[Rsteel]

I upgraded my brakes yesterday, got 312mm on the front now, and also replaced the rear discs and pads, now when i try to brake

the pedal goes almost to the floor, at which point i do have good braking, i have beld the system about 5 times now

Anyone else had this problem ??

Nothing seems to be going right for me at the momemt, sofar gone had to
replace clutch + engine mount + water pump and belts oh and brakes,
only had the car for a month, but will be worth it in the end

 

[Gary Cundliffe]

I don't have the pedal at the floor but recently fitted 312s at the front and new discs at the back with Pagid fast roads all round but drove my mates Bora last night on 35000 mile old standard brakes and his pedal was solid...a firm feel to it.

Is it a case of getting the brakes bled? Its short of the recommended interval but if it will firm up the middle pedal i'll do it!

 

[hopper32]

try using a peasure bleeder, i use a good un at work, only cost about ?12 from a motor factors and they save all the hassle of pumping the pedal and the possiblity of master cylinder trouble, as its basically a bottle that screws to the reservoir and is conected to an inflated tyre, when connected it just pushes the fluid through wen you open the bleed nipples.

job done

 

[Rsteel]

All fixed, I forgot to bleed the master cylinder brakes working really well now,

Thanks for your replys.

 

[jedi]

How did you bleed the master cylinder? where is the master cylinder located....

 

[seraph]

How did you bleed the master cylinder? where is the master cylinder located....

visualise a straight line from the top of the brake pedal into the engine bay-so offside/ lower area of bay, thats where it is!

i suspect theres a nipple on the master cylinder to bleed.

 

[jedi]

you suspect there`s a bleed nipple on the master cylinder????? I thought you said you had bled the master cylinder???

 

[seraph]

you suspect there`s a bleed nipple on the master cylinder????? I thought you said you had bled the master cylinder???

i havnt personally seen the nipple in the m/c or bled it from there, but its possible its where it is(based on 'rsteel' claiming hes bled the m/c)

imo, it is however abit unusual tho for it to have one...

using a pressure bleeder will prob eliminate the need to bleed from any where but the brakes.

 

[jedi]

When bleeding all 4 corner of the
car, does the new fluid flow through the abs controller (i.e. is the
abs
controller fluid replaced) and does it flow through the clutch
mechanism (i.e.
is the clutch fluid replaced) ???? Looking at the bleed nipple
near the
clutch and I?ve been told there is one near the abs controller I
wouldn?t have
thought these parts of the hydraulic system get the fluid replaced in a
normal brake bleed procedure...... and even worse there will still be old fluid in
the system. I have now bled the clutch mechanism and the 2 nipples on the
master brake cylinder the pedal seems slightly more solid now, but im
unsure of the abs controller nipple. Anyone knowledgeable in
this area!
The 2 x nipples on the master cylinder...I presume
these are for bleeding also???? After removing
my brake
callipers for painting and reinstalling them...I have found that the
brakes
were a bit spongy....bled the brakes 3 times and still didn?t seem that
clever,
but no worse now that before I took the callipers off.... Do all
MKIV golf?s
brake pedals feel like this? They seem to work fine abs
works and
everything....just that there seems to be a lot of pedal travel and
they don?t
really feel rock solid as on other cars I have
driven... There are a lot of
conflicting posts on this forum about bleeding the brakes.......Does
anyone have a rock solid VW spec brake/hydraulic bleeding
procedure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<o></o>

 

[Richard W]

All I do know is the brakes and clutch are on seperate Hydraulic circuits.

 

[vrooooom]

If you've bleed the brakes using a pressure system then they should be fine. From what i've read the bleed screws on the master cylinder are only to allow the master cylinder to be bleed if it's been drained or replaced.

The clutch feeds from the brake fluid resevoir (as long as the resevoirs not run dry it shouldn't need bleeding) and would only require bleeding if your doing a fluid change, but is only possible with a pressure system.

From what i've read so far, and had a look under the bonnet, the abs unit will be bleed when you do the brakes as the flud has to pass through it, and i've not seen or read anywhere about bleeding the abs unit during the bleeding process.

 

[jedi]

Cheers for the info guy`s ...................Just been for another
drive in the car and they are still spongy. Theres quite a bit of pedal
travel to..... I`ve bled the system with gunson`s easi bleed system
(presure bleeder) but they are still the same.......what presure should
you have the tyre at........I`ve tried it at 10 PSI and under then moved up
to 15PSI didnt want to try any more incase the reservoir
exploded......... just one more thing I noticed.... when the engine is
not running and I depress the brake pedal...It does go firm....its only
when the engine is switched on again that the pedal goes soft.....is
this normal?????

 

[PHIL_M]

The tyre should be at 20 psi, and are you bleeding in the correct order, i.e the passenger rear first.  

 

[vrooooom]

The pedal is fairly soft, depends what you've driven before really as all vehicles vary a bit. If it's going rock hard with the engine off (draining the vacum from the servo), then when you start the engine the pedal sinks a bit and goes a bit spongy , then this is normal.

The servo assistance is fairly strong on the golfs mainly due to modern cars being made easier to drive. (wasn't going to even mention making them easier for girls to drive, honest!)[]

What pressure does your bleed kit recomend you use?? as too high a pressure could fold the seals over in the master cylinder, or blow the resevoir off the master cylinder!! . Plus you only need a small constant pressure to push the fluid through the system, just don't run out of brake fluid!! and never reuse it!!

 

[jedi]

Can I just confirm that the correct bleeding
sequence is (as per the Haynes manual)

1st Drivers rear

2nd Passenger rear

3rd Drivers front

4th Passenger Front

My easi bleed kit recommends no more that 20 psi and that 10psi and below will normally
work although it does state that some cars may need the full tyre pressure to
bleed them correctly.......32psi!!!!! My reservoir will end up in space
;-0

 

[seraph]

Can I just confirm that the correct bleeding sequence is (as per the Haynes manual)
1st Drivers rear
2nd Passenger rear
3rd Drivers front
4th Passenger Front
My easi bleed kit recommends no more that 20 psi and that 10psi and below will normally work although it does state that some cars may need the full tyre pressure to bleed them correctly.......32psi!!!!! My reservoir will end up in space ;-0

throw your haynes manual away- thats all its good for!!!

instead of trying to remember patterns for cars, use the same basic rule which applies to ALL cars : start bleeding from the point furthest away from the m/c, gradually working closer.

As for the pressure, 30psi will work fine , as will 20 or 10! Remember the pressure from a tyre doesnt remain constant!

 

[jedi]

Hmmmmmmmm!!!! I will give it one more bleed if that does`nt solve
the spongyness i dunno what im gona do!!!!! does it
make a difference whether the handbrake is on?

 

[seraph]

nope, the handbrake is not relevant in this case

worst comes to worst take it to a garage with a pressure bleeder(compressor fed).

They shouldnt charge more than an hours labour and you could supply the brakefluid-cheaper too prob!

 

[jedi]

seraph have you actually done a brake bleed on a mkiv golf?
if so what procedure did you use, and with what equipment?

 

[seraph]

seraph have you actually done a brake bleed on a mkiv golf? if so what procedure did you use, and with what equipment?

i havnt done a bleed on an actual mk4, but i was a mechanic/foreman for almost 13years, so i can guarentee, the mk4 is no different in essence from any other car.

the procedure i would use now, is the same as if it were a 1985 fiesta or any car. I would use the standard bleeding sequence as named above, using a commercial brake bleeding system powered from a compressor(you can still get these even if youre not in the trade)

Tbh, it sounds like you might be better off getting a garage to do it(make sure you get a quote), then it becomes their prob when it doesnt bleed up.

I have known problems bleeding vw's, but then, theyre not alone too.