Ah I see. Well the only reason I didn't want to use the pressure bleeder is because I'm not experienced with them.

I also have heard that pressure bleeders may introduce air into the system, and that either the old-fashioned way, or even better, a gravity bleed, are the best ways to bleed the system. That's why I wanted to do it the old way.

I don't have very much fluid left in the bottle, I hope it will suffice.

Thanks for all your help guys, by the way

 

Yea....most folks that have problems don't "burp" the pressure bleeder to get rid of the air in the tube and you can get air into the reservoir. As long as you crack the cap all should be good.

I don't like the gravity type of bleed cause you can run the reservior dry if you don't watch it. I like being able to just get the job done and not have to worry about having to keep coming back to check the progress.

 

Once you've used a Motive PowerBleeder, you never go back. At least I won't.

 

+1 I love ours...

 

well I'm not sure which pressure bleeder my mechanic uses, but I'm gonna have to use that one. He's a BMW mechanic tho, so I'm assuming that he'll have whatever the dealers have. I have to do it at his shop cos he has the tool that allows ABS recycling.

But anyway, thanks heaps for all your help fellas I'll let you know how it all goes when I'm done

 

^^^

I used to bleed brakes the old way, one person at the pedal and one at the wheel. And when I didn't have an assistant, a 2x4 did the job.

Got the Motive Power Bleeder a few years back and it's been such a breeze.

As for the ABS, it's best with a scan tool but you can get by forcing the wheels to lock-up a few times on gravel, wet, snow packed surfaces are the easiest.

 

Hehe, problem is, it's summer down here in Aus. Need to find gravel or something, but I don't know where there would be some nearby

I can't use the pressure bleeder at my mechanic's, because that would require the use of standard brake fluid, and I just spent $190 on the Endless brake fluid.

How much fluid do I need for the Motive Power Bleeder?

 

Whoa! Why IN THE WORLD would anyone spend that much on brake fluid??

Is it infused with Gold?

 

No, it's made by Koalas... which spend 85% of their time sleeping and the other 15% eating. Thus labor cost is high.

I know... cheap joke.

Here's the Motive I use: http://www.amazon.com/Motive-Product.../dp/B0002KM5M4

I've never used more than 1-1.5 L... depending on the car.

 

Touché

 

lol well I had to do a flush (two bottles) and bleed (split a bottle with a friend). AU$70 a bottle.

Thanks for the Power Bleeder link. Does that particular model require any modifications in order to use it on my R56?

 

The Motive I have has the Euro standard screw-on cap for the master cylinder reservoir. American cars have a different cap.

http://www.amazon.com/Motive-Gear-01...=pd_sbs_auto_3

Not sure what style is used for OZ-bound Minis.

AU$70 per bottle. Ouch!!!

 

I just had a similar prob with soft pedal after a complete brake refurb,turned out to be the Lockheed dot 5 fluid,bled it out for the recomended dot 4 and the pedal is fine,obviously the cars are specific in what they drink wether it be the brakes the coolant or the power steering.

 

Endless should not be that expensive... I am currently using it and Vivdracing.com has it for $33 a bottle, granted thats a half liter and still crazy expensive. Just not quite the crack prices you are paying.

 

Yeh I'm sure the Aus-bound MINIs would be very similar, if not identical, to the Euro specced ones. Hopefully it should fit then.

I did a lot of searching down here in Aus.

I can get it from the US for US$32 a bottle, but unfortunately most places can't ship chemicals, and the places that do charge a fortune.

I doubt a mushy pedal would be from the fluid, Endless is reputed to give an extremely firm pedal. I'm sure that it was my fault.

Do you guys reckon that a vacuum bleeder (via the bleeder nipples) would work with the ABS recycle procedure like a pressure bleeder would?

 

Oh...bad deal here.

Before anyone undertakes this type of work please educate yourself on this stuff a bit. DOT5 is a silicone based fluid that is best used for show cars and or motorcycles where exposure to painted surfaces is a problem. It's compressible! While it can have good boiling point specs it should never be introduce into a glycol based fluid system. Even after a pretty good flush small droplets of this stuff will remain stuck in places as you will look to "push" it out with the normal fluid- it won't ever truly mix with it and flow.

DOT3,4 and 5.1 are the only fluids you should consider.

And moving to 5.1 for anything but high heat open track day use is pointless for a daily driver. The fluid will have a shorter operational life (at the high spec) and naturally reduce itself to that of DOT3/4 ratings in time anyhow. None of these will ever make for "better braking" as they have no impact on brake torque only the boiling point of the fluid.

In short my rule remains: if you don't boil the fluid you use now, you don't need higher bp fluid.

 

Actually, Lockheed makes a dot 3, dot 4, and a dot 5.1 brake fluid,
they don't make a dot 5.