[V8] brake bleeding

Wed May 11 13:56:59 PDT 2011

...and a word of advice on the pressure switch - if that is the problem and
you decide to replace it - in BOTH versions of the manual I have and on the
fiche, the torque rating listed in ft-lb is not correct!!!

On page 47-100-2 - it says "19-Pressure switch - 20 Nm (44 ft lb)".  20 Nm
is more like 15 ft lb.  You'll twist it right off if you set your wrench at
44 ft-lb.  Ask me how I know...

--j

On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 2:51 PM, Seamus O'Carey
<cheshirecatsbox at gmail.com>wrote:

> Thanks for the responses, everyone. I ended up pulling the vacuum tube and
> having my girlfriend help me do it the old fashioned way (that sounds kinda
> dirty...meh, I'll leave it) and now everything works...sorta. I pulled a
> LOT
> of air out of the front right caliper (the one that had been dragging) so
> now the brakes actually work great, but the light is still on. It doesn't
> *feel* like the system has low pressure and the fluid is full, so I guess
> I'll check out the fluid level sensor, e-brake switch, and pressure sensor.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Seamus
>
> On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 6:26 PM, <qshipq at aol.com> wrote:
>
> >  I don't use ATE Super Blue, it eats the seals in the brake and clutch
> > master/slave.  Pentosin Super DOT 4 or equivalent - valvoline sells a
> good
> > one at your local FLAPS.  Forget the vacuum bleeder, use only a pressure
> > bleeder, no more than 15psi.  Sounds like you might want to disconnect
> the
> > right front line and try bleeding it.  My guess is you have a collapsed
> > rubber line.  That said, the light 'on' means you have a problem.  It
> comes
> > on for 3 reasons, bad ebrake switch, low on brake fluid (or bad brake
> > resevoir sensor) and/or low pressure in the system.  The switch for the
> > brake pressure is on the servo, and can be pulled to test it.
> >
> > For brake bleeding, there is a ck valve located above the rear axle.  If
> > you raise the right or left rear, the ck valve will fight brake fluid
> going
> > to that rear caliper.  If doing this procedure, it's best to have both
> rears
> > up at the same height.  Also the proportioning valve at the back of the
> car
> > (right side control arm) tends to stick, which can be freed up with PB or
> > WD40.  Lastly, you may have brake component paint in the lines, which can
> > cause a major problem during a bleed.  The only way to release that is to
> > remove the lines at the ABS, and blow air back thru the lines from the
> > calipers.
> >
> > HTH and my .02
> >
> > Scott J
> > 92 v8
> >
> >
> >
> >  -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ingo Rautenberg <ingo.rautenberg at gmail.com>
> > To: Seamus O'Carey <cheshirecatsbox at gmail.com>
> > Cc: v8 <V8 at audifans.com>
> > Sent: Tue, May 10, 2011 7:57 pm
> > Subject: Re: [V8] brake bleeding
> >
> >  I'm no fan of vacuum bleeders. I would go with a pressure bleeder (8-10
> psi)
> >
> >
> > through the brake reservoir. Start at the right rear, left rear, right
> front
> >
> >
> > and left front. Make sure you have enough clear tubing to go at least a
> foot
> >
> >
> > or two above the bleed nipple to make sure you don't see any more
> bubbles. I
> >
> >
> > like to switch between an ATE blue and ATE clear, so I know I'm using
> fresh
> >
> >
> > fluid.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Anyhow, that's my recommendation. Otherwise, you could have a bad master
> >
> >
> > cylinder, maybe?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Ingo
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 7:43 PM, Seamus O'Carey
> >
> >
> > <cheshirecatsbox at gmail.com>wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > I'm still at a loss on this bleeding thing. I've read the brake section
> of
> >
> >
> > > the manual about 5 times, but since I still seem to be doing something
> >
> >
> > > wrong, I must have missed something.
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > What is the proper method of bleeding the brakes? Do I have to do
> something
> >
> >
> > > with the ABS system or should I be able to just pull the air through
> with a
> >
> >
> > > vacuum bleeder at the calipers? Car running or not?
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > If you want more info, here's the background story:
> >
> >
> > > I got the car with brake problems and even though I drove it home (~90
> >
> >
> > > miles), the brakes have always been squishy and the light has always
> been
> >
> >
> > > on.
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > The previous owner replaced the bomb, but it didn't help. I replaced
> the
> >
> >
> > > servo (as well as the rear calipers and all 4 pads and rotors) and then
> >
> >
> > > bled
> >
> >
> > > the calipers, but the pedal was still a bit soft and the light was
> still
> >
> >
> > > on.
> >
> >
> > > Also at this point the right front brake started dragging.
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > So I replaced the master cylinder the other day, which resulted in NO
> >
> >
> > > brakes
> >
> >
> > > at all. I did forget to bench bleed the master cylinder however, so I
> >
> >
> > > connected a pressure bleeder to the fluid reservoir and then
> disconnected
> >
> >
> > > the line going into the ABS pump, from the forward-most line on the
> master
> >
> >
> > > cylinder, and connected a vacuum bleeder to it, to pull some of the air
> >
> >
> > > out.
> >
> >
> > > There was quite a bit of air, so I was hopeful, however it didn't
> change
> >
> >
> > > the
> >
> >
> > > pedal feel at all.
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > So I went ahead and pulled the right rear wheel and hooked the vacuum
> >
> >
> > > bleeder to that caliper and (with the pressure bleeder still connected
> to
> >
> >
> > > the fluid reservoir) started pumping. After 15 minutes of getting only
> >
> >
> > > small
> >
> >
> > > droplets of fluid I started suspecting that I was again doing something
> >
> >
> > > wrong, which is when I came in to write this e-mail.
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > I'm especially frustrated, because I have a manual here, but every time
> I
> >
> >
> > > do
> >
> >
> > > something it actually only makes things worse. At some point it has to
> get
> >
> >
> > > better, right?
> >
> >
> > >
> >
> >
> > > Seamus
> >
> >
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> >
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