Changing brake fluid

DarraghR

Hi there. I am looking to bleed my breaks and replace the break fluid. The breaks are working fine but in the last week they feel slightly softer. I have a house mate helping me as its a two man job. Doing a bit of research before I tackle the job so is it handy enough to do? What do I need to be careful with? A common technique I have seen is to put a cleat tube over the calliper nipple so that you can see air bubbles.

Tigger

DarraghR wrote: »

Hi there. I am looking to bleed my breaks and replace the break fluid. The breaks are working fine but in the last week they feel slightly softer. I have a house mate helping me as its a two man job. Doing a bit of research before I tackle the job so is it handy enough to do? What do I need to be careful with? A common technique I have seen is to put a cleat tube over the calliper nipple so that you can see air bubbles.

get someone who knows what they are doing to help you the first time

biko

FFS Darragh, how many times do I have to tell you - it's brakes

On topic, yeah it's easy enough if you have a mate to help. Google brake bleeding and check a few videos on youtube.

The whole process is really one man pumping the brakes while the other open/closes the bleed valves until there is no more air in system.

Caution: do not let the level in the brake reservoir fall below min level! This will suck more air into the system.

Veloce

I just did this last week for the first time. I had to remove a caliper from the car completely - reattach - then bleed the system. I didn't have any help but I picked up a 'one-man bleed kit' from Halfords. It essentially has a non-return valve at the end of the the silicone tube to stop air going back in after you've pumped a few times. It seemed to have worked well.

Check the order of the bleeding as well - normally you start on the caliper furthest away from the master cylinder and work around from there but this does vary on some cars (like mine for example).

Make sure not to get any of that brake bluid on painted surfaces - it's nasty stuff.

laoisfan

These might help....

How to Make a One Person Brake Bleeder for Under $5

How to do a Complete Brake Flush and Bleed

Blinkerz

Under normal circumstances pumping the brake pedal while opening and closing the bleed nipped is ok - you will get good results.
My brakes had a lot of air after a trip to the garage to replace the clutch. There was a common resevior and I guess the mechanic let it run dry. Normal method did not cut it but I found a great kit in Halfords. Only cost about 15 euro - connects to the spare tyre and pressurised the resevior. Just needed to open the nippers in turn and job done. Great for removing a lot of air.

Veloce

Blinkerz wrote: »

Under normal circumstances pumping the brake pedal while opening and closing the bleed nipped is ok - you will get good results.
My brakes had a lot of air after a trip to the garage to replace the clutch. There was a common resevior and I guess the mechanic let it run dry. Normal method did not cut it but I found a great kit in Halfords. Only cost about 15 euro - connects to the spare tyre and pressurised the resevior. Just needed to open the nippers in turn and job done. Great for removing a lot of air.

They work great - but you need to make sure that the cap that connects to the fluid reservoir actually fits... as not all reservoirs have the same shape / cap.

I was going to get one for the 350 but none of them fitted!

DarraghR

Thanks for the guide lines guys. Will use the information as reference and look at a couple of YouTube videos. Luckily the guy helping me has a lot of experience with motorbikes. I know they are completely different to cars but still good none the less

Dale Parish

Do not get any of that sh1t on your hands either.
I know this.

biko

Oh, one more thing - don't use an old bottle of brake fluid.
Buy a fresh one and once you have used what you need, wait a couple weeks while keeping an eye on the level, then recycle the rest.
Don't use old fluid as it will attract moisture and become "spoiled".

The Sidewards Man

biko wrote: »

Oh, one more thing - don't use an old bottle of brake fluid.
Buy a fresh one and once you have used what you need, wait a couple weeks while keeping an eye on the level, then recycle the rest.
Don't use old fluid as it will attract moisture and become "spoiled".

What do you mean by old fluid?

The Sidewards Man

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

What do you mean by old fluid?

Any brake fluid from a container that has been open a few weeks. Moisture from air will get in as brake fluid is hygroscopic

Voodoomelon

http://www.halfords.ie/workshop-tools/tools/hand-tools/gunson-eezibleed

All you need.
Have used this four or five times now, works perfectly and no friends required.

The Sidewards Man

Dónal wrote: »

Any brake fluid from a container that has been open a few weeks. Moisture from air will get in as brake fluid is hygroscopic

Wont it be the same in a master cylinder?

jca

Voodoomelon wrote: »

http://www.halfords.ie/workshop-tools/tools/hand-tools/gunson-eezibleed

All you need.
Have used this four or five times now, works perfectly and no friends required.

It never worked for me. I could never get a proper seal between the cap and the master cylinder.

The Sidewards Man

Has Halfords forgot that not every vehicle do not carry a spare wheel and why has some donkey in the Halfords R&D thought this was a practical solution?

Voodoomelon

If you don't have a spare wheel, don't buy one? It works great on every car I've used it on.