Brakes doing my head in

[Plunky]

Hi everyone,
I've been replacing all my brake pipes today after one broke. have been replacing them with goodridge braided items. however, I am bleeding the brakes with an eezi-bleed kit and I just cant seem to get it right. no matter how many times I try and bleed the system, I still get a really spongy pedal feel.
I am bleeding from passenger rear to driver rear to passenger front to driver front, then the master cyclinder.
am I doing something wrong here? or is it a case of just purserving and eventually it will be ok?

thanks in advance

Liam

 

[Welly]

When bleeding, are you still getting bubbles coming out in the fluid that is being bled?

 

[s3ollie]

i thought its the MC first??

 

[Matt82]

ive had complete success doing the master cyl first and last. didnt make any difference for me.

 

[5teve L]

I did mine the other week & it's still spongey, it's better, but still got a bit more pedal travel than I'm used to, they deffo work well enough & I don't think there is any air in them.
After reading up on it it seems some are just like this.
Also bleed the clutch as well I was told.
I may do mine again in a few weeks just to make sure, the fluid that came out of mine was black !

 

[Matt82]

may do mine again in a few weeks just to make sure, the fluid that came out of mine was black !

dear or dear. sign of tight *** previous owners. new brake fluid is hardly a bank breaker yet has a massively important function haha

 

[StevoS3]

Yesterday I changed all my discs and pads and brake fluid and stuck on HEL braided lines, having the same problem, My pedal travels further than before but there is less spongeyness then brakes become sharp. still dont feel right tho... Will wait a few weeks till my discs and pads settle in then will re-do the brake fluid with Motul.

Has anyone else had the problems with HEL braided lines with the threads being different size than the origional front lines? I had to use my old bolts but seem to be fine with no leaks.

 

[Plunky]

well today I re-bled the whole system again, including both MC bleed nipples and the clutch and still have the spongey feel to the brake pedal. The brakes seem to get better if you pump them but for everyday driving they are terrible.
Any ideas?
Might just take it into a garage and get them to sort it as I need my MOT doing aswell. dont want to get ripped off though if its something simple

 

[Matt82]

you pressure bleeding or the old way?

 

[Effect]

Take it to a VAG specialist who can plug in a laptop and bleed it properly useing VAG-COM.
I can reccomend C&R enterprises in Nottingham, they did mine when even JBS struggled to get it right.

The reason VAG-COM needs to be used is that it will activate the ABS pump which pressures up the system and as far as I am aware you won't be able to bleed it properly any other way.
Took me ages to get mine sorted when I had this very same problem after boiling the fluid one day.
If I knew then what I know now and what I have just told you I would have saved myself a lot of money.

 

[Westy]

I think its normal for a spongy feel due to the way the Audi brake system is. I've just had Motul RBF600 dot 4 fluid put in mine and the pedal feel is almost identicle to how it was on standard brake fluid.

 

[Plunky]

I am using a pressure bleeding kit.
Thanks for the help guys. Does anybody around the petersfield, hampshire area have vagcom and know how to use it to bleed the system?

 

[fran-s3]

well without putting a damper on this but mine went in spongy to vw for a brake fluid change and came back with a lot ore instant pedal response....

 

[Plunky]

Went into my local garage next to my work today. booked in tomorrow for a brake fluid change, so hopefully they will sort it. Also got my MOT!

 

[badger5]

a fluid is non-compressable

so... std fluid vs higher temp fluid like rfb, on pedal pressure comparison alone, is comparing an incompressible fluid against another incompressable fluid..

where it counts is when the brakes get hot, and the factory fluid boils and creates bubbles, which creates long, oh my god pedal feeling

 

[Matt82]

but, ive been told, some fluids are more viscous than others, ie certain 5.1s vs 4s.

i had a longer than id like pedal on the golf for ages on 5.1, then changed to a 4 (alegedly more viscous) and pedal was sorted.

the less viscous stuff goes around the seal in the MC. not sure how much truth is in that, but ive experienced a difference

 

[thorsy22]

Is this the clutch bleed nipple?

 

[rossbrownlee]

yes, that very very faint red arrow is pointing to the clutch bleed nipple.

 

[s3dave]

be careful not to flip the seals in the cylinder if doing it manually ...