Air in Brakes

[PeterVX2]

Just replace all 4 rotors and put in new pads all around.

The brakes now feel spongy !

Tried the old fashion method of bleeding air from system, ie wife in car depressing brake and me releasing fluid at the bleed nipples at each wheel. I toped up the fluid resevoir as needed.

No air came out the bleed nipples.

Is there another / better method for bleeding the brake system of air ?

I realise brake specialists have equipment that sucks it out.


Cheers

Peter

[mwemy]

did you bed the pads in properly ?

btw, the best method ive found of bleeding brakes was to pump the pedal up hard and hold it down then release the bleeder nipple and tighten it back up quickly, then repeat over a few times
if you have air in the system the pedal will keep depressing once youve started the car, ie fall to the floor slowly
other than that id say you just need to bed the pads in bro

[PeterVX2]

did you bed the pads in properly ?

btw, the best method ive found of bleeding brakes was to pump the pedal up hard and hold it down then release the bleeder nipple and tighten it back up quickly, then repeat over a few times
if you have air in the system the pedal will keep depressing once youve started the car, ie fall to the floor slowly
other than that id say you just need to bed the pads in bro

I bled the brakes with method you describe. The way I bedded the new pads was to drive to a down hill grade, get up a bit of speed and then just lightly put pressure on the brakes for a hundred metres or so.

I did this twice.

Cheers

Peter

[mwemy]

have you got shims on the brake pads? if so try taking them off and see if it makes a noticeable difference

[PeterVX2]

have you got shims on the brake pads? if so try taking them off and see if it makes a noticeable difference

There were no shims at all.



Cheers

peter

[mwemy]

slides are not seized ?

[Brett_jjj]

If the brake pedal has a long travel, and if the vehicle has ABS, air can sometimes get trapped in the ABS actuator if the fluid lines are fully emptied..You can activate the ABS actuator with a scantool or you can try locking the brakes up on some grass or whatever,which will then activate the ABS and let any trapped air through,which you can then bleed out.This doesnt happen all the time,but it can happen for some reason,so it might be worth a try if nothing else works.

[PeterVX2]

slides are not seized ?

No, I made sure that they locked the disk after I bled each wheel.


Cheers

Peter

[PeterVX2]

If the brake pedal has a long travel, and if the vehicle has ABS, air can sometimes get trapped in the ABS actuator if the fluid lines are fully emptied..You can activate the ABS actuator with a scantool or you can try locking the brakes up on some grass or whatever,which will then activate the ABS and let any trapped air through,which you can then bleed out.This doesnt happen all the time,but it can happen for some reason,so it might be worth a try if nothing else works.

Thanks for the reply,

I did not empty any of the lines in the system.

It will not hurt to give your suggestion a try tomorrow.


Cheers

Peter

[macca33]

FFS - they're stock VX brakes. Bleed them PROPERLY and they'll be fine. All this shim and other mumbo jumbo is just that.....

Did you undo the lower caliper bolt for the front calipers and tilt the caliper vertically, to enable ALL of the air to be bled out?

Start your bleed sequence with passenger side rear, then driver side rear, then passenger side front and lastly, driver side front.

1. It is a 2 person job, unless you have one of those little brake bleeder kits. (It has always worked for me)

2. Get the person in the car to pump the pedal a few times to build pressure and KEEP DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE PEDAL.

3. Open the bleed nipple half a turn whilst the helper pushes the pedal flat TO THE FLOOR and HOLDS IT THERE WITH STRONG PRESSURE.

4. Tighten the bleed nipple, the brake pedal should return to the start position.

5. Repeat process a few times - bleeding one caliper at a time using the correct sequence, until the brake is nice and firm. Keep topping up the fluid in the reservoir as you go.

6. Do NOT allow the brake fluid reservoir to empty, or you'll get air in the ABS module, which will need to be cleared using trade equipment.

If you cannot get this correct, then you should be getting a qualified person to do it - it is a safety issue, after all.

For bedding in, drive the car to 60kph on a safe, LEVEL road, apply the brakes firmly, but not sharply and bring the car down to about 10kph - DO NOT STOP COMPLETELY. Do this half a dozen times. Then, repeat the same process from 80kph, ensuring you give the brakes time to cool between brake applications. They will then be bedded in for you.

cheers

[PeterVX2]

FFS - they're stock VX brakes. Bleed them PROPERLY and they'll be fine. All this shim and other mumbo jumbo is just that.....

Did you undo the lower caliper bolt for the front calipers and tilt the caliper vertically, to enable ALL of the air to be bled out?

Start your bleed sequence with passenger side rear, then driver side rear, then passenger side front and lastly, driver side front.

1. It is a 2 person job, unless you have one of those little brake bleeder kits. (It has always worked for me)

2. Get the person in the car to pump the pedal a few times to build pressure and KEEP DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE PEDAL.

3. Open the bleed nipple half a turn whilst the helper pushes the pedal flat TO THE FLOOR and HOLDS IT THERE WITH STRONG PRESSURE.

4. Tighten the bleed nipple, the brake pedal should return to the start position.

5. Repeat process a few times - bleeding one caliper at a time using the correct sequence, until the brake is nice and firm. Keep topping up the fluid in the reservoir as you go.

6. Do NOT allow the brake fluid reservoir to empty, or you'll get air in the ABS module, which will need to be cleared using trade equipment.

If you cannot get this correct, then you should be getting a qualified person to do it - it is a safety issue, after all.

For bedding in, drive the car to 60kph on a safe, LEVEL road, apply the brakes firmly, but not sharply and bring the car down to about 10kph - DO NOT STOP COMPLETELY. Do this half a dozen times. Then, repeat the same process from 80kph, ensuring you give the brakes time to cool between brake applications. They will then be bedded in for you.

cheers

Thanks for this detailed reply.

I probably did not do as you suggest with the front calipers, but I had to fit the pads so I may have had them in a vertical position for a short time..

I did the wheel bleeding in the sequence you state and used the bleeding method you describe.

Although, I let off the bleed nipples perhaps more than half a turn.

I will re do the whole job again, and if there is no improvement, then I will take it to a brake specialist.


Cheers

Peter

[macca33]

No worries mate. Sorry if it came across a bit rough, but brakes are one of THE most important safety aspects and I'd hate to see something go wrong because someone didn't know exactly what they were doing.

cheers

[PeterVX2]

When bleeding the rear brakes, the pedal only goes half way to the floor !

Is this normal ?

When bleeding the front brakes, the pedal goes all the way to the floor.

I still have the spongy brake problem.



Cheers


Peter.