-10 times for each wheel.

12. After bleeding each wheel, check that there is sufficient brake fluid in the brake reservoir in the engine bay (where you top it up).

13. Ideally start at the right rear wheel, and then left rear, right front, left front.

14. Before you drive anywhere, make sure that you have refitted everything, bleed nipple covers, wheels, wheel nuts etc............

and then sit in the car and check the feel of the brakes, they should be firmer than they were before.

Once you are confident that they feel better and that the car is safe, take the car for a steady drive. Check the brakes before you get up to any great speed, they should feel firmer and more responsive.

Lanu

Wow, good response. Thanks for the advice. The technique worked beautifully on my rear N/S wheel, a there was a nice rubber cover for the bleed screw so it was still nice and shiny. Unfortunately the other 3 are rusted in. Ive WD40'd them, but they dont seem to want to budge. Plus they seem to be somewhere between a 7mm and an 8mm (mayeb due to rusting. Can anyone give me any advice on how to get them to move? After changing break pads, discs and pins all around myself it seems like admitting defeat to take the car to a mechanic now just to bleed the breaks.