RobPhoboS Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 (edited) (warning, a fair bit of waffle here) So I've been battling with a spongy brake pedal for a while now, despite last year having new discs, pads, lines. Recently bled by Sly at Kaizer, then myself and a friend using the old way with one person on the brakes etc Then I thought sod it, get a power bleeder as it means I don't have to wrangle a mate over late in the evening The garage that did the discs\pads work plus some other bits reported that it was difficult to bleed the system, and something to do with the ABS. Now I understand what they meant. From what I gather (please correct if I'm wrong!), even if the lines and master cylinder have no air trapped, it's still possible that the ABS module can have some. So if you take it to Nissan, I believe when they bleed the system, they'll use their Consult II/III scanner/software that activate the ABS module, which in tern will release any potential trapped air. Kindly octet hooked his Consult III up to my car and we did that, although at the time I didn't bleed the brakes, however I believe it did let some air out into the system. There are a couple of other ways to activate your ABS though. Find a quiet bit of road and slam the brakes on, a gravel road would probably be better if you can find somewhere. Or you can do it when the car is on axle stands in the air: (not something I want to do though) http://forum.miata.n...ad.php?t=429317 This guy does a good job of showing you what to do: At 3:45 he shows you how to use a pressure bleeder. A couple of little tips (especially if stubborn like my one is): Remove some fluid from the MS first, not dried out though. Pressure test the bleeder before putting any fluid in it. 10-15 psi should be good. NSR-OSF-OSR-NSF Press the brake pedal every so often if using a pressure bleeder, I did it before opening the valves. Bleed outer, then inner, then outer whilst tapping the caliper with a deadblow hammer. (have a rag and some water near by as it can get MESSY ) And finally as an extra step which I may have to try out next week is to remove and tilt the brake caliper, some air could be trapped in there. See this: - I think you could just remove one bolt, and loosen the other so it can tilt - I don't think you'd have to remove it. So bleed the brakes as outlined, pop the wheels back on, fire it up, ensure the pedal doesn't sink, then go trigger the ABS and re-bleed as required. Thus having a pressure bleeder will mean you can just get on with it yourself. Review: I bought the VS820 with VS820UA adapter (seen in the pics), it's probably a bit overkill as the Eezibleed will do the same thing but, meh I got it now. I'd recommend just buying a new/spare master cylinder cap, and swap out the one that came with the basic VS820 kit if you just want to use it on the 350z. If you do that, you'll just need some epoxy, and several washers to make a perfect fitting cap, rather than using the universal adapter. (pics to follow) Using the VS820 is very easy, the instructions are printed out in a leaflet as well as on the side of the container. What you must do, which I didn't the first time, is extract some fluid from the master cylinder first of all before hooking it up. I used a 100ml syringe thing from ebay but a turkey baster will do the job. The universal cap works, however you just have to get it at a good angle and be careful you aren't hitting any lines/cables. My only gripe is that the gauge on my kit seems a bit temperamental, so I'm going to replace it. Overall, it's a quality piece of kit. The connectors are of a decent quality, it's just a bit tight they don't give you some spare tubing for bleeding the valves, so make sure you have some ! I've used it twice now, and yesterday a few more micro bubbles came out as well as one larger one. The pedal is feeling firmer each time, so I think I'm pretty close Apologies for the crap pics but you get the idea (I'll put some better ones up next week). Also, put some towels, blankets around the master cylinder in case you get a leak etc - obviously you know what happens with paint and brake fluid.. Ebay bits bought: 2 x 11mm spanners for bleed nipples: http://www.ebay.co.u...=item68ce30a469 100ml Syring thingy: http://www.ebay.co.u...=item418fcb8741 Deadblow hammer: http://www.ebay.co.u...=item19f8b334a5 Bleed nipple dust caps: http://www.ebay.co.u...=item43c4c00f5a Bleed nipples: http://www.ebay.co.u...=item4aaa969a5f Brake fluid - 1.5ltrs should be plenty Edited March 22, 2015 by RobPhoboS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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