bleeding the brakes

andyj22

Hi all again
while I'm awaiting my manifolds for the Stag i will get on with some other little things to be done on the Stag such as bleeding of the brakes as very low
i need help . When i am driving the stag the brakes are very low to the floor maybe i have air in the system any thoughts will be grateful and also i need to know where to start bleeding from step by step please

ADAM

Lyre61

You can buy a brake bleeding kit that will make life easier it fits over the nipple on the brake housing. Full instructions are in the kit.

dubtom

Does your car have disc breaks? The level of fluid will drop as the pads wear so check if they need replacing, when replaced the level should rise again, I'm not sure if the same applies to drum brakes.Bleeding is usually a two man job unless you use a kit as lyre61 said, if you haven't done it before you should maybe get someone who has and you can be the pumper.

greglo23

to bleed the brakes start at the farthest wheel from the master cylinder. a simple version of the kit others have mentioned above is get a piece of old rubber windscreen washer hose about 18 inches long. stick a 6mm bolt in one end and make a small lengthways cut in the hose just above it. loosen the bleedscrew and slip the other end of the hose over it. drop the bolt end in an old clear plastic bottle and pump away. you must keep an eye on the fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir and not let it run dry.

if your pedal travel is still too long you might need to slacken off the handbrake and re-adjust the rear shoes. another way to diagnose your problem is to gently clamp each flexible brake hose and press the brake. any problem will be isolated by using this method.

if you need to remove any of the wheel cylinders hold the brake pedal down 3 to 4 inches before removal. this locks the master cylinder and stops the remaining from fluid leaking out and makes bleeding much easier after.

franksm

When pushing the brake pedal down, do it very very slowly otherwise the Stag's brake-balancer device will pop out (it thinks there's a leak and tries to block it). This device is a cross-shaped valve on the nearside inner fender, with four brake pipes running out of it. There is a way to reset it if it does pop, but you'll need to refer to the workshop manual for that.

Other than that, the Stag is otherwise normal brakewise

andyj22

Thanks Dudes:)

Adam

atlantean

Get yourself a Gunson Eezibleed kit http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GUNSONS-EEZIBLEED-BRAKE-BLEEDER-BLEEDING-MADE-EASY_

A very handy bit of kit

bushy...

It may not be air/need bleeding at all , but try that first
. If there is long travel on the pedal then its solid it might be the rear brakes need adjusting ( most of the pedal travel is used up just getting the shoe to touch the drum before it does any work at all ) , or maybe if its not used much the brake seals in the calipers are withdrawing the pistons too much after you release the brakes , again wasting most of your pedal travel.