Brake bleeding

In which order to I bleed the calipers please? It's an LHD 90 td5 if that makes a difference.

I've never done a brake bleed before so if you have any tips that would be awesome.

Also when inserting new brake pads should I put copper grease on the back. Obviously not on the braking surface.

Cheers

New callipers and pads last weekend. Started OS front, then NS front, NS rear and lastly OS rear, bled as I went round. Copper on the pads.
Also the one handed bleed bottle and tube kit from Halfords worked a treat. Hope I got it right!
Cheers

I did mine yesterday after replacing master brake cylinder and pads . NS rear OS rear NS front then OS front, hope I got it right.

I have always started with the wheel furthest from the master cylinder, then next furthest etc and never had any problems.

Use a pressure bleeder, and only crack the bleed nipple open till fluid comes out, you do t need to unscrew it a lot, just enough to get fluid flowing out

flat said:

I have always started with the wheel furthest from the master cylinder, then next furthest etc and never had any problems.

Use a pressure bleeder, and only crack the bleed nipple open till fluid comes out, you do t need to unscrew it a lot, just enough to get fluid flowing out

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That was what I was taught, start with the furthest point from the master cylinder and work back to the nearest. So on either RHD or LHD that would be passenger rear, drivers rear, passenger front, drivers front. However oof course the actural side of the vehicle that is passenger/driver will change

mikerajjers said:

Also when inserting new brake pads should I put copper grease on the back. Obviously not on the braking surface.

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I always put a generous coating of copper grease on the back of the pads, even if they already have the rubber anti-squeal pads in place. I don't know if it actually makes a difference but I have never had a problem and they have never been noisy.

as above, normally furthest away from the master cylinder first and work towards the closest caliper....... that's the way ive always done it before.
I have however just fitted 2 front new calipers and 3 x extended brake hoses, I did bleed the fronts first just to get fluid in to them as they were dry plus the whole system had air in it. then went round all of the calipers, furthest away to the closest one to the master cylinder. used a pressure bleeder. have a good pedal.

If you don't have one already a pressure bleeder makes everything so much easier. can bleed the rakes to a good pedal in a couple of minutes once there is fluid in the sstem.

WIll 1 litre of brake fluid be enough to do the job? Or should I but more just in case? I´ve been rebuilding the rear axle and the calipers have been blasted, painted and pistons replaced. I expect there is very little brake fluid in the system.

mikerajjers said:

WIll 1 litre of brake fluid be enough to do the job? Or should I but more just in case? I´ve been rebuilding the rear axle and the calipers have been blasted, painted and pistons replaced. I expect there is very little brake fluid in the system.

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id get more in case it doesnt go simple, id have clamper rear flex would have need so much or risk of issues

5 liters of Dot 4 for twenty quid from Halford. I got through half of it flushing everything through..

Turktowner said:

5 liters of Dot 4 for twenty quid from Halford. I got through half of it flushing everything through..

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last time I bled mine after replacing the caliper seals on the fronts I only used about half a litre to refill and bleed.
However I have a 5l bottle and always have at least one of those on the shelf just in case things do not go to plan.

dag019 said:

last time I bled mine after replacing the caliper seals on the fronts I only used about half a litre to refill and bleed.

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I bought it knowing I'd be using a fair bit (and they wanted a tenner for just a litre!). Got through a litre trying to flush the clutch, still didn't run clear though.

Turktowner said:

I bought it knowing I'd be using a fair bit (and they wanted a tenner for just a litre!). Got through a litre trying to flush the clutch, still didn't run clear though.

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Had you replaced the master and slave? If the fluid will not run clear it is likely the rubber seals in one or both is beginning to break down.

dag019 said:

Had you replaced the master and slave? If the fluid will not run clear it is likely the rubber seals in one or both is beginning to break down.

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I feared that might be the case, another job to add to the list. I know the bits are cheap, SWMBO is starting to get narky about the "money pit"

Turktowner said:

I feared that might be the case, another job to add to the list. I know the bits are cheap, SWMBO is starting to get narky about the "money pit"

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The trick there is to buy a couple of really large but very cheap things and then it all becomes good value again, Value is based on the size of the item not its usefulness. Or find a reason to prove its superiority to other vehicles, preferably hers, and it will be ok again for a little while.
I did this last week when she parked up on the phone for about half an hour. Engine - off, ignition - on, aircon - on, lights (automatic) - on, radio - on, anything else you can think of - on! Then she was very surprised it would not start and thought something had gone wrong. Cue a phone call and the trusty money pit driving out to jump start her. I have been allowed two evenings this week to work on it as a result of that

dag019 said:

Or find a reason to prove its superiority to other vehicles,

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No problem there. Her mate's chap has an X5 faux by four and he's always crowing how "superior" his vehicle is. I just replaced all the callipers and pads in a few hours with basic tools for £200. He's just spent double that for a garage to find out why his indicators wouldn't turn off! Mr Smug from Smugsville here.
Plus SWMBO don't drive so I get kudos for shopping, dump runs, camping trips, logs...
She loves it too really, she seems to find bouncing around (ahem) in it strangely soothing and often gets rocked to sleep gawd bless 'er.

Can recommend the Gunson easy bleed, after reading the reviews some albeit negative I thought don’t want to rope the wife in so I’ll give one a try and it was so so easy bleeding the brakes.