balance, thank yous

[Brett Dikeman]

It's funny how things get out of whack but balance each other out.

After finally getting the Big Baby back on the road after the
complete rear brake job(both sides, near complete teardown, new
pads/rotors), I couldn't figure out for the life of me why it was
suddenly pulling to the right...

...and then I remembered.  No dragging caliper on the left side :-)
Time for an alignment, I guess.  The journey continues.  Just as
well; I need to have the balance checked on the summer wheels, since
things get pretty...exciting...above 75-80mph.  I sure hope one isn't
bent.

It could be that I haven't driven the car in 2 weeks and have
adjusted to the Volvo's neck-snapping brake pedal response, but the
brakes seem too squishy; I did a complete pressure bleed this evening
of the rear circuit(almost 1 liter used, right on spec with the
Bentley's guide for how much it takes to flush each side), but I
suspect the real reason is the fronts -really- need work too.  Here's
hoping I don't need a set of front pads in addition to the rotors,
since all I have at the moment are new front rotors.

Still, I'll probably gently drive the car around town a few times
over the next few days and rebleed a little to see if any more air
bubbles pop out of various hiding places in the caliper. I might also
try doing the bleed with the drill bit on the proportioning valve to
get more flow.

   One question for the group...when pressure bleeding it(used about
15psi), I would occasionally stomp on the brake pedal, and I'd get,
shortly thereafter, a flurry of bubbles, but I wasn't sure if I was
moving air out of the caliper/line or sucking air back into the
caliper on the upstroke and then forcing it out slowly because of the
bleed.  Doesn't seem like it, since I could stomp, hold for several
seconds, then run over to the wheel and the bubbles would be pretty
far down the line, rather than just coming out the tube, but I
thought I'd ask.

Lastly, a huge thank you to all who responded over the last
week/week+half to various "first serious brake job" questions(why I
cc'd both lists, questions ended up on both.)  Certainly learned a
lot(like, for example, ebrake cables get attached BEFORE you mash the
brake pedal to get the calipers adjusted to the pads/rotors.)

B
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