Any "gotchas" in bleeding type 44 brakes?

[Brett Dikeman]

At 11:11 PM +0000 7/29/02, qshipaz at juno.com wrote:

>Sometimes=
>  at parking speeds it feels like it might be dragging slightly.

Check the rear brakes to see if they're heating up any; ebrake
seizure is -very- common.  That said, do NOT stop using it; periods
of disuse will make it worse, or so the legends say.

Another thing to check is the vent hole on the brake reservoir cap;
believe it or not, but if it clogs, it'll cause some serious
problems(I had this happen on my 5000.  I figured it out when I
unscrewed the cap and the car started to roll :-)

>  Before I te=
>ar into replacing everything in the brake system (grin) I figure I'll bleed=
>  out the brakes until all the fluid is new...
>What with the hydraulic assist and the ABS, are there any serious gotchas i=
>n bleeding the brakes? I've done it countless times, even on my old 5kt, bu=
>t that didn't have ABS. Thinking just use DOT 4 and get a helper to pump th=
>e pedal- is there more to it than that?

Half a liter from each branch is "the minimum" if I recall.  Start at
the passenger rear, then driver rear, passenger front, driver front.

Don't forget to bleed the clutch!  I do it several times both ways:
-depress pedal(w/helper), then open bleeder with clutch held to floor
-open bleeder, then depress clutch

I alternate back+forth a few times, seems to get all the cruck out.

BTW, a pressure bleeder will make the job about 5x faster, just be
-very- careful with it, make sure things get screwed on tight etc.,
or you'll have yourself a paint-eating-fluid geyser =:o


Brett
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