hi all brake problem
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Joined: Aug 2005
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From: at home
Bleeding the brakes. This should be easy, but how many people know how to do it properly? Fords say you need a special tool, as the car has ABS. The tool is in fact the key in the ignition barrel and the ignition to be switched on. If you are going to bleed the brakes then try doing it this way, I think you’ll find it works rather well.
Remove the wheel from the car when bleeding only the front brakes. When you are doing the back of the car you should leave the wheel on the car, jack it up and put an old wheel under the wheel in the air and lower the wheel onto the other wheel. The reason behind this method is that the car has rear load valves, which sense if there is extra weight in the car or not, and they adjust the brakes to suit. You are in fact fooling the car into thinking that there is more weight than normal in the back of the car, so it will adjust its breaking system to allow the brakes to be more powerful at the back. By placing the wheel on something this allows the valves to open up a lot more, making the bleeding easier. Even the Haynes manual says that if you don’t rest the wheels on something then the fluid won’t come out.
If you don’t use this method you will find that either the fluid won’t come out of the bleed nipples at all or hardly any will. This might be down to seized rear load valves though.
It’s amazing how many garages don’t know this, and they wonder why people always re bleed their brakes afterwards. Even the big national chains don’t know about this trick. I found that out the hard way.
Anyway here’s the correct order to bleed them all in.
Rear right
Rear left
Front right
Front left
Something to bear in mind is don't let someone to stand on the brakes with the drum off without some way off stopping the cylinders opening too far, you could pop the pistons right out and wreck the seals, which means new cylinders.
Brake fluid should not be over looked either. It should be changed at least once a year, maybe more depending on how many miles you drive or if you do track days and brake hard all the time. The fluid in the reservoir should look clear, not a dirty brown. The fluid I use in my car is 5dot1 fluid. It costs Ł10 per litre and it has a very good boiling point. It’s available from Halfords and other motor factors. Cheaper fluid is available as well, and so is proper racing fluid. Use what you can afford, and change it regularly.
It is also worth considering buying a one man brake bleeding kit. I got a Gunsons kit from Halfords for Ł10 and it’s well worth the money in my opinion. No more messing round with putting fluid into the reservoir and getting a mate to pump the brakes, it also gets any air out of the system straight away too. One thing to note though it to make sure the nut that is inside the cap that goes onto the fluid reservoir is nice and tight or the fluid will leak everywhere. It happened to me the first time I used my kit.
The kit works off the air contained in the spare tyre being used to force the fluid through the system. You fill a bottle up with your fluid, attach the top to the reservoir and then connect it up to the spare tyre. Then simply loosen the bleed nipple at the corner you are going to bleed, attach the hose and watch the old fluid come out.
I find it best to use an old coffee jar to catch the fluid in as well. The hose that connects to the nipple is too short in my opinion, but I am fussy as a person. I am going to replace mine with a longer hose that reaches right to the bottom of the jar. You will also have to add more fluid to the rear brakes than the front ones, as the brake lines to the rear are longer.
Have a look at the brake fluid that comes out of the system and compare it to the new fluid that you have bought and you will see the difference in colour. The old fluid will be a lot darker and might well have little bits of sediment in it. It is almost definitely a sign that the fluid has been in need of replacement for some time. Just wait until you compare the fluid that has come out to the new fluid you are putting into the system. As you will see, all the expanding and cooling certainly has its effect on the brake fluid.
Before you open up a bleed nipple spray some WD40 onto the nipple itself and leave it for about 5 minutes to soak in. After that it should open up a lot easier. As brake fluid is often never changed on cars, the nipples themselves might never have been opened up in over 10 years. Then again you might be lucky and the nipples won’t have seized at all.
When you are bleeding the brakes on the car, you might well have problems at the back even after jacking the car up using the method I mentioned earlier. When I did mine no fluid came out of the rear passengers side at all, yet 2 weeks before it worked fine as it passed the mot. So I disconnected the brake line before the cylinder and no fluid came out of there either, which means either the brake line is blocked with rubbish, or that the rear load valve is seized or is just playing up a bit.
I guess I will have to remove them both and give them a good clean up and over haul to make sure they don’t seize up again. Which means removing them from the car and cleaning them up and make sure that fluid can pass through them under all circumstances. Due to their location, underneath the car near to the fuel pump, means it will be a complete pain to remove them. Once done I will add a guide on this.
Remove the wheel from the car when bleeding only the front brakes. When you are doing the back of the car you should leave the wheel on the car, jack it up and put an old wheel under the wheel in the air and lower the wheel onto the other wheel. The reason behind this method is that the car has rear load valves, which sense if there is extra weight in the car or not, and they adjust the brakes to suit. You are in fact fooling the car into thinking that there is more weight than normal in the back of the car, so it will adjust its breaking system to allow the brakes to be more powerful at the back. By placing the wheel on something this allows the valves to open up a lot more, making the bleeding easier. Even the Haynes manual says that if you don’t rest the wheels on something then the fluid won’t come out.
If you don’t use this method you will find that either the fluid won’t come out of the bleed nipples at all or hardly any will. This might be down to seized rear load valves though.
It’s amazing how many garages don’t know this, and they wonder why people always re bleed their brakes afterwards. Even the big national chains don’t know about this trick. I found that out the hard way.
Anyway here’s the correct order to bleed them all in.
Rear right
Rear left
Front right
Front left
Something to bear in mind is don't let someone to stand on the brakes with the drum off without some way off stopping the cylinders opening too far, you could pop the pistons right out and wreck the seals, which means new cylinders.
Brake fluid should not be over looked either. It should be changed at least once a year, maybe more depending on how many miles you drive or if you do track days and brake hard all the time. The fluid in the reservoir should look clear, not a dirty brown. The fluid I use in my car is 5dot1 fluid. It costs Ł10 per litre and it has a very good boiling point. It’s available from Halfords and other motor factors. Cheaper fluid is available as well, and so is proper racing fluid. Use what you can afford, and change it regularly.
It is also worth considering buying a one man brake bleeding kit. I got a Gunsons kit from Halfords for Ł10 and it’s well worth the money in my opinion. No more messing round with putting fluid into the reservoir and getting a mate to pump the brakes, it also gets any air out of the system straight away too. One thing to note though it to make sure the nut that is inside the cap that goes onto the fluid reservoir is nice and tight or the fluid will leak everywhere. It happened to me the first time I used my kit.
The kit works off the air contained in the spare tyre being used to force the fluid through the system. You fill a bottle up with your fluid, attach the top to the reservoir and then connect it up to the spare tyre. Then simply loosen the bleed nipple at the corner you are going to bleed, attach the hose and watch the old fluid come out.
I find it best to use an old coffee jar to catch the fluid in as well. The hose that connects to the nipple is too short in my opinion, but I am fussy as a person. I am going to replace mine with a longer hose that reaches right to the bottom of the jar. You will also have to add more fluid to the rear brakes than the front ones, as the brake lines to the rear are longer.
Have a look at the brake fluid that comes out of the system and compare it to the new fluid that you have bought and you will see the difference in colour. The old fluid will be a lot darker and might well have little bits of sediment in it. It is almost definitely a sign that the fluid has been in need of replacement for some time. Just wait until you compare the fluid that has come out to the new fluid you are putting into the system. As you will see, all the expanding and cooling certainly has its effect on the brake fluid.
Before you open up a bleed nipple spray some WD40 onto the nipple itself and leave it for about 5 minutes to soak in. After that it should open up a lot easier. As brake fluid is often never changed on cars, the nipples themselves might never have been opened up in over 10 years. Then again you might be lucky and the nipples won’t have seized at all.
When you are bleeding the brakes on the car, you might well have problems at the back even after jacking the car up using the method I mentioned earlier. When I did mine no fluid came out of the rear passengers side at all, yet 2 weeks before it worked fine as it passed the mot. So I disconnected the brake line before the cylinder and no fluid came out of there either, which means either the brake line is blocked with rubbish, or that the rear load valve is seized or is just playing up a bit.
I guess I will have to remove them both and give them a good clean up and over haul to make sure they don’t seize up again. Which means removing them from the car and cleaning them up and make sure that fluid can pass through them under all circumstances. Due to their location, underneath the car near to the fuel pump, means it will be a complete pain to remove them. Once done I will add a guide on this.
Advanced PassionFord User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,990
Likes: 3
From: Dublin,IRELAND
There is no need what so ever to have the ign on when bleeding brakes on a RST.You're getting confused with bleeding brakes on a Cossie.Other than that youre reply is top notch.Regards,Micky
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