What did you do for your ZHP/ BMW / MINI today? #2

[Vas]

With the help of Shawn and his power bleeder, I had the brake system flushed over the weekend on Sketchi. There was no air that came out of the lines however pedal travel is longer and not as firm compared to my zhp.

Could it be the pads?

[Aeternalis]

She's off to the shop today 'til Thursday for...

- VANOS/DISA valve
- Oil filter housing gasket/VANOS oil line
- CCV system
- Full cooling system overhaul
- Koni FSD shocks
- Full front/rear suspension refresh+rear subframe reinforcement (poly bushings for subframe/differential)
- Short shifter installation+replacement of pretty much everything there (also the AKG Motorsports selector rod!)
- Oil pan gasket
- ///M leather steering wheel
- 12mm rear spacers
- Front strut bar install
- M3 spec rubber motor/transmission mounts
- Probably some more stuff I'm forgetting.. the car is packed to the gills with boxes right now!

Headlights are also coming off and going to my buddy Rick @ Epic Lighting in Oklahoma for the E46 RetroQuik install. I can't wait to see how different the car drives and feels after everything is done. This week is gonna go by so slowly lol.

[Sockethead]

That's a pretty extensive list. Should look and feel great after all of that...

[terraphantm]

With the help of Shawn and his power bleeder, I had the brake system flushed over the weekend on Sketchi. There was no air that came out of the lines however pedal travel is longer and not as firm compared to my zhp.

Could it be the pads?

Give the calipers a couple whacks with a hammer while bleeding. If still no air, bleed the ABS system. If still no air and/or the brake pedal still feels mushy, it could just be your pads.

[Vas]

Give the calipers a couple whacks with a hammer while bleeding. If still no air, bleed the ABS system. If still no air and/or the brake pedal still feels mushy, it could just be your pads.

Thanks.

Wish I had access to INPA.

But I might give this a try. Thoughts?

Use the old fashioned two person method
Before you have the person in the car press the brakes, have them start the car
Crack the bleeder
The DSC light should go solid
Close the bleeder
Have the person in the car release the brake pedal and then turn the car off to reset DSC
Repeat as necessary

Doing it this way causes the DSC pump to cycle as you crack the bleeder. DSC will see too much pressure loss and error out. That's why you must restart the car to reset things--hitting the DSC button won't cycle it.

[Ssparrow]

I've removed the front lines at least 4 or 5 times since I've owned the car. Most of those times were because of the damned BMW Performance brakes that kept leaking, so I had to keep removing the calipers to rebuild 'em. Did the rears twice.

I looked it up and it seems the online consensus is that it's unnecessary to bleed the ABS pump when changing lines, as long as the reservoir doesn't empty out. My BMW tech friend said the same thing, and says the ABS pump only *needs* to be done if it gets replaced (assuming the system doesn't run dry). If it works for you then keep on!

Yeah I thought this too. Unless you ran the reservoir dry, you shouldn't need to bleed the ABS pump. I went out last night and bedded in my pads and they already feel MUCH better. Still a tiny bit softer than before but its something I can live with. Im thinking it could be the hawk HPS pads..Thanks a lot for the video! it helped a lot.

How often do you remove lines? It's only when moving lines it's an issue. Even then, I wouldn't say the brake performance was bad without using DIS - I could still get enough brake pressure to trigger ABS. But the pedal firmed up considerably after doing the procedure with DIS.

Even when I don't remove lines, I do prefer to bleed the ABS so that I can get all the old fluid out.

I always thought this was something the dealer HAD to do. Can the software be bought, and done at home?

[Ssparrow]

With the help of Shawn and his power bleeder, I had the brake system flushed over the weekend on Sketchi. There was no air that came out of the lines however pedal travel is longer and not as firm compared to my zhp.

Could it be the pads?

What pads are you using? I have been dealing with the same thing this past weekend. I went out and bedded in my pads, and it definitely feels much better. Maybe give that a shot if you haven't yet?

[Vas]

What pads are you using? I have been dealing with the same thing this past weekend. I went out and bedded in my pads, and it definitely feels much better. Maybe give that a shot if you haven't yet?

No idea on the pads or rotors. Probably some cheap autozone crap the previous owner installed.

Only reason I asked is because I will be replacing a brake pressure sensor this weekend on the car and want to avoid any extra work.

[Sockethead]

I always thought this was something the dealer HAD to do. Can the software be bought, and done at home?

Yes there are several threads on here about it. Everything you need can be had on eBay. I'll tell you though. DIS is not very intuitive...

[terraphantm]

I always thought this was something the dealer HAD to do. Can the software be bought, and done at home?

Well. Let's say the software can be "acquired". It's factory and dealer software that leaked out over the years. With a little bit of computer knowledge, it's not super difficult to set everything up.