Brake Bleed Nipple

Hi guys.

Is it an 11mm or 7/16 spanner for the bleed nipples on the brakes? I could use a 7/16 socket on the front bleed nipples but couldnt get a socket onto the rear bleed nipple and couldnt find either an 11mm or 7/16 spanner to release the rear bleed nipple and the nipple is too close to the brake pipe union to get a socket in so I'm not sure exactly what size spanner I need.

I assume that the rear nipple will be the same size but just wanted to confirm.

Thanks in advance.

Andy

I have a 10mm cheap open ended spanner, filed out to 11mm and cut in half along the length of the handle, it was from an old Vauxhall job I did years ago, why they still can't locate the bleed nipps in a decent place is beyond me?

So Im not going mad thinking I'm doing something wrong.

Why the hell they didnt fit discs all round when they designed the freelander.................

rainady said:

Why the hell they didnt fit discs all round when they designed the freelander.................

Click to expand...

I dunno, something to do with braked trailer weight on an incline.

Drums work ok, a bit 19th century

rainady said:

So Im not going mad thinking I'm doing something wrong.

Why the hell they didnt fit discs all round when they designed the freelander.................

Click to expand...

The secret with bleeders is to get something that fits nice and tight, the sockets with hex splines inside rather than the multi ones are best, same with spanners, if you round it off its then a case of banging on a socket, and if its real tight dont force it and snap it off, shock it with a hammer.

Once they are slackened take them right out, clean them and lub with copper grease, if they are rusting and difficult to get a socket on toss them and fit new ones.

Problem with the Freelander is the nipple is so close to where the brake pipe goes into the cylinder, I couldnt get a socket onto the nipple. My socket for the front nipple loosened it happily, its just getting to the nipple at the back.

And lets not start about having to take the wheel off because the location and orientation of all the bleed nipples means its too difficult to do with the wheels attached.

It all comes down to designing something for maintenance. As a Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) Engineer, its nice to see designers do now consider maintenance in the design, but still too many designs consider cost of assembly first and don't think about maintaining something after.

I'll get off my high horse now.

Andy

I seem to remember a suggestion on here about filing a little off the lug on the cylinder body to improve access.....

RAMS...................Aint that the principle of Freelander design




Random

Awkward

Madness

Sorrow

Nice one NI.

Will use that one again

Yeah this one's had me in the past - got 3 out of four done and the drivers side rear just didn't want to budge. Gave up in the end as spanner was rounding it off - will just change the cylinder when the rear shoes need doing.
Incidentally what's the life expectancy on the rear shoes? I've had the car 2 years now and have put 35k on the clock (so 60k in all) and they appear to have plenty left on em. As far as I know (from service records) it's not had new shoes since new - is that right? I would be surprised if it'd had them changed before I got it at 25k.

Mines done about 48,000 and the shoes look like new. Very little wear on the drums, not a lot of dust when I took the drums off.

Yet front discs had worn quite badly and pads had lost about 3/4.

I think the fact that the IRD ratio has the rear wheels trailing slightly means the front brakes do the majority of the work more so than normal.

Rear linings seem to last ages apart from cases where the lining has parted from the shoe.

Was this Freelander designed or thrown together without a thought for anything.

OK dont answer that, we all know the answer.

rainady said:

Was this Freelander designed or thrown together without a thought for anything.

OK dont answer that, we all know the answer.

Click to expand...

Throughout my years as a mechanic I have seen plenty stupid ideas.

Usually though take a step back have a cupa and you think of something, the more you wrestle with it the more it seems to defy you. I have learnt that over the years, when to say fook it I'm going to bed, and the next day all is clearer.

One of the problems with the rear brakes is the method by which the are held on to the backplate. FLs use hairpin springs which are almost at the end of their compressibilty, in fact mine were solid. The shoes were like new and there was no dust. The force was so large that it was preventing the shoes from sliding. The handbrake wouldn't hold it in a strong wind!
Cleaning up the retaining pin and backplate made things a little better but refitting the spring was still a fight. I'm looking for a compatible coil spring subtitute, which is the more usual arrngement, anyone have a suggestion as to what might fit?

rainady said:

So Im not going mad thinking I'm doing something wrong.

Why the hell they didnt fit discs all round when they designed the freelander.................

Click to expand...

Land Rover beleieve to get an efficient handbrake you must use a drum rather than a disc (many Citroen owners would agree with them!) As the first Land Rover not to use a transmission H/b they used drums on the rear.