Bleeding brakes

chaz20vt

chaz20vt

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Iv got myself a gunson eezibleed kit hoping to bleed my brake
Is it just a case of connecting it to a spare tyre at 20psi then connect to brake resourvour and undo each nipple at a time?
Do i need to do both nipple on the master cylinder
O have searched but no definite answer to what i need to know
Thanks in advance
 
Are you flushing the system or just bleeding a certain corner?, if the master cylinder has not gone dry you shouldnt need to touch it...
Is 20 psi on the instructions? seems quite high
 
Gunson say a max of 20psi iirc... I normally use 15psi...

The bleeder has instructions does it not for normal bleeding operation?

I normally bleed drivers side rear, passenger side rear, drivers side front, passenger side front then both MC nipples/// but as Dave said there shouldn't be any reason to do the MC unless after a full bleed the pedal travel is still long... have done a few full bleeds that have not dropped the level in the reservoir but still needed the MC to be bleed to get the pedal up... I would advise bleeding the clutch too as this uses the same fluid

<tuffty/>
 
To bleed the clutch, is it the single bleed nipple on top of the gear box housing?

Liam
 
Sorry to but in on this , if i bleed the brakes using the tried and tested sequence but use the easybleed kit instead of pumping the brake pedal , as long as the mc keeps fluid in it , it shouldn't cause any problems with the pedal going to the floor ? just want to have as much info as possible before i start the process .

replaced pads and discs all round (as they were shot )with a hope of getting rid of the spongy feel at the brake pedal .. bled brakes many times before on other cars but never with the easy bleed kit ..

what is vagcom and why would i need it ? as mentioned in a few brake threads

thanks for any help
 
You can use vagcom / vcds to cycle the abs pump, but you shouldn't need to.

Google Audi 8l vcds
 
Thanks but As mentioned sorry I don't know what vagcom is or vcds...
But I do know what an abs pump is :)
 
i have experienced the past few times that even though you have fluid flowing from you bleeding nipples when you bleed the calipers that the pedal will still be soft and spungy and only after bleeding the two nipples on the master cylinder you will then have a firm pedal afterwards.
 
Ah OK thanks.. so using the eazibleed kit, bleed all Calipers in the Usual sequence, then test pedal then bleed mc if needed or just do it as well....

Also I can just about see one nipple On the mc at the front, I presume the other is behind it somewhere.

Does it make any difference which order you do the mc, front nipple First /back first....

And do I just leave the eazibleed on the reservoir then Crack open each nipples on the mc just the same as the Calipers?

Thanks all for the help
This invaluable info for me as I don't Trust many garages these days
 
Update .. so all brakes bled successfully using eazibleed , brake pedal was rock solid until i started engine , i did have some feel from about half pedal travel but was not happy , so re fitted the eazibleed removed the big metal pipe to gain access to the MC bleed nipples , bled these successfully absolutely no air at all came out just nice clean fluid filled the tube right to the end ... so again rock hard pedal until engine started , so went for a slow drive breaking in the new discs and pads ... if i hit the brakes hard it stops dead , slow breaking is ok but only from about half pedal depressed .
will this improve as the pads wear in a little more or is this normal .. i wouldn't say they were spongy like before though .

turn engine of and full pedal feel again

i would say the first 40% of pedal movement nothing happens ??
 
Brakes never feel right until the are bedded in. I would give it a few days and see how you feel about them then. I had a mk4 Golf and they can be a pig. I got some air in at the master cylinder using an Easy bleed, not it's fault, mine but it was so little I thought I might just get away with it, I didn't and ended up getting loads of half baked advice, gravity bleed, don't pump the pedal, do pump the pedal, try tapping the flexis with a piece of wood, most of which I actually tried as I was getting desperate, new master cylinder later and having to the the Vag-com bleed etc etc, wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless it's the only way to get a pedal, so my advice to you would be; don't tinker unless it's really necessary or you are a Audi Tech!
 
A19quattro said:
Brakes never feel right until the are bedded in. I would give it a few days and see how you feel about them then. I had a mk4 Golf and they can be a pig. I got some air in at the master cylinder using an Easy bleed, not it's fault, mine but it was so little I thought I might just get away with it, I didn't and ended up getting loads of half baked advice, gravity bleed, don't pump the pedal, do pump the pedal, try tapping the flexis with a piece of wood, most of which I actually tried as I was getting desperate, new master cylinder later and having to the the Vag-com bleed etc etc, wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless it's the only way to get a pedal, so my advice to you would be; don't tinker unless it's really necessary or you are a Audi Tech!
Click to expand...

OK thanks ,will give it some time to bed in a bit ...but its my 4th car so wont be for a while :) i am with you on the advice the more you read etc
but had some great help on this site ..
what exactly is vag-com , as i cant be bothered with all that easy bleed (NOT )nonsense again ! the res is a complete pain to get to ...
so may be local specialist job for the new year .

been bleeding brakes all my life the old school way never had this problem.
 
You are supposed to let quite a lot of fluid out each caliper like 30 seconds flow. I used 2 litres to bleed my s3.
 
audi upgrades
hydro s3 said:
You should have a stiff pedal when engine is running aswell. If 40% of the brake pedal there is nothing I'd try bleeding them again.
Click to expand...

ok thanks , the calipers are easy to bleed and all of them where bubble free and full drain tube ... so was the MC no air or bubbles were visible in the drain tube and did both nipples on the MC ??

think its time for local specialist :(
 
Stuart B said:
You are supposed to let quite a lot of fluid out each caliper like 30 seconds flow. I used 2 litres to bleed my s3.
Click to expand...

yep i used about the same as advised on here , i do have brakes the pedal does not go to the floor ... but as said above the bit of pedal movement does not feel like my other cars ...

i had the eazibleed on about 12/15 psi
 
Vag-com is essentially a diagnostic tool, so scans the car and tells you if there are any fault codes, see here; http://www.ross-tech.com/
I have had it for a while but I am no computer techie so can't say I am that good with it, mainly basic scans and then resultant repairs but I have never regretted having it, certainly saves on garage fees and points you in the right direction once you get your head around the information it gives. The bleeding thing is a bit more of a specialist process which at the time I did it very few people had used it and fewer could tell you what to do. It is to do with air entering the ABS pump and then it's about the only way you will get it out. It also uses bucket loads of fluid, so you need to make sure you are well stocked beforehand. To be honest I would prefer not to ever do it again and I would tend to go down the route of a specialist myself if I gt back into a similar situation. Then again if you are sitting with a car in the driveway and no brakes, your options are limited!
 
cheers for that , i do have brakes safe enough to get to the local vw/audi specialist so think thats my next move if they dont improve ..

i also have audi 80 v6 and i only need to touch the pedal lightly and they are on .. so with the s3 i am sure they should be at least as good :)
 
so for vag-com diagnostics and labour to get them working correctly would i be looking around £120 ish
 
so pump when engine is off just a tiny bit and they are rock solid ... pump when engine is on and gets slightly better but not much ,, and if i push pedal slowly but hard it goes right down ?

oh happy Christmas stuart
 
Pumping the pedal with the engine of will give you a stiff pedal all the time. I think you need another person with you so they can pump the pedal while you bleed the system.
 
hydro s3 said:
Pumping the pedal with the engine of will give you a stiff pedal all the time. I think you need another person with you so they can pump the pedal while you bleed the system.
Click to expand...
It’s not recommended to pump the pedal as it can flip the master seal.
 
Vex182 said:
It’s not recommended to pump the pedal as it can flip the master seal.
Click to expand...

Yep thats why i used the eazibleed in the first place , but seems to have made everything more complicated and there doesn't seem to be a guide or definitive answer on how to do it , i have followed everyones advice including the eazibleed instructions , no bubbles ,no air ,bled the mc ,so it must be something to do with abs module ,,, so its off to local specialist with vag-com . I am a bit disappointed i couldn't sort it though
 
Also the eazibleed is not that easy to connect up if you have the spare tyre one like i do , i had to remove some parts in the engine bay to get the cap to fit the res properly because if its slightly off or you choose the wrong cap( there is a choice of 2 with the kit ) air can bleed out from the cap ... then you have to keep pumping up the spare tyre to12/15 psi i did mine after each caliper ....
if i ever do this again i would use the pump up bottle version much easier
 
There's a vagcom / vcds process which cycles the ABS pump i'm not sure how often that resolves the issues you are having.
When I removed my rear calipers and all the fluid leaked out, I had a long pedal after bleeding the calipers in the correct order, and this was resolved by simply cracking the 2 master cylinder nipples.

Some people also bleed the clutch, but this fluid feed is above the brake lines.
 
Wouldn’t you be better off bleeding the system with a vacuum bleed kit? It’s a one man procedure and guaranteed to get the air out. I’ll be doing this when I fit my brembos
 
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I haven't tried a vacuum bleed kit, if you have any more info S3AMJ on this I would be interested :)
I have used Easybleed for years, can be a but of a footer but normally gets the job done. With that in mind, I would wonder if the OP actually has air in the ABS. I got it as it was introduced to the M/C as I let the easybleed run dry for just a split second but the ABS is high up in the system and so not so likely to get air into.
I was told initially "Don't pump the pedal" on these cars. Later advice said I may need to, so I did and I think that's what killed my M/C, so I would advise to stick to the; "DON'T PUMP THE PEDAL" advice.
The old school way of getting air out (you'll love this) of the ABS was to Drive the car so as to cause it to invoke ABS. So somewhere with poor grip, you need to hit the brakes hard and you will feel the vibration through the pedal. Would suggest a quiet car park or somewhere off-road where you are less likely to run into anyone or anything else, be careful. Also you need to do it a few times as once won't really move the air enough in just one operation.
The idea of the diagnostic bleed is to take the risk out of the whole situation and it's less stress on the car, as it's all done on the garage floor, no driving. I can't exactly remember how many times it cycles the pump but it tells you to complete the entire cycle (I found the instructions difficult to understand but that may just be me), which I think is 10 or 12 processes. At first I couldn't believe I was meant to do it more than 3 or 4 times and the amount of fluid it goes through is scary, a small pail to catch it is not a bad idea. So re- stocked with fluid after the first 3 or 4 failed attempts I finally got to a stage where I was confident I had finished the process and more or less all the fluid. It was a success but the car was off the road for about a week, I spent hours on it plus the new Master cylinder, fluid etc etc.
I did try the manual method first but to be honest didn't get anywhere with it and didn't feel having a crashed car with top notch brakes was really going to do me much good :)
 
painter4 said:
If you read the whole thread that's what I used ..
Click to expand...

So you’ve used this?
213b9547877129a92c0ec9e79831c458.jpg



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A19quattro said:
I haven't tried a vacuum bleed kit, if you have any more info S3AMJ on this I would be interested :)
I have used Easybleed for years, can be a but of a footer but normally gets the job done. With that in mind, I would wonder if the OP actually has air in the ABS. I got it as it was introduced to the M/C as I let the easybleed run dry for just a split second but the ABS is high up in the system and so not so likely to get air into.
I was told initially "Don't pump the pedal" on these cars. Later advice said I may need to, so I did and I think that's what killed my M/C, so I would advise to stick to the; "DON'T PUMP THE PEDAL" advice.
The old school way of getting air out (you'll love this) of the ABS was to Drive the car so as to cause it to invoke ABS. So somewhere with poor grip, you need to hit the brakes hard and you will feel the vibration through the pedal. Would suggest a quiet car park or somewhere off-road where you are less likely to run into anyone or anything else, be careful. Also you need to do it a few times as once won't really move the air enough in just one operation.
The idea of the diagnostic bleed is to take the risk out of the whole situation and it's less stress on the car, as it's all done on the garage floor, no driving. I can't exactly remember how many times it cycles the pump but it tells you to complete the entire cycle (I found the instructions difficult to understand but that may just be me), which I think is 10 or 12 processes. At first I couldn't believe I was meant to do it more than 3 or 4 times and the amount of fluid it goes through is scary, a small pail to catch it is not a bad idea. So re- stocked with fluid after the first 3 or 4 failed attempts I finally got to a stage where I was confident I had finished the process and more or less all the fluid. It was a success but the car was off the road for about a week, I spent hours on it plus the new Master cylinder, fluid etc etc.
I did try the manual method first but to be honest didn't get anywhere with it and didn't feel having a crashed car with top notch brakes was really going to do me much good :)
Click to expand...

00a8e1de15c192b40cf1debec10e5618.jpg
This is what I’ll be using bud, it’s about £20 from amazon. Seen a few people use this always gets good results and removes all air bubbles etc.



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A19quattro said:
Does that suck the fluid/air out through the bleed nipple then?
Click to expand...

It draws the air out into the small bottle which is attached to the vacuum hand pump. But yeah it’s drawn out of the bleed nipples


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make sure there is always fluid in the mc when bleeding the system, after bleeding a wheel top up the fluid then proceed to the next wheel
 
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This don't pump the pedal I don't get.
My brembo's where put on a couple of months ago and I helped the mechanic bleed them. He got me to pump the pedal 3-4 times and he blead the calipers. My breaks are 100% with that method as soon as you touch the pedal they work.
 
There's a risk of damaging the master cylinder seal. Yours didn't flip, but if 10% of them do that means that the risk isn't worth the process. I have pumped my brakes too without issue, after fitting new discs and pads and not taking up the slack. I expect this issue won't be fixed by trying an old fashioned method, the easibleed pressure blender is by far the best way as long as the container doesn't run dry and add air.

I used 2 litre of brembo fluid to flush and bleed.
 
I had a similar issue with my Seat Leon earlier this year. Bled all calipers with no bubbles coming out but pedal feel was terrible.

I was told there will definitely be air in the system still so bled them another twice and this sorted it.

I also used an ezibleed kit.

I would definitely try bleeding again.


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yes , think i am going to give it another try ... the eazibleed was this

 
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