HELP! Brake bleeding problem

[Ted K]

I just put on SS brake lines and ATE blue brake fluid. I have a Griots garage vacuum bleeder. I sucked out old brake fluid from the reservoir, filled with new, and now cannot get any of the new fluid out the calipers.

My car is 90 535 5-speed. I tried turning the car on putting it in gear and even pressing on the brake pedal but no luck. The pedal fills very hard but no fluid is flowing.

Bentley on page 340-3 does not give me much help.
HELP!!

[winfred]

have you tryed bleeding it the old fashion way with two people and some shouting? i have not been impressed with vacuum bleeders in general

I just put on SS brake lines and ATE blue brake fluid. I have a Griots garage vacuum bleeder. I sucked out old brake fluid from the reservoir, filled with new, and now cannot get any of the new fluid out the calipers.

My car is 90 535 5-speed. I tried turning the car on putting it in gear and even pressing on the brake pedal but no luck. The pedal fills very hard but no fluid is flowing.

Bentley on page 340-3 does not give me much help.
HELP!!

[Ted K]

have you tryed bleeding it the old fashion way with two people and some shouting? i have not been impressed with vacuum bleeders in general

Yes I did. I had my wife sit in the car, turned it on and pumped the brakes but still no fluid. Do I need to do something to re-set the ABS system?

[winfred]

shouldn't

[Ted K]

The front all bleed out OK. Nothing out of the back!

[Ted K]

I got it all done. I had to run the car and pump the brakes at the same time. Thanks for your help.

[MicahO]

The question is regarding my 330 - Don't get the kind of experience and support I need in the e46 forums on some of this stuff.

Had a Driving School at Lime Rock last weekend with Drew. GREAT GREAT TIME! and the 330 was incredibly well suited to the task. But my brakes are a bit different now---

Starting the 3rd and 4th sessions, I noticed the pedal started out a bit low, and pumped up over the course of the first lap, then remained nice and firm for the duration of the session. Now, in regular driving, the pedal engagement is a bit lower than before the track day. Also - if I touch the brakes, then off, then on again, the pedal pumps up quickly. There is no bleed down in pressure - i.e. if I get on the brakes and hold, it does not move downward at all. It just seems that the first engagement is low.

These are stock (large) brakes on a 330i, stock pads. I had bled the brakes a week prior to the School - new ATE blue. I bled them again Friday (2 days ago) thinking that would clear the soft pedal issue. I also bled the clutch Friday night, as I finally swapped out the CDV. No change in pedal behavior. The front pads look perfect (haven't even gotten through the beveled edge yet - 6K miles on them). The edges of the rear pads look a little bit ragged. There is a LOT of brake cooling up front on this car..... Inspection Friday night revealed no leaks or soft spots in the (stock rubber) lines. I supposed I could have missed a soft spot - I only had the brake bleeder pumped to 10psi, they are basically brand new.

What's the likelihood of pad deposits causing this sort of behavior? What are other possibilities?

Thanks much--

[632 Regal]

that would explain the low peddle initially but not really the soft peddle. Maybe there is some residual air in the system somewhere (ABS?) thats causing this. Might need more pressure to blead them such as the 2 man system.