Disco 2 Brake Hoses renewing
- Thread starter goofy2000
- Start date
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Pawl
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- West Midlands, UK
If you seal the reservoir neck with something like a plastic bag & elastic bands - to minimise fluid loss - you shouldn't need to bleed the ABS unit or need a Nanocom or similar to bleed the system
ShaneMitchinson
Member
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- Scottish Borders
Are you doing it right from the ABS unit? If not just depress the brake pedal and prop it down. Once there excess fluid is out it won't leak anymore out. Had to do that when my braided line split to stop any more coming out.
brian47
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+1 ^^^^
It's a method which I've used myself on a number of vehicles. Unlike changing a brake caliper when you can pinch off the flexible hose with the proper tool, the only way to successfully prevent excess leakage is to seal the master cylinder reservoir either with the method already mentioned or if you can find a suitable temporary screw top which will fit the neck of the reservoir. Even then it's a good idea to put a small sheet of plastic over the neck first.
Make sure that when you do bleed the brakes after changing the hoses that you keep the master cylinder topped up all the time. The last thing you want to be doing is dragging air down through the master cylinder.
Thank you think I get it, I was going to replace the fluid at the same time, once the hoses are replaced do I just keep the Master Cylinder topped up above low and keep pumping brakes until you see new fluid coming out of the bleed nipples in the right sequence ?
brian47
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That's the basic operation of bleeding the brakes. However your biggest enemy is air, the next is grit and dirt.
Not only must you prevent air getting into the system through the master cylinder by keeping it topped up during the operation, but you must also prevent air being drawn back into the system through the bleed nipples on the pedal "up-stroke".
The oldest and often most efficient way of doing this is using two people, one to press the brake pedal and the other to open and close the bleed nipple.
The way it should be done is to connect a length of flexible rubber tube to each bleed nipple in turn and the usual thing to do is immerse the other end in a jar containing a small amount of brake fluid. Open the bleed nipple and call out to your companion to press the brake. When the brake pedal is fully down to the floor the companion calls out and the bleed nipple is closed. When the nipple is closed the brake pedal is released drawing fresh fluid into the system from the master cylinder reservoir. The operation should continue until no more bubbles are seem coming out of the rubber tube.
There are devices on the market to allow you to bleed your brakes on your own. The two main methods are either a pressure bleed device which contains a quatity of fresh fluid in a tank which is connected through a pipe sealed to the top of the master cylinder. The tank is then pressurised and the bleed operation undertaken. Fluid is then effectively "blown" through and out of the system and the master cylinder replenished from the tank as the operation continues.
Another cheap method to do the job on your own is to set up the job in the same manner as for two people but using a rubber tube with a built in non-return valve.
Bleeding your brakes should continue until you find that the brake pedal operates correctly without any feeling of "sponginess".
Unless you've disconnected any of the pipes on the ABS modulator there should be no need to use a code reader to "power bleed" the brakes.
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