BigJimnyMeet (North) 2024 (12 Jan 2024)
14th July 2024
Parkwood Nr. Leeds
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Brakes
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As a qualified Youtube mechanic, I've been fannying around with suspension and brakes on my Gen4. I swapped the stock shocks for OME ones and then realised that the extra flex meant that it could now a) unseat the stock springs, and b) potentially tear off the brake lines.
Fitting extended brake lines seemed like a piece of cake (hah!), so I bought a set of Goodridge hoses and set to work. Fitted the fronts ok-ish but got stuck on the rears as I was using the wrong tools (who knew that flare nut spanners were a thing? not me!) and rounded one of the fittings off badly.
Still tried bleeding the brakes after doing the fronts and the pedal now felt far spongier than it used to. Tried a couple more times using different techniques - have done two man bleed, one man with tube in bottle and one man with vacuum pump all with the same outcome - pedal feels spongy and the fluid that was coming out when bleeding looked oddly milky.
Eventually succumbed to the inevitable and took it to a garage (well, Halfords, don't mock me, they're close and you can book online) for a full brake fluid replacement. They did that today and it still feels exactly the same!
The brakes work, but I'd swear that the pedal feels far spongier than before and it's now possible to bottom out when pushing really hard. Am I just mis-remembering how the pedal used to feel? Should I take it to a dealer or another garage? Should I just grab the Swan matches and torch it, climb under my duvet and pretend I never owned a Jimny?
Help me collective hive mind, I'm feeling sad.
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- CC Baxter
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Good luck, Chris
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Temeraire (2018 quasar grey automatic)
One of the last 200ish of the gen3s, probably.
ADOS Attention Deficit Ooooh Shiny!
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As a bleeder of many many brakes, if it feels spongy to you it more than likely is. It's going to be trapped air and can be a pain to get out.
Speed can be your friend if you have a pressure bleeding system, blow it through as fast as you can without blowing the cap off and getting fluid over everything. The speed shifts those stubborn air bubbles.
A vacuum bleeder is better a drawing air out as it expands those little bubbles, but you need to be careful you are not drawing air past bleed nipple threads or even the cylinder seal.
Finally the two person "push" method can work, but it can take many goes and is not good for older vehicles as you move the master cylinder beyond its normal movement range, potentially resulting in damage.
Keep at it, take a break and walk away for a day, it will come good.
I have on my series 2 Landy used all three methods above over 4 days before I got all the air out. Brakes are still useless, the golden days of none assisted drum brakes.
Yokohama Geolanders, Sony head unit, NAUTILUS Air Horn, DRL conversion, Rear cargo space, Elvis Bobblehead, transfer Guard, Indian hanging Elephant, Koni Heavy track dampers, Custom SS exhaust, Voodoo Doll, Adventure Rack with LED ight bar, vintage ERIBA caravan usually attached (yes it's slow)
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- Grim Reaper
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With regards to the rounding of nuts, I found exactly the same issue, even with a flare spanner, the fittings were extremely soft to say the least, not sure if they are even 10mm size, and I found I needed either a pair of Knipex parallel jaw pliers or a 3/8" spanner filed out to be a very tight fit on the fittings was needed to avoid rounding off more of them.
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- Jimx5
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Remove the bleed nipples and use a sealant 'slicone' or PTFE tape on the threaded part of the nipple which stops air getting past, (not the tapered seat), refit the nipples and then release the nipples one at a time with a clear tube (possibly 6mm bore) long enough to reach the master cylinder reservoir, you can then pump the pedal to your hearts content until the fluid runs air free......no need for down, lock, up, open, down, lock, up, open...etc. and no need to refill the reservoir every 5mins.
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Jimx5 wrote: Having just retired early and spent the last 48 years as a forklift mechanic where 99% of the time you are working alone, the best way to bleed brakes or clutches without assistance is...
Remove the bleed nipples and use a sealant 'slicone' or PTFE tape on the threaded part of the nipple which stops air getting past, (not the tapered seat), refit the nipples and then release the nipples one at a time with a clear tube (possibly 6mm bore) long enough to reach the master cylinder reservoir, you can then pump the pedal to your hearts content until the fluid runs air free......no need for down, lock, up, open, down, lock, up, open...etc. and no need to refill the reservoir every 5mins.
That is a genius solution!
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- Jimx5
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Ues 4mm tube, not 6mm as i first suggested.
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- GeorgeC
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Just for clarification would you be able to do up a sample nipple and take a photo so we can see just how much tape to use and how much thread to cover, please?
Sorry, I am a little light on vision and heavy on years so a picture sometimes makes it all work for me.
cheers George
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- Jimx5
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<img src="www.evilution.co.uk/files/smartchassis/brakes/cvbn/cvbn1.jpg" alt="Evilution - Smart Car Encyclopaedia"/>
Another picture.
<img src="www.squaredeals-ltd.co.uk/ekmps/shops/sq...-3-x-pack-6376-p.jpg" alt="AUTO BLEED Brake Bleed Nipples M8 3 x Pack"/>
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