Brakes... Squishy Pedal...

[JupiterBMW]

Alright guys, the brakes are all done... Of course, not 100%... I bled them and pushed the new ATE blue all the way through the lines, no air, and crisp blue fluid coming from the bleeder screws...

I went for a test drive. Pedal was squishy as hell. But, I drove it and it felt alright. So, I went through a bedding procedure. 10 hard stops 60-10 followed by 30 minutes of highway to let them cool completely. Then I did 10 more stops, followed by some more cooling driving. I definitely got them warm as I was getting a fair amount of brake fade and a lot of smoke on the hard braking...

Well, pedal was still really soft, and during the hard brakes, it was going just about to the floor, and not stopping like it should.

So, I brought it home to bleed again. I bled it again, and just went out for a drive. Its better, but still not great...

Just to recap... I went with the TMS cross drilled rotors, Axxis MetalMaster pads, and the StopTech SS lines.

The only question... The kit came with two small washers, which I can't find a use for anywhere... No instructions with the kit, so I have no idea...

As for bleeding, I have bled many cars before, so I'm not new to that. Unless BMW is different...? I did the usual, start furthest from the master cylinder... RR, LR, RF, LF... I did 3 hard pumps/hold, then open bleeder, purge, close bleeder... Lift pedal and repeat... Did a LOT of that. I pushed about 20 ounces through to get the old fluid out, and about 10 more ounces through today..

For reference, the ATE can that Turner sent me with the kit is about 25% full now.


Anyone can offer some help? Thanks in advance!

[Jesse M]

We pretty much have the same setup except I have the axxis ultimate. To my understanding, the washer goes on the end of the brake line that attaches to the hard line for the fronts.. So one face of the washer sits on the SS line (female end) and the other on the bracket attached to the body of the car, then you just screw the hardline on to hold it all together. The washer just gives you more surface area to mount to the bracket.

And I used about the same amount of fluid. Maybe 20% left.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3

[JupiterBMW]

Hey man, thanks... Not sure if you noticed, but I'm the guy that PM'd you on E46f. Yeah, we have the exact same setup with the exception of pads.

Thanks for the info about those washers. Although, that doesn't make much sense to me... The bracket that's attached to the car has a 12 point "groove" in it, so the 6 sides of the hard line actually fit into that and 'lock' it in place... So, the fact that I didn't install those washers doesn't really bother me...

The pedal feel, still bothering me... I have to figure that out still.

[danewilson77]

I don't see any washes on the parts diagram.

http://www.penskeparts.com/DiagramsM...p;rnd=03192010

Sent from Williamsburg, VA USA

[terraphantm]

*every* time I removed lines from my cars, I ended up getting air trapped in the ABS system. This resulted in a squishy pedal.

Only way I've ever been able to fix that was by using DIS to bleed the ABS pump. Nothing else worked.

[M0nk3y]

When you bled the brakes...did you push the pedal down all the way?

You could of worn out master cylinder seal

[JupiterBMW]

Yeah Dane, its definitely not something that was there to replace an OEM part... No washers were removed that should've been replaced... And for what its worth, I think Jesse M is stating that the washers go between parts #5 and #6, on drawing number 34_1086...

I don't know... I've done so many brake jobs, I can't see any problems here to know where the issue is...

[JupiterBMW]

When you bled the brakes...did you push the pedal down all the way?

You could of worn out master cylinder seal

My wife was doing the pumping.... Hold the comments please...

But I did tell her to pump and hold it firmly... But if I did, wouldn't I see a brake fluid loss somewhere... Geezus, I hope this isn't the problem, master cylinder swaps are a pain in the ass!

[JupiterBMW]

*every* time I removed lines from my cars, I ended up getting air trapped in the ABS system. This resulted in a squishy pedal.

Only way I've ever been able to fix that was by using DIS to bleed the ABS pump. Nothing else worked.

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.

[M0nk3y]

My wife was doing the pumping.... Hold the comments please...

But I did tell her to pump and hold it firmly... But if I did, wouldn't I see a brake fluid loss somewhere... Geezus, I hope this isn't the problem, master cylinder swaps are a pain in the ass!

Most of the time this isn't the issue. Just trying to cover all places where this could result.