The reason I ask, is that spring rate makes a difference. If your car is softly sprung, then the load compensating valve is useful to prevent the rear end locking up. When the back end rises, the valve restricts and reduces the braking effect at the rears. With stiffer springs, there is not so much an effect of the back end rising, so the load compensating valve needs a little tweak. Lowering also requires a little tweak to the load compensating valve, to reduce the effect.
when i bleed the brakes i have the car on, with some one in the drive seat. i say down for the pedal down (open nipple) and up for pedal up (close nipple). then pump. i do this on every corner. is ther any special way if bleeding i should know of? or a sequence like rears first? thanks matey
The sequence is right rear, left rear, right front, left front. Your method is fine - so long as you are happy to be opening/closing the valve all the time. Using a one-way valve avoids this, and also means you can do it on your own, rather than the bread knife needing inconvenienced, etc.
PS move the load compensator's lever forwards for reduced braking effect to rear wheels. If you're bleeding the rear brakes (since the car's wheels will be in the air and therefore the load compensator applies pressure reduction) unbolt the spring and move the lever all the way back (and you could temporarily bolt it here too), so that the reduction is minimised/eliminated. You should be able to bleed rears with the Easibleed, if this is done.
i know its tricky. you have been very helpful paul our like god to me. Thanks very much for your help.
I prefer to use the Easibleed because it means you can bleed all 4 brakes at once, eg if you've changed the master cylinder. What happens otherwise, is that you get an air bubble at the T piece junction, or the equivalent of it within the MC.
how much are the Easibleed kits or can you DIY your own? i have not got a T-peice junction, its got a switch at the pedal.
Hi, paul ive bleed the brakes, the rears have very low pressure, why do you think this is. i bleed in the sequence you said. do you think it cus the load compensating valve?
If you have rear compensator valves then you'd experience higher pedal pressure during bleeding the rears, which would result in lower fluid pressure at the rears, due to the valves. Is this what you mean? So long as you can keep the fluid moving out the system and don't introduce air, and get all the air out, they should bleed okay.
yes, it seems like airs in the system, brakes are spongy, the pedal is not as high as it used to be. and fluid is coming out very slow when bleedin the rears. what can i do?
How are you bleeding the brakes? If you're bleeding and it doesn't 'feel' right, this can be due to a hydraulic leak somewhere else in the system. Once I was bleeding and this occurred, it was an intermediate pipe connection not done up. But obviously, check the other wheel cylinder and calipers too.
Hi, paul, ive been bleeding the brakes as you said, in sequence and as stated of pumping the brakes. the brakes dont feel right i took it for a run with the load componsators on and the pedal feels soft, with low pedal braking. normally it should brake near to the top of the pedal press. buts its like. when i press the pedal about thred down it locks up. just with force so i removed the load componsators and the brakes feel a bit better. with about 1" higher biting. theres no leaks, front calipers are new. all pipes are fine what do you think is wrong? its doing my head in.
How close are the rear shoes to the drums? Its probably that the self-adjustng mechanism, isn't self adjusting any more and needs some help. Take out one of the wheel bolts and looking through the hole, find the wedge-shaped adjuster, and pull it down, so the shoes are closer. You can check by spinning the wheel, you'll just be able to hear the shoes rubbing. You might need to remove the wheel to be able to get to see and maneouvre the wedge. Here's a handy pic:
I'd have to look at it. Could be sticking calipers, or not bled completely, or failed primary seal on the master cylinder, or worn/bluging flexi hoses.
i have threaded the rear calipers in and out to free them as the car was sitting for 3yrs. so ok. new MC so ok. flexy pipes look ok. the thing is its only got low pressure on the rears. i have removed the load compsators, so it should have high flow. dont knw what else it could be
I have a similar setup to yours and I get good flow to the rear calipers. I removed the restrictor valves in the enigne bay and just run the one under the rear axle inmy setup. I must admit that the system was brand new, all components including brake pipes and flexi hoses. Has a solid pipe got pinched somewhere ? Are both rear calipers "slow" to bleed ? paul_c those coil overs look familiar - how do you find them ? what settings do you run them at for height and damping ? Here are mine !!
They're great for the handling of the car - handling is well improved, also due to a couple of geometry tweaks at the front. My car is -80mm lowered, which is quite low and causes issues, but its not a daily driver.
