Please can someone tell me the easiest way to access the brake bleed nipples? I want to put new fluid in and wonder if its easier to remove the wheels in turn or get it on ramps, leaving the wheels on to bleed them.
Thank you
D
To get at the bleed nipples it should be possible to do on ramps without removing the wheels. However if you are changing the brake fluid and donât have access to a ramp I would suggest the best way to to remove the offside front wheel and use that side (it is the shortest pipe from the wheel to the master cylinder) and bleed that side until the fluid runs clean (obviously topping up all the time to prevent it getting too low and bringing in a load of air into the system). Once you have clean fluid at that bleed nipple you can jack up and do each wheel in turn. To prevent the need to have to flush a lot of new fluid through the system you should, before you start bleeding, use a syringe to remove as much of the old fluid as possible from the reservoir before topping up with the new fluid - prior to bleeding.
There are of course a number of other alternative ways of carrying out this work. One other method I think you should consider, is purchasing an âeasy bleed systemâ which you connect to the tyre, to pressure bleed the braking system. This is especially useful if you donât have a helper to pump the pedal while you open and close the brake nipple. It also has the important advantage of saving a lot of wear on the Master cylinder, which can occur while bleeding the brakes, especially as you are forcing the rubber seals a lot further down the bore of the Master cylinder than they usually travel.
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The easy bleed from Gunsons requires you spend about a further ÂŁ20 or so a larger cap to fit the Mk2.5 master cylinder as the ones in the kit as supplied are too small.
The normal advice is to start at the rear left, then rear right, front left then front right.
It is better to get the wheels off and if you can get a loan of a two post ramp you can get all the wheels off at one time.
It is quite probable that at least one of the bleed nipples wil be rusted in place and will not undo.
I flushed the complete system on our 2007 Suzuki Jeep in 2010 no problem but last week two of the nipples are now seized on that car.
Happy days!
The advice to start at the rear left etc is only relevant if you have disturbed the whole system, for example if you have replaced the Master cylinder or replaced brake pipes etc. When flushing a system that has not been disturbed and is completely filled with fluid, it does not matter what order it is done in. Common sense dictates to do the main flushing through the shortest pipe first ie.the front right. If you dont want to spend ÂŁ20 on a cap for an MX-5 for the Gunston pressure bleeding kit, go to a breaker and get a s/h reservoir cap. This will cost a few pence at most or often you will get it for free. Drill a hole through it and fit the connector that comes with the kit. Happy bleeding!
Why is it common sence if it does not matter what order it is done as you say???
What I mean is that there is no need to follow the usual order that you have mentioned as this is only necessary when filling a system fron scratch. When simply bleeding a system that has not been compromised, the order is irrelevant, you could start at any wheel. However in this case it would make sense to do the flush through the shortest pipe. Hope this makes sence.
Thank you for the replies. My car is a mk3 so not sure if the eazibleed cap will fitâŚwill check. I have the eazibleed as well as the âone manâ visibleed kit. I also have a willing helper if it comes to traditional methods!
Hoping to get it up on ramps and do one axle at a tile as long as the nipples are accessible that way.
D
Being that it is a Mk3 donât forget that the clutch shares the same reservoir, so needs to be bled as well. Do the clutch last because its take-off is higher and more prone to catching some air during bleeding the brakes.
Even the main dealers sometimes forget to do this during a fluid change.
Well I have done lots of MK3 fluid flushes and forgot about the clutch.
Good reminder Richard.
When bleeding brakes on lots of different cars, Iâve always used one of those
things that are a piece of rubber tube, with a one-way valve at one end. The
other end fits onto the bleed nipple.
Simple, cheap, and effective.
Just need to keep an eye on the fluid level in the master cylinder,
and top up as necessary.
All bled through now, thanks guys.
I ended up taking the wheels off as the clearance from the nipple to the rim was limited and I wanted to use a deep socket to avoid problems. All were 8mm heads and someone had kindly put stainless nipples on the rears.
The eazibleed fitted but I chose not to use itâŚ
Was surprised to see the reservoir cap said dot 3!
Anyway all done
D
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Hi,
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I have a sealey sv820 brake bleeding kit, screw it on and pump it up, then go round all wheels and bleed them off, itâs a brilliant bit of kit, except to my mk2.5 has a large reservoir, does anyone know if you can buy the larger cap to fit the mk2.5.
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Cheers
Michael
Have only just found this topic and itâs very relevant as I am about to change brake and clutch fluid in my
Mk 2S. I have searched everywhere on our site but canât find how much fluid I will need to get to fully change both systems. Can anyone help or point me in the right direction? Thanks, Doug
A litre should do it, however it does depend on how enthusiastic you are with how much you take out.Â
Hi,
I would think that a couple of litres would be plenty but it depends a lot on how you do it. As I mentioned in my earlier post, if you use a syringe to remove as much of the old fluid as possible before you start you will need much less bleeding and much less fluid.
When bleeding the brakes, I would suggest that you do the main flushing via the O/S front wheel, as it is the shortest pipe and therefore you will need less fluid to be pumped through before the brake fluid runs clean. Obviously the lower you let the level go down before you top up will also have a bearing on how much fluid you use, however do take care and do not let the level go too much below the minimum level or you will suck in a lot of air and have to start over again.
Hope this helps.
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Erm, you donât need less fluid just because you empty the reservoir, you are just emptying it a different way.Â
If you can get a willing volunteer to press the pedals, it is much easier.Â
Sorry Nick, I wasnât trying to contradict you, when I started writing my post I hadnât seen your reply.
By using a syringe to take as much fluid out as possible beforehand you need to do less flushing and therefore you use less fluid.
Surely you just pump the fluid down to a low level before you put any new in for flushing.
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(Donât call me Shirley!)Â