Dog basket

I own an Sti V and am going to upgrade the brakes. I am not taking the car on the track so after much deliberation I have decided to just replace discs pads and brake lines along with the fluid. After reading threads on the BB I believe I can do this myself. Could someone just tell me how easy it is to change the hoses to braided ones and also give me a step by step guide to removing the old brake fluid and replacing it / bleeding the system. Basic I know but its my first time - be gentle with me !!!!
Also is it fair to say that only the front discs and pads need to be replaced ???
At the same time I am going to re-paint the calipers -im assuming that these will detach themselves easily from the system when i have the discs off ??

Your comments would beappreciated....

AndrewC

Sorry DogBasket I can't answer your question.

I too am about to undertake the same task, I think it would be really useful if there was a maintenance FAQ either on here or on the SIDC website with stuff like this. I'm sure this question along with "how do I change my downpipe" and "how do I remove the airbox resonator" are asked and answered many times, each time a little more experience is added but the post becomes lost (without a search facility).

There are some good websites out there - Chiarks gauge installation guide for example - but a centralised repository for these would be a good idea.

AndrewC...

(Edited to correct spelling)

[This message has been edited by AndrewC (edited 23 February 2001).]

Dog basket

Good idea - perhaps some technical minded people could have a go !!!

What combo of pads discs you going for and what car do you own ??

ndouglass

Dog Basket,

This is very scary, what you are describing is exactly the same as me & my 95WRX.
I've replaced the Front Discs With Black Diamond Combi Discs & Mintex 1144 Pads and I'm going to replace the hoses on mine next Thursday for Braided Hoses & Dot 5.1 Fluid, at the same time I'm gonna paint my calipers.
If this is your first time I'd really recommend that you get someone to chnage the Discs/Pads/Hoses for you. I've got a very good Brother who's a car nut and will do everything for me for a pack of **** & a blast in my car.

Neil

AndrewC

I have a UK MY98, I am acquiring a set of front brakes off a P1 (cheers Rum) and am going to fit braided lines, decent fluid and EBC greens for starters, I'll do the disks later, I'll probably go for Black Diamonds or EBC.

I've fitted hoses, changed pads and disks etc but I've never done it on a Scoob!

Andrew...

AndrewC

Just looked at the

Doc

Braided lines and bleeding are easy jobs but your brakes are fairly vital so if you haven't done it before I'd get someone else to do it or an experienced friend to help you.

To change the brake lines to Goodridge or equivalent remove the wheel and disconnect the old hose from the caliper and the solid brake pipe in the wheel arch. The connections unscrew - use plenty of WD40. Brake fluid will leak out so disconnect the caliper end first and drain into a container e.g. a jam jar. Fit the new hose. Repeat for each wheel. You need braided hoses front and back.

To bleed your brakes. I use a Halfords bleeding kit. This is just a plastic tube which fits over the bleed nipple on the caliper. The other end has a one way valve in it.

Start with the caliper furthest from the brake fluid reservoir ie the nearside rear). Put the end of the bleed tube on the bleed nipple and the other end in a jar. Open the bleed nipple. Make sure the brake fluid reservoir is full and then gently depress the brake pedal. Keep pressing the brake pedal up and down until no more bubbles appear in the tube and then close the bleed nipple. Keep checking the level in the reservoir and top up as necessary whilst you are doing this.

Repeat for offside rear, then nearside front and then offside front.

If you just use a tube without a one way valve you will need 2 people to bleed the brakes. The nipple needs to be opened and then the pedal is pressed to the floor and held there whilst the nipple is closed. The pedal is then released and the procedure is repeated. Take my advice and buy the Halfords (or equivalent) kit.

You will need a litre of new brake fluid. Use at least DOT 4 or preferably DOT 5.1. The old fluid will come out as you change the hoses and bleed the brakes.

The calipers can be painted in situ on the car.

[This message has been edited by Doc (edited 23 February 2001).]

TURBO7379

Doc , you gave a good explanation of how to bleed the brakes but you got the order wrong . You start at the drivers side front ( DSF ) , passenger side rear ( PSR ) , PSF , DSR . This is to order recommended in the haynes manual .
BTW you do realise that if you change to DOT 5.1 fluid you will have to change it more often as it absorbs water more readily than DOT 3/4 . You would be better going for castrol racing synthetic ( NOT silicone ) brake fluid available from Demon Tweeks . It exceeds the temperature rating of DOT 5.1 but only will need changing every 2 years as normal .

Doc

Turbo7379

I have been previously advised to bleed in the order I stated. ie start with the caliper furthest from the reservoir.

If you look at your own post

Moz

the easiest way i`ve found to bleed the brakes is to do all four at the same time,put the car up on four axle stands,attach four lines to the bleed nipples and put them into containers i.e immersed in fluid. open up the bleed nipples and the system will start to gravity bleed itself,you can speed things along by pumping the pedal and hold it depressed while you go round and tighten the bleed nipples. keep an eye on the fluid level and when you`ve finished hold the pedal depressed for about 15 seconds and check for leaks.

scoobyboy

if you are uprating the calipers from 2 pot to 4 pot you will need new discs coz they are bigger and new wheels unless you have a 98my(i think) to clear the calipers.

Gary Foster

Turbo7379

Eh ? I am sure the last lot of Dot 5.1 AP / Lockheed stuff I had was not silicone based and was not hydroscopic (does not absorb water)

Maybe I read the label wrong ?

Doc

Gary

As far as I am aware DOT 4 and 5.1 are hygroscopic whilst DOT 5 (silicone) is not.

Doc

I got this off of

Tim Skerry

One important thing about changing brake fluid this way is that you will only dilute the old fluid with each new volume that goes into the system. There will inevitably be some dead space in the system that will hold a bit of the old fluid, and although it will make a difference to the boiling point by doing this, the greatest gains are to be had by minimising the dead space and therefore replacing as much of the old fluid as possible. The way to do that is to ensure that the pistons are as far back into the calipers as possible. So if you lever the pads back a little and insert a wooden wedge or something to stop the piston coming out while you do this, there will be the smallest dead space and therefore the smallest residual volume of old fluid in the system. Even if your pads are new, you can usually get the pistons back in a little more. Of course if you do this, it will back up into the master cylinder and overflow if you do not suck it out with a syringe, or open a bleed screw while you do it.
I would tend to agree with others who suggest you don't start doing hose replacements and bleeding (alone) if you don't know what you are doing. It is not hard, but the problems that can be caused by mistakes (best - some air in the system and spongy pedal and poor braking, worst - catastrophic loss of fluid when you need it most, braking hard) are not worth the risk. At least do it with someone who knows what they are doing and learn for next time.