Brake Bleeding Question
 

I've been having the hardest time with my spongy, spongy, spngy-ass brakes. It all started about a few months ago. I tried removing the hydraulic ABS unit, to try to get access to the downpipe. (Don't ask.) Anyway, ever since I've disconnected the lines to the unit, I've had really spongy brakes. The brakes were really firm, now they are CRAP!

I've bled the brakes a good amount of times already. Hell, I even bought some stainless steel braided lines to try to correct it. But it's still spongy as hell. What I have noticed is that after I tap the brakes, though, while it's all spongy, I press the brake again, and it's noticeably firmer. Actually firmer from when I first got the car. That's the kind of pedal feel that I want/need/long for...

Does anyone have any idea what went wrong? I've been told to just bleed many, many, many times more and it'll eventuall get better. I've also been told that the ABS unit may be faulty now. Someone help PLEASE!!!

Is your brake light on?

if you have to hit the brakes twice for pressure, you have air in the lines

air is in the abs mod. it will take some work to get out

Turn the ignition on and bleed the brakes again.

tt2323: What would a brake light indicate ?

buy a Mity Vac.......... you will love it. bleed longest line first by using the vacuum of the Mity Vac to suck the fluid thru the lines. you will need to remove each bleeder and coat the threads w wheel bearing grease prior to bleeding so air doesnt bleed along the threads.

easy as pie. pedal hard as a rock. no mess as the fluid ends up in the Mity Vac container.

howard coleman

Mitey Vac? Mighty Vac? you can figure out the spelling. BTW, you do have air in your lines.

howard coleman

howard- it is http://www.mityvac.com/

try putting bleeder screws on the abs unit where the lines attach at the top, use 2 short ones and a double on teh center one I think. Then use a vacuum bleeder.
1R1

FYI: if buying a Mityvac kit and you intend to use it for also testing the actuators of the stock turbos, get the Silverline Plus kit.

If you just want a brake bleeding kit and basic vacuum/pressure capabilities, PM me for a cheaper Mityvac kit in 'like new' condition :)

When I painted my calipers I used a two foot hose from the bleeder valvue and ran the other end into a container of brake fluid and pumped several times. This prevented air from getting back into the sys. and my brakes are nice and hard. Try this but work from the right rear, then left rear, front left, and lastly front right. I don't know why you decided to pull the ABS system though? Not something I would want to play with. I hope you at least got your DP on OK. Good luck. PS - You will most likely need to refill your brake res. several times during the process.

http://www.speedbleeder.com <-- never used these but everyone says these things rock and make bleeding brakes a piece of cake. This and the Fumoto Oil drain valve are going to be my first mods ( http://www.fumotovalve.com/ ).

As mad_7tist said, most likely it's air that you introduced into your ABS unit when you removed it. You're going to need someone to depress the brake pedal while you bleed all of the banjo bolt attachments (of which there are many). Good luck.

Thanx for the replies!

When I bleed all of the lines, they all pump nothing but fluid and the pedal becomes supremely firm. When I do the front-driver side though, the pedal just keeps pumping away, never getting firm. There are no air pockets released, just a continous flow of brake fluid. What happened!?

Kento, how do I bleed from the banjo bolts on the ABS unit? I have no clue about that. Since ur in Pasadena, you wanna help? I'll pay you. :bigthumb: I'm getting really desperate with this.

You've gotta have someone depress the brake pedal while you get an open-end wrench with a rag surrounding each banjo bolt and line on the ABS unit, and carefully loosen each one just enough to bleed it. You may have to tap it lightly with a wrench to get all the air bubbles to rise to the top.

The problem, however, is that you may have forced some of the air bubbles down through the lines in your efforts to bleed the system at the calipers. If you don't get any air escaping out of the connections at the ABS unit, you may have to buy a couple of bottles of brake fluid, and use a vacuum bleeder at the caliper to get the air out.

i use speedbleeders in both my cars and love em, make bleeding easy and effortless for one person.

i have a mightyvac too, and as howard suggeted, another great tool for bleeding and just to have in general for testing stuff

I removed my ABS pump and reinstalled it when I replaced all the seals. I just hooked all the lines back up and bled the four calipers as normal; no problem.

If however one of the solenoids in the pump is sticking this could cause your problem. I know the pump I bought for spare parts had two sticky solenoids in it that wouldn't fully release the line pressure when you took your foot from the brake. That may have been caused from it sitting a long time; I'm not sure.

bump what is the correct speed bleeder part for the clutch slave. i've seen people claim it is the 8100 but one person said it was the wrong size. any additional info on this before i order? they don't have it listed on their site.

bump this up, no one knows?

IMO, it's not worth it for the clutch. I tried two different ones a few years back and they both leaked. The brake ones worked fine.