Last year I upgraded the R56 calipers with braided front lines and stock size rotors. I flushed all the fluid and replaced with new ATE 200. But I still didn't get the firm brake feel I wanted. It was spongy like it still had air in it. I bled it a few more times with not much improvement. So this year I got the braided lines for the back. Now I know a lot of people here say the braided lines don't give much improvement on R53s but. When I bled the rears last year I noticed a little thin stream of black that just wouldn't flush out. When I replaced the lines this year and bled the system it's gone. I think that the rear lines were deteriorating. The car only has 39k mi on it but it is 10 years old. I could have saved a few bucks and gone with stock type lines if I knew that that was the problem. But no big deal. The brakes now have a good firm feel and good feed back. So if you have an R53 and have never changed the brake lines it might be a good idea to do. I got the Stop Tech lines from Rock Auto. Very well made and less expensive then others.
Im planning on installing 1st gen JCW brake and adding SS line at all four corner and new read brake pads. My car has DCS, apart from the four lines(corners) what else should i bleed? I read that that i should bleed the clutch? -- clueless about what is going on--- help!
The clutch and brakes are 2 completely different hydraulic systems. No need to do anything on the clutch when do brakes. Flush the brake fluid and replace it with something better instead of just bleeding it. It's cheep with everything else your doing.
When bleeding the brake lines it was suggested to bleed them in this order: right rear caliper, left rear caliper, right front caliper, left front caliper. At the risk of sounding dumb (but for my safety) I'm assuming right is passenger side and left is driver side?
So today i changed my rear brake pads and sensor. And then I installing the 1st Gen JCW brake kit (caliper and rotors) and i installed Goodridge SS brake lines. I bleed the two front calipers and now i dont have brakes at the pedal My dad and i bleed it manually ( i used Motul RBF 600 ) Can anyone offer up any help?
Probably have air in the system now. Make sure the master cylinder reservoir is full. Then open one bleed screw, let it flow by gravity always making sure the reservoir is filled.
we bleed the driver side (cause we changed those lines and caliper first) then to the passenger. Then back to the driver, then back to the passenger. My dad was adamant that there was no air coming out (he's a mechanic - just not certified, but knows his job). As it regard to the "cycling the ABS" im not sure what that means. [At the risk of sounding stupid, i have a DSC light in the car that comes on most in the winter when i have wheel skid. does that mean i dont have ABS? :confused5:
But he didn't drive the car since doing it air shouldn't gotten into the ABS block. But there probably is air in the system. I would do the bleeding procedure around the entire car. I found getting all the air out when I changed the front system was a pain as well.
If you have air anywhere high in the lines, it can get into the abs module, especially if the reservoir ever was dry during a bleed or fill, regardless of wether it's been driven or not. Auotenginuity has a tool that will cycle it. many local shops can do it, and of course the dealer can but you usually have to pledge your first unborn child to get them to do it. Try Nate's suggestion first, hopefully that will take care of it. I'd look at the ABS next if it doesn't.
Thanks for all the advice. So i did drive the car hoping that somehow the pressure would build up or the brake would work in (and also i didn't have a choice, i had to get it home from where it was). I know the reservoir was not dry at any given time. I'm going to try to get one of the pressure bleeder (like the motive) and bleed all four lines in order that was mentioned earlier. If that does not work, I'll probably have to take it to a shop. Will keep you guys posted! Note: The dealer quoted me $175 to flush the hydraulic system, which i think is "sort of" reasonable.
So i tried pressure bleeding it and still can't seem to fix the issue. I'm going to take it to a shop - my best bet is that it has something to do with the ABS (and hopefully not the caliper or master cylinder) Thanks guys, i'll keep you guys updated.
So i took my car to a shop and got the issue fixed. Turns out i had on the calipers on wrong sides. I didn't know they had a side and since i bought them used, i grabbed one and it bolted on fine so i figured i was doing it right. Now my car is up and running - Goodridge SS lines at all 4 corners, Motul rbf 600 brake fluid, 1st Gen JCW front brake and Akebono pads. Thanks guys for all the help and advice though!