Brakes... Squishy Pedal...

[JupiterBMW]

Yeah thanks man... I did a LOT of bedding after I installed, and the pedal feeling never got worse (aside from the fade when they got hot), not to mention, the fluid level never changed. So I'm not losing fluid anywhere... I'm really hoping there is air in the ABS unit and that's my problem, although I don't know... I don't think the reservoir ever got low enough while swapping lines or bleeding... We'll see I suppose. I don't have the DIS to activate it manually, so perhaps tomorrow I'll try and find a road to activate it on...

We shall see...

[terraphantm]

Or, find a slightly sandy/wet patch of road and go lay on the brakes through that to activate ABS... That's how I did it in my last car... Hmm, maybe this will be the problem.

That didn't do the trick for me - it helped, but the car still wasn't quite as good as I remembered. I then did the DIS procedure and saw plenty of air come out. Pedal was as hard as a rock at that point

My reservoir never got low either -- I think enough air was able to work its way into the nooks and crannies of that pump while the lines were off.

[Hermes]

I used the same technique on every car I've ever done and have rarely ever had an issue.

My procedure has always been to use the turkey baster technique to pull most of the old stuff from the reservoir, fill again with the new fluid, attach power bleeder and pump to 15psi, proceed to the furthest bleed valve and work my way in (but every once in a while check the reservoir and top off fluid and/or pump it again to 15psi). Make sure the container you are bleeding into is sitting above the level of the bleeder valve.

Jon, one last thing... I didn't see you mention bleeding the clutch? When I do a MT car I bleed the clutch after the rear brakes and before the fronts.

[terraphantm]

I used the same technique on every car I've ever done and have rarely ever had an issue.

My procedure has always been to use the turkey baster technique to pull most of the old stuff from the reservoir, fill again with the new fluid, attach power bleeder and pump to 15psi, proceed to the furthest bleed valve and work my way in (but every once in a while check the reservoir and top off fluid and/or pump it again to 15psi). Make sure the container you are bleeding into is sitting above the level of the bleeder valve.

Jon, one last thing... I didn't see you mention bleeding the clutch? When I do a MT car I bleed the clutch after the rear brakes and before the fronts.

I don't think the issue is simply when bleeding. It's changing lines that's the problem. You can't leave the system pressurized if you're removing lines - otherwise fluid will go everywhere. And at least in my experience, those brief moments with the lines off are enough to allow some air to make its way into the ABS pump. Once it's in there, simply pressurizing the system does not necessarily eliminate the bubbles.

YMMV of course, but I've run into this enough times that I refuse to change lines without access to a working install of DIS

[Hermes]

I guess now that I think about it I never changed lines on a car with ABS before. Now I know what I'll need to do when I get around to changing the lines on the ZHP

[JupiterBMW]

Hmm, well I had the lines off for quite some time as I spent a few days doing my brake job. I had the ends of the hard lines capped so I assumed no problem, mostly because I've done this in the past with other cars. But maybe you guys are right.

So next question... Do I need to get DIS and get involved in using that? Will this setup work? It looks fairly complete... http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-STD-OBD-...item3a7bf539d8

Sent from my hybrid iPhone 4/4S...

[Hermes]

just drive to a good Indy and have them do it, give them $20 for their time

[JupiterBMW]

So freaking frustrating... The dealer won't touch the car because they say its aftermarket and they don't want to be liable for anything like that... Seriously??

I spoke to a guy at a recommended Indy shop and they want $150 to do a bleed and flush... I told them I don't want it flushed, just hooked up, cycle the ABS and make sure everything is clear of any trapped air...

Sooooo frustrating...

[wsmeyer]

I've read about air in the ABS and using a computer to activate it but I'm skeptical that it's as simple as cycling the pump. My hunch is you have to cycle it while you are bleeding the line so that the air actually gets removed and not just sucked back in to the ABS.

William.

[JupiterBMW]

Yeah honestly, I can't believe its made the pedal as soft as it is... I've replaced lines and bled cars with ABS before and never this problem... Of course, no fix as of yet either... So frustrating, not easy to find a good Indy shop around my area. We shall see...

Free beers for anyone that wants to come over and help!