Help on bleeding brakes

Clyde said:

Put 330i brakes on my 323ci along with stainless steel brake lines, my pedal is now too soft. do I need to rebleed the system or put on a 330i master cylinder. If I rebleed has anyone used a vacum system, what special steps should I take, or is the use of a pressure bleeder the only way to bleed the lines.
thanks

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If you will be changing your brake lines, I would recommend bleeding them after you're done. Get some ATE SuperBlue, if this is your first time doing it, get the blue one (get the red one next time!). All you need to do is to try to suck your old brake fluid out with a turkey blaster, put new one in the reservouir, close it, put your car on jack stands, ask a friend to sit in the driver seat, you go put an open-end wrench on the valve, connect a clear tube to it, ask your friend to step on the brakes, open the nipple, ask your friend to pump the brakes until u see fresh blue fluid coming out. then close the nipple, put more fluid into the reservoir, go do the next one. I would do the rear-right, rear-left, front-right, and front-left, in this order.

if you don't mind spend $40 for a pressure bleeder (by MOTIVE, bavauto, turner, everywhere has it), u will be able to do it without any helper. I got one and i think it's worth the price.

let me know if u have more questions!

--Andrew

Bleeding Brakes according to Bentleys

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Bleeding Brakes according to Bentleys

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Bleeding Brakes according to Bentleys

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Re: Bleeding Brakes according to Bentleys

VT325Xi said:

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Quote from the "Caution":

E46 cars require special BMW service equipment to properly bleed either ABS/ASC or the ABS/DSC system. For safety reasons the brake system on these cars must not be bled without the use of a factory diagnostic computer

Re: Re: Bleeding Brakes according to Bentleys

in_d_haus said:

Quote from the "Caution":

E46 cars require special BMW service equipment to properly bleed either ABS/ASC or the ABS/DSC system. For safety reasons the brake system on these cars must not be bled without the use of a factory diagnostic computer

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Many members here and I have bleeded our brake lines and nothing happened... Just pressurize it to 26psi and it should do the ABS as well, brake real hard after it's done to get the fluid into the ABS.

dont sue me if something bad happened though... I did mine months ago and it's been good so far.

--Andrew

Bleeding the ABS/DSC module

I would say that the reason for this warning is to make sure that the system is bled properly to ensure no air is trapped in the system as this guy is feeling with his spongy pedal. The computer probably cycles the valves inside the ABS/DSC module to ensure that all air trapped inside it is released and bled out. I'm sure that you can do it the "old-fashioned" way as many have described here it just may take longer and not completely flush out all the old stuff. Myself, personally, I will let the dealer change the fluid with new stuff after two years so that I know it is done properly. Having the peace of mind that my ABS/DSC system is working properly is worth the couple dollars I might save otherwise.

Re: Bleeding the ABS/DSC module

if you want to make sure the ABS got fresh fluid, bleed it at 26 psi, test drive your car afterwards and brake real hard and let the ABS kick in, do that a few times, and go bleed the brake lines again! let me know if you see any bubbles the second time, I'd like to know!

--Andrew

Re: Bleeding the ABS/DSC module

VT325Xi said:

Myself, personally, I will let the dealer change the fluid with new stuff after two years so that I know it is done properly. Having the peace of mind that my ABS/DSC system is working properly is worth the couple dollars I might save otherwise.

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The first brake fluid flush is a covered item under either Scheduled Mainteance (99 models) or Full Maintenance (00, 01 and 02 models) after two years from the production date. If you have the extended four year plan, you can get two brake flushes as well as a coolant flush covered. Remember, services are determined by mileage or from the in service date, flushes are done regardless of mileage and are figured from the production date.

Just for reference, my dealer charges $99 for a brake flush and $59 for a coolant flush. Is it worth it? Maybe... I have never been one to get dirty working on the car for anything more involving than an oil change, but then again I haven't had to pay the dealer for anything on my car besides a couple of off schedule oil changes that cost me about $40 each. If I was paying I might be more willing to learn!