By joshua on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 05:54 pm: Edit

I just had the rotors turned last week, and have all new pads on. I woudl suspect the brakes shodul feel a bit tighter now, but they are way way muchy. pedal travel has increased. I just replaced the pads, didnt bleed or futz with break fluid ect.


how do i get the good feel back? Do i Need to bleed the system?

thanks...joshua

By doggy doo on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 05:57 pm: Edit

you just did the hard stuff (and the impossible....turning???) bleeding is the easy part.

maybe if you feed him more, he won't bark.

By joshua on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 07:33 pm: Edit

so was that a "yes, bleed the lines?"

how the heck do i do that?

i know something about milking a nipple, or something like that...hehe

no, but for real, how do i do it?

By Moe on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 09:02 pm: Edit

Even after bleeding they will be a bit mushy--as long as they don't bark, you should be alright. With your new parts, you should find a lot of stopping power in the final reach of the brake.

To bleed the brakes, pick up a couple of quarts of the best brake fluid, a small length of clear tubing (~1/4" inside diameter), and someone to pump the brakes. First, make sure all four bleed nipples--maybe 9mm--can be loosened. At this point you might want to extract the old brake fluid from the main reservoir with a syringe and replace with new fluid. Then have the driver pump the brakes a few times and hold the pressure firm. In the meantime you have the clear tube fit snuggly over one of the rear nipples and leading into a clear container, and once the pressure is built, open the nipple and allow the fluid to drain. Tighten the nipple, then the driver can release the foot from the brake, and repeat the cycle a number of times and then move from wheel to wheel. You might want to do each wheel twice until all fluid runs clean. In all the euphoria surrounded by working on your own Disco, don’t forget to keep topping up the fluid

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 05:24 am: Edit

one more quick idea - your brakes might seem mushy because you're low on brake fluid after your recent work...check the reservoir

By Jason 94Disco1 on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 08:00 am: Edit

Here are the correct order to bleed the brakes.

1. As a rule of thumb, always start bleeding the caliper the farthest from the master cylinder. ie passanger side rear, then driver side rear. Follow by passanger front, then driverside front.

2. Have someone pump the pedal 5-10 times and hold pressure on the pedal. Once you open the nipple (the nipple on the caliper) the pedal should sink to the floor. Tell your helper don't let-up until you closed the nipple, otherwise, you will endup sucking air back into the system.

3. Do it until fluid run clean or bubbles gone. Use a clear tube (purchase from Home Depot) push on the nipple to drain the brake fluid. In addition, using a clear tube will allow you to monitor the amount of air or dirt comes out of the system.

4. Here is what I use to bleed my brakes, just a hand pump pressurized system. You can probably make something from items purchase from home depot.

Hope that helps, no relation to any vendors or CEO of home depot

Jason 94Disco1

http://www.smartcart.com/Paragon/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=Motive944

By lynden on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 08:26 am: Edit

What fluid is everyone using. Has anyone gone to DOT 5 (if it's even made-I haven't looked lately)? Dot 4 is called for correct? I want to flush my system soon since I just bought it and don't know what was done w/ brakes in past.
Thanks,
lynden

By Ron on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 08:32 am: Edit

Castrol GT LMA do not use anything else

Ron

By Mike R. on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 11:19 am: Edit

Definitely do not use Dot 5; it's a silicone based brake fluid & doesn't work properly with ABS.

Read this: http://www.xs11.com/tips/maintenance/maint1.shtml

By lynden on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 11:53 am: Edit

Thank you for the article. I've been using 4 for a while in other cars and didn't even realize there was a difference between 4-5.
Ron- what is the Castrol LMA? Never heard of it. Is it DOT 4 or some other designation? Why do you like it? Just wondering.
Thanks in advance.
Lynden

By Ron on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 11:56 am: Edit

GT LMA is a vegtable based fluid that is compatible with natural rubber seals. I would not use anything else in a british vehicle even though I know it does not say otherwise in the manual. It is DOT 4 rated. every dealer and mechanic I know would use nothing else on a rover

By Mike B. on Tuesday, July 31, 2001 - 06:30 pm: Edit

Where does one get this 'GT LMA' brake fluid at a reasonable price?

Thanks,
Mike B.

By Alex Schubow (Alex) on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 02:01 am: Edit

Just bought a quart at Pep Boys for $3.99. 12oz for $2.49... Cheapest I've seen yet.

Alex

By Ali on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 07:47 am: Edit

I use a Pressure Bleeder from www.motiveproducts.com. This system eliminates the need for somone to pump, top of reservoir, etc.. Especially useful for bleeding the finicky ABS system on a RR. It's basically a weed killer spray thing with a gauge. It's the reservoir cap that's hard to find!

By Ricardo P. on Wednesday, August 01, 2001 - 07:56 am: Edit

You can buy a brake bleeder kit from the auto store for around $4.00. It eliminates the need for someone else to pump the brakes. It's a plastic cup with a lid that has a tube going into the cup. The other end of the tube goes to the bleeder nipple. Just make sure that you keep the cup higher than the nipple to keep air from returning into the line.

Rico