"Brake Question!"

[hellmett]

Hi All,

I just bled my brakes (I think!).

The brakes feel fine to me and seem to be working!.

Although, when you pump the pedal and stop pumping whilst pushing on the pedal is the pedal supposed to slowly sink downward?

My brother seems to think that is normal, can someone confirm?

Also, how do I know if there is any air trapped?

Thanks!

Gary

[slim]

Tis normal, it shows that the master cylinder isworking correctly!!

[plumb bob]

Hi All,

I just bled my brakes (I think!).

The brakes feel fine to me and seem to be working!.

Although, when you pump the pedal and stop pumping whilst pushing on the pedal is the pedal supposed to slowly sink downward?

My brother seems to think that is normal, can someone confirm?

Also, how do I know if there is any air trapped?

Thanks!

Gary

Well, as far as I know it never used to be normal, if your peddle sunk to the floor it generally meant that your master cyl was kaput.

Having said that, my VW LT35 does the same thing ( 3 years old) had it into VW for a check and their techs said that after checking with head office tech dept. and having had several come in with the same "fault" they decided it was "normal"

Maybe it's to do with the ABS, does your surf have ABS?

[hellmett]

Well, as far as I know it never used to be normal, if your peddle sunk to the floor it generally meant that your master cyl was kaput.

Having said that, my VW LT35 does the same thing ( 3 years old) had it into VW for a check and their techs said that after checking with head office tech dept. and having had several come in with the same "fault" they decided it was "normal"

Maybe it's to do with the ABS, does your surf have ABS?

It doesn't sink "straight" to the floor but you can feel it very gradually sinking down!

My brother thinks it's like a safety valve to stop too much continous pressure on the pipes etc.

Do SSR-X 2nd Gens have ABS?

I don't think so!

Maybe there is still a bit of air trapped!

Gary

[BUSHWHACKER]

It doesn't sink "straight" to the floor but you can feel it very gradually sinking down!

My brother thinks it's like a safety valve to stop too much continous pressure on the pipes etc.

Do SSR-X 2nd Gens have ABS?

I don't think so!

Maybe there is still a bit of air trapped!

Gary

2nd gens never came with ABS.

Gary, did you pull on the handbrake a couple of times to adjust the rear shoes?
If the brake pedal goes to the floor then the seals on the piston in the master cylinder are worn.
Have you replaced the brake fluid with new?

[hellmett]

2nd gens never came with ABS.

Gary, did you pull on the handbrake a couple of times to adjust the rear shoes?
If the brake pedal goes to the floor then the seals on the piston in the master cylinder are worn.
Have you replaced the brake fluid with new?

Hi Vin,

The fluid was fine mate but I topped up with new!

The brakes were also fine before I replaced the calipers and pads etc.

I also adjusted the brake shoes as per specs.

Also pulled the handbrake 10 times to auto adjust shoes.

As I said, it is a very slow gradual sink but it doesn't go to the floor it just sinks down.

I maybe didn't bleed them properly, I did passenger side front 1st, the driver, then passenger rear then driver, lastly I did the LSV, I think it was the right nipple, the one facing the rear?

All the bleed nipples had no air and fliud coming out as a jet (I did use the pipe in the bottle of fluid as well to prevent sucking of air in).

Any chance there might be air in the system still?

The vehicle was facing down an incline as well (couldn't prevent this as our house on a hill and no flat ground!).

I checked the Master Cylinder by pumping the pedal (engine off) and turning the ignition on (started Surf) and the pedal dipped, is this ok?

One thing that might be relevant, the Panhard Rod is taken out and the LSV arm is hanging fully down, is this relevant?

Gary

[BUSHWHACKER]

Ah, if the LSPV is hanging down, then hardly any fluid will get to the rear brakes as the valve will think there is no weight to the rear of the truck and all the braking will be done by the front wheels.
The straight part of the rod that connects onto the LSPV should be parallel with the rear axle.

If the brake pedal only dipped slightly, then that's OK.

[NiftyNev]

I checked the Master Cylinder by pumping the pedal (engine off) and turning the ignition on (started Surf) and the pedal dipped, is this ok?

Yes that is normal. This shows the Vacuum assist is working. If the pedal slowly sinks to floor then this usually means fluid is leaking back past the seals. If the fluid was low and no signs of a leak it may all be inside the brake booster.

One thing that might be relevant, the Panhard Rod is taken out and the LSV arm is hanging fully down, is this relevant?

Hope you are not going to drive it without the Panhard Rod.

Nev

[hellmett]

Yes that is normal. This shows the Vacuum assist is working. If the pedal slowly sinks to floor then this usually means fluid is leaking back past the seals. If the fluid was low and no signs of a leak it may all be inside the brake booster.




Hope you are not going to drive it without the Panhard Rod.

Nev

NO!

I took the panhard rod out so I could get the new springs in without using spring compressors!

(Also painted the panhard rod as it was yukky!)

I take it that I should bleed the brakes again when I put the panhard rod back in?

Gary