CPR

I decided to get rid of my SpeedBleeders today and go back to the stock bleed screws. I never really felt comfy with the SpeedBleeders and it always gave me a spongy feeling pedal. The less mechanical parts the less chances of failure is my thinking. I then proceeded to bleed the brakes. I used a 6 foot clear hose, making sure that the end where the fluid was going to exit was always submerged in fluid. I gave the bleed screw a 1/4 of a turn and pumped the pedal - making sure that I didn't let the pedal sink all the way down to the floor - till the SuperBlue was gone and the Type 200 Gold was showing up.

I got mixed results. On the good side, the sponginess and initial response of the brakes has gotten better. On the bad side, if I press hard enough, while at a stop, the pedal eventually sinks all the way down to the floor. I went to an empty parkin lot and did some hard stops without any problems and without the pedal sinking to the floor. I also sat on my driveway, which is an incline, and the car stayed still without the pedal sinking to the floor. I checked the fluid levels in the resevoir and it's still at the MAX line.

Is my MC gone? If so, how hard is it to replace and would I need to replace the Booster as well? TIA.


[Modified by CPR, 8:23 PM 3/22/2003]

uNF$@#!

sounds like you have a leak somewhere.

CPR

After I bled the brakes, and while the car was still on jackstands, and before I installed the wheels, I pumped the pedal several times to see if it would leak out the bleed screws. I didn't see any so I thought I was good to go. After testing out the brakes on a couple of test drives, I checked the resevoir and it's still full. I checked around the MC and I didn't see anything wet.

sil

just wondering.. but it sounds like you did this on your own?.. how'd u use that method to bleed the brakes on your own?

Propulsion

are you sure you've got the bleeding procedures right? You are supposed to:

push the pedal down
loosen screw--let fluid/air release
tighten screw
release pedal
---repeat---

there is no pedal pumping involved
btw, this takes at least 2 ppl



[Modified by SilverCIVIC96, 5:28 AM 3/23/2003]

bus stop

Why it can't be done by 1 person.....I bleed my brake with no help for many many times and NEVER have a problem.

nfn15037

I had the same sinking pedal problem, and it didnt always do it...if i mashed the brakes hard, it would hold pressure for a little whoie, then slowly start sinking, if i lightly held the pedal down, it was much more noticeable. I replaced the MC and everything seems OK now, just make sure you bench bleed the MC prior to installation.

sil

exactly how (without a vacuum bleeder).. i can't see how you press the brake, unscrew bleed screw, then before releasing brake you have to screw the bleed screw back in.. but i'm guessing you can do it on a bike.. if you've got a good method/trick let me know... but i'm about to go out and just buy a vacuum bleed kit..

CPR

whositr taught me this (and I remember Asahi using this method also) and it makes sense.

- Get a really long hose (6-7 feet) and make sure the end of the tube that goes into your container is submerged in brake fluid.

- Make sure the inner diameter of your hose is small enough so that it makes a tight seal when you slip it over your bleed screw nipple. This prevents air to going in through the tube/bleed screw interface. Tubing with 3/16" inner diameter will do the trick.

- Make sure you open the bleed screw just enough so that...
1.) it's not open too much that you allow air passage through the bleed screw threads.
2.) you can press the brake pedal down to force the fluid to come out.

There is a possibility to put air bubbles back into the system for the first couple of pumps but they will eventually be forced out. Here's a nice visual for you...when you're drinking through a straw and you pause, the amount of fluid that goes back into your cup is less than the fluid that you took in at the preceding sucking action you carried out. Once you see your new fluid coming out of the tube, you should be rest assured that it's air bubble and dirt free.

I'm going to bleed my system again tomorrow. I think there was a point during my procedure that the fluid in the resevoir broke the MIN level line. Hopefully, that works the re-bleeding works. If not, then I guess it's time to replace the MC. I'm glad I'm learning to do stuff on a Honda. The cost of making a mistake is so much less than making them on a German car.


[Modified by CPR, 12:43 AM 3/23/2003]

sil

i see.. i remember reading about this method, but I still think i'm going to invest in a little vacuum bleeder kit.. i'm sure if i had this i'lll flush brakes much more often.. by making a maintenance item easier to do, it stands a better chance at getting done..

D

you just need to bleed more to definatly determine if your MC is shot.

have a buddy work the pedal, and take a dead blow hammer and smash the **** out of the caliper, and suspension components. helps release surface tension of any additional air bubbles trapped in the system.

D

MK Ultra

I've actually had a MC go out on me.

You'll know it when it's really time to replace it. When mine went bad the pedal would sink to the floor just sitting at a stoplight, and it wasn't an intermittant problem. I had to use my emergency brake if I was stopped on a grade.

CPR

Ok, I might have cried wolf prematurely, When I was checking my pedal travel yesterday, I don't think the pedal was literally all the way down to the floor. At the end of the brake pedal travel, it would make a sound which made led me to believe that it was all the way to the floor.

After bleeding the brakes again today and checking the pedal travel, I don't think it really went all the way down to the floor. How far down can the brake pedal travel if there was no resistance at all? Let's say I loosened a bleed screw...would I be able to put it down to the floor as far down as where the clutch pedal is when its fully depressed?

Bbasso

Ya know how your brake pedal feels when your bleeding the system?, well if your pedal goes to the bottom I'm more then sure you would know.

Rebleed the brake system with some ones help and then see how it feels.

edit (sp)


[Modified by Bbasso, 11:01 PM 3/23/2003]