what year is your car? late '05's and up don't have a bleed valve on the MC

 

It's a 2005. Don't know how late.

What if I don't have one? Just don't bleed the MC?

 

correct, just make sure you bleed the crap out of the rest of the lines. I did this to my car last summer and had no issues.

 

why did they get rid of the valve on the master?
and, do you have to do something with the slave cylinder? I never bled any brakes before so just asking

 

Alright, I have a fairly big problem with my brakes. My pedal has been getting mushier, and I noticed yesterday that my clutch didn't always disengage fully, so I figured I had gotten air or moisture in the system somehow.

So I flushed / bled each of the lines, brake fluid only slightly darker than before.

The pedal feel got worse, nearly the whole way down to the floor before the brakes would really engage. So i figured I got air into the system I hadn't bled out, so I bled them again. The pedal is even worse than the worse of before. I can feel a high frequency vibration in the pedal just as I start moving the pedal down, like wet rubber rubbing on wet rubber, only briefly and only when the pedal is moving. The brakes are barely engaging at all until nearly 90% to the floor, when they 'pop' downward maybe an 1/8th of an inch before really engaging.

Is this still a bleeding problem? It keeps getting worse each time, and I'm getting worried.

Right rear, left rear, right front, left front. Using my wife as the pedal pusher. Pump pump pump hold, open screw, close screw as she calls out down, release, repeat 3 times per brake line.

Am I doing something wrong or do I just need to basically pump everything out of each line?

 

Couple possibilities...
1) Wife isn't doing her part correctly (no offense).
2) One (or more) of your brake lines are ballooning.
Have the wife apply the brake while you inspect each line and see if one of them bubbles.

 

We just re-bled them all again, 6 cycles per line this time, while waiting for a response. The pedal feel definitely improved, though by no means back to where it was. It's responsive enough now that I don't feel unsafe driving it, but still not crisp, a bit spongy. Used half a pint of brake fluid so far, and yes, I've kept the master topped off at the 'max' line.


Where would I inspect for ballooning? I can't see the whole line. Is the only flexible part near each caliper?

 

Correct... just the flexible line inside the wheel-well.

 

i just wanted to get in here somewhere that if bleeding of the caliper doesnt work and you still have a soft break peddle you need to try bleeding the master cylinder itself using the same method as the caliper it took me three days to figure this out and it was driving me crazy

 

I've bled brakes on other cars and never had a problem. First time on this one, bad bongos. Pedal went nearly to the floor after finishing. I had my ebrake on while doing the procedure. Did that cause my problem?

I redid it without the ebrake on and it seems ok now.

 

just fyi, Griot's now has a pretty neat 'reverse' bleeder.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...rrivals&page=1

 

Plan on doing this soon. When bleeding would I have to have the cap off the master cylinder or should it be capped.

 

Cap off is fine.

 

Just saw this thread and felt compelled to comment: That's a TERRIBLE idea. I would not want to push debris up through the lines, into the ABS unit and master cylinder.

If you want to force bleed, I suggest going with a vacuum system and sucking it all out through the calipers. I've got the compressed air operated vac system form these guys and would recommend it:

Mityvac Brake and Clutch Bleeding Equipment

Really easy one man bleeding job. Turn it on, keep the MC topped up, close the bleeder, move to next wheel, done. Just my 0.02.

 

Does anyone know how much brake fluid is needed for a flush? I checked the owners manual and foxed.ca and nowhere says brake fluid capacity for our car.

 

I haven't done the 8 yet, but if you buy the bigger bottle, 32oz I think, it should be enough. Just replaced all of the lines on my truck and that took one big bottle, so the 8 should be less. Extra is always better than not quite enough.

 

You got it Wrong. This unit creates a Vacuum with compressed air it sucks the fluid out ,, it does not push it back.

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...rPicks&from=fn