my expeience with brake bleeding
AWM
"nortons" <nor...@aolk.com> wrote in message
news:am0cnu49a79asa251...@4ax.com...
> My 1974 Triumph Spitfire had a failed PDWA switch. I replaced it and
naturally had to
> bleed the brakes.
>
> I bled them repeatedly and was still getting air from the lines.
>
> I finally figured out whey I was having so much air. I was using a
one man brake
> bleeder which is a tube that fits into the bleeder screw, hose, a one way
valve and a
> small bottle. I hooked it up and pushed the brake pedal about 25 times
which filled up
> the little bottle.
>
As you have found out drum brake circuits have less fluid reserve than disc
brake circuits.
When bleeding the general rule is no more than 4 slow strokes betweem top up
the reason being you want to keep a posative head (no matter how small) of
fluid in the resevoir to prevent air being drawn past the mastercylinder
seals.
When fitting things like PDWA switches, master cylinders and remote servos
the best idea is to get the air out before you spread it through the
system, if there is no float valve in the mastercylinder cap you can use
the "polly bag trick" stretched under the lid on the mastercylinder resevoir
to prevent fluid loss. Install the PDWA then leave the outlet pipes from the
PDWA switch a bit slack cover them with a cloth remove to catch the fluid,
remove the polly bag and top up the fluid and give one or 2 pumps to
prime the unit and tighten up the pipes. With luck you not have lost more
than a teaspoon of fluid and will have very little air in the system which
can be bled at the nipple out by just a couple of pedal strokes.
Back in october 78 when the Chrysler Sunbeams was introduced there were a
few cars fitted with faulty PDWA valves, I used to change these under
warranty in less than 5 minutes without even having to even open a bleed
nipple all that was required was an assistant to hold down the pedal while
the unions were tightened..
Grunff
> My 1974 Triumph Spitfire had a failed PDWA switch. I replaced it and naturally had to
> bleed the brakes.
<snip>
Ok, do this, and I promise you'll think of me next time you bleed the
brakes in 20 mins flat.
Go to B&Q or similar shop. Find the garden section. Buy a 2litre or
5litre plant sprayer. One of those that you pump up, and has a hose with
a squirty thing on the end. £10-£15.
Adapt a reservoir cap for your car by fitting a 1/4" hose barb to it -
you can get these from local hydraulics suppliers for next to nothing.
Cut off the squirty thing from the sprayer, and attach the sprayer hose
to the barb (which is now part of your cap).
To bleed the brakes: Screw on the new cap/hose. Put 2l of brake fluid in
the sprayer, and pump it up. Go round and crack open each of the nipples
in order. That's it. Never fails. Good for clutches too.
--
Grunff
Austin Shackles
enlightened us thusly:
> As an aside, I tore apart the PDWA switch and found it rusted and corroded. After
>cleaning and reassembly the 2 pistons move freely but snugly. If you try this yourself,
>be extremely careful when you unscrew the plastic switch. Under the switch is a tiny
>retainer and a tiny ball bearing. Don't lose them. (guess how I found this out?) My
>ball bearing was corroded and stuck.
>
> Hope this helps somebody.
might.
mind you, re: pulling switches apart, I've yet to make one work again by
this technique. done several reversing light switches, assembled 'em all in
the proper order after cleaning and freeing 'em, do they buggery work.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"If you cannot mould yourself as you would wish, how can you expect
other people to be enitrely to your liking?"
Thomas Ą Kempis (1380 - 1471) Imitation of Christ, I.xvi.
Dave Plowman
Grunff <gru...@ixxa.com> wrote:
> Ok, do this, and I promise you'll think of me next time you bleed the
> brakes in 20 mins flat.
> Go to B&Q or similar shop. Find the garden section. Buy a 2litre or
> 5litre plant sprayer. One of those that you pump up, and has a hose with
> a squirty thing on the end. £10-£15.
<snip>
Think you've just re-invented the EaziBleed.
--
*Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder...
Dave Plowman dave....@argonet.co.uk London SW 12
RIP Acorn
Grunff
> Think you've just re-invented the EaziBleed.
I resorted to this arrangement after my crappy Gunson EZBleed sprayed
DOT4 all over my engine bay for the third time. This is a much simpler
arrangement - no need for a separate air reservoir/fluid bottle. It's
nice and portable, and once you've made up a few caps, you can do the
majority of cars very quickly.
I'd definitely recommend a sprayer over an EZBleed any day.
--
Grunff
Dave Plowman
Grunff <gru...@ixxa.com> wrote:
> I resorted to this arrangement after my crappy Gunson EZBleed sprayed
> DOT4 all over my engine bay for the third time. This is a much simpler
> arrangement - no need for a separate air reservoir/fluid bottle. It's
> nice and portable, and once you've made up a few caps, you can do the
> majority of cars very quickly.
> I'd definitely recommend a sprayer over an EZBleed any day.
The only time mine gave trouble was down to me - I cross threaded the
reservoir cap. Other than that I find it ok. Could be with age the pipes
harden and leak.
--
*How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign?
AWM
"Grunff" <gru...@ixxa.com> wrote in message
news:3D7667C0...@ixxa.com...
You don't need to pump in fluid, a little air pressure pumped into the air
space at the top of the resevoir is enough provided you dont bleed too much
fluid out at a time, I used to use a bicycle pump connected to a
mastercylinder cap fitted with a tyre valveto supply just a tad of pressure
for bleeding.
Grunff
> You don't need to pump in fluid, a little air pressure pumped into the air
> space at the top of the resevoir is enough provided you dont bleed too much
> fluid out at a time, I used to use a bicycle pump connected to a
> mastercylinder cap fitted with a tyre valveto supply just a tad of pressure
> for bleeding.
Yes, but the advantage of pumping the fluid is that you won't run out of
fluid in the reservoir. With this setup, you fill up the bleeder, pump
it up, and leave it alone. All you have to do is go to each wheel and
bleed away. It's loads quicker and cleaner.
--
Grunff
Willy Eckerslyke
Doesn't it end up overfilling the reservoir, leading to all kinds of
mess when you remove the lid?
Apart from that, I like the idea a lot.
I wonder if you really need the pump at all, would suspending a
container
of brake fluid from the garage ceiling provide enough pressure on its
own?
(Don't say it depends on the height of your garage ceiling, please!)
--
Regards, Willy.
PTO
Grunff
> Grunff wrote:
> Doesn't it end up overfilling the reservoir, leading to all kinds of
> mess when you remove the lid?
> Apart from that, I like the idea a lot.
> I wonder if you really need the pump at all, would suspending a
> container
> of brake fluid from the garage ceiling provide enough pressure on its
> own?
The sprayers have a pressure release valve, so you let them down before
removing the cap. When you remove the cap, the reservoir will be
slightly overfilled - but it doesn't poor out. I use a turkey baster to
suck out the excess.
The head you'll get by suspending a container, two or three metres, will
be enough, but if you want to bleed quickly, then you need about
20-30psi, which is 10-20 metres.
The sprayer really works well, and is very cheap. When I first made it,
I was worried that the glycol would dissolve the plastic. It's about 2-3
years old now, with no signs of degradation.
--
Grunff
Robert Pearce
<oss108...@bangor.ac.uk> writes
>Doesn't it end up overfilling the reservoir, leading to all kinds of
>mess when you remove the lid?
>Apart from that, I like the idea a lot.
>I wonder if you really need the pump at all, would suspending a
>container
>of brake fluid from the garage ceiling provide enough pressure on its
>own?
Well the theory with the Eezi-bleed is that it only fills what gets used
up. This works because the fluid can only replenish the reservoir when
the pressure drops, due to fluid exiting via a bleed nipple. It needs
the positive pressure difference to force the fresh fluid up the pipe
out of the bottle.
If you relied on gravity the air in the top of the reservoir would
bubble up the tube, and the reservoir really would over-fill and make a
horrible mess.
In my experience, the Eezi-bleed system works really well providing
1) You get a good seal on the cap
2) You keep the bottle below the master cylinder
--
Rob Pearce
Club Triumph Spitfire and GT6 consultant
The above views and opinions are mine, and do not necessarily reflect Club
Triumph policy.
Dave Plowman
Robert Pearce <classi...@bdt-home.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In my experience, the Eezi-bleed system works really well providing
> 1) You get a good seal on the cap
> 2) You keep the bottle below the master cylinder
And you remember to drop the pressure in the spare tyre to below 20 psi...
Dave - who keeps his spare at about 40 psi and forgot.
--
* Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film *
Andy Dingley
<dave....@argonet.co.uk> wrote:
>> In my experience, the Eezi-bleed system works really well providing
>And you remember to drop the pressure in the spare tyre to below 20 psi...
No-one forgets to do that.
Twice.
Chris Bolus
<grimlycur...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 04 Sep 2002 06:06:00 -0700, nortons <nor...@aolk.com> wrote:
>
>> I finally figured out that the resevoir for the rear brake system has a very small
>>capacity. Less than the little bottle. I was pumping the pedal and after about 15 pushes
>>I had drained the resevoir and was sucking air into the system.
>
>Simly upturn a can of fluid and set it on the top of the master
>cylinder - as the level drops below the neck of the can, fresh fluid
>fills the reservoir.
Modern plastic fluid bottle necks are about 40mm diameter; the opening
on the master cylinder on any of my classic fleet is less than 15mm :-(
--
Regards, Chris (Please take out my car to reply by email)
--1961 Austin A40 Farina----1966 Triumph Herald Estate--
--1969 Riley Elf--1965 Wolseley 16/60--1965 Hillman Minx---
---- Website at www.b0lus.com ---- ICQ 10951085
********** Please don't email in HTML! **********
AN6530
>From: Andy Dingley din...@codesmiths.com
>Date: 06/09/2002 12:54 GMT
>>And you remember to drop the pressure in the spare tyre to below 20 psi...
>
>No-one forgets to do that.
>
>Twice.
Me too :(
Steve. Suffolk.
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