Hey,

Last week I replaced most of the hydrolic parts in my brake system. I put on new front and rear wheel cylinders, all new flexible hoses and put another master cylinder in that i got from someone in these forums and was told that it was working.

I put everything in and couldn't find any leaks, adjusted each wheel, then we started bleeding.
I bled the master cylinder first, then continued to bleed by pumping it and releasing it.

We started at the backs and they have no air in the fluid but we seem to be getting endless amounts of air out of the fronts. I tried bleeding the line the connects the two cylinders but that didn't help.

And we have no pedal at all.

Can anyone suggest what could be wrong?

Thanks, Cazmo

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72 Clubbie - Current project - Vauxhall C20XE 2000cc 16v 150hp.
78 Clubbie - Future project.

what type of front brakes? drums or discs? Did you run out of fluid?

The correct procedure for drums is to open the valve, pump pedal then close the valve while the pedal is down. This then does not suck air back into the cylinders. Is that what you did? i find that if you connect a hose to the bleed nipple and putting the other end into a bottle means you can just pump.

Just make sure that the master is always full. If you are doing it right and still have problems I would check for leaks. Did you put a copper washer between the hoses and the cylinders? i would take off all the drums to check if there are any leaks elsewhere... good luck!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

hey, yes it has drums on the front.

we bled it just as you described, haven't run out of fluid in the master and have checked each wheel cylinder for leaks 3 or 4 times

how long should it take to bleed a system when the master cylinder has been changed?

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72 Clubbie - Current project - Vauxhall C20XE 2000cc 16v 150hp.
78 Clubbie - Future project.

I bought one of those 'one man brake bleeding kits', basically a one-way valve on the end of a tube. Replaced the clutch slave cylinder and it worked a treat, as long as you don't let the master cylinder get too low on fluid, which is about 8 pumps. It made a potentially difficult (for me) job into a very simple one, and it was dead cheap.

Is it a single or dual system ? Not sure why but I had a painful job bleeding and getting a dual system to get a decent pedal feel after replacing the master cylinder .

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Even if you did get a master cylinder that was supposedly A-Ok, id have re-kitted it just to be safe.

Did you replace hoses ?

And also have you checked out the metal piping that runs to each corner of the car ?

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No more Minis!......For now.

it's a single circuit system. i've replaced all flexible hoses and check all steel brake lines, except for the one that runs from front to back.

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72 Clubbie - Current project - Vauxhall C20XE 2000cc 16v 150hp.
78 Clubbie - Future project.

I've had a few issues trying to bleed Mini brakes too. I found that one of those one man bleeder kits also worked beautifully for me. The other thing I have done is remove the proportioning valve bolted to the rear subframe and replaced it with a T fitting. That also worked and I had no problems by removing it.

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

Get a large glass jar (pickle jar is good) cut 2 holes in the lid
One hole the size of a plastic hose the you need to fit over the brake bleed nipple
The other hole the size of the hose for your vacuum cleaner( clear with mum first).

Fit the rubberbleed nipple hose into the jar through the lid to 1" above the bottom and the vac hose so it just protrudes through the lid. seal it all up with plasticene of silicon sealer.

have friend filling the master cylinder and turn on the vac, loosen the bleed nipple and you should see the brake fluid getting sucked into the jar.

The Vac will be going nuts as its running at max amps to suck the brake fluid through. When the fluid enters the jar it'll be black but when the fresh stuff comes through youll see it, you need to shut off the bleed nipple and move onto the next.

By sucking the fluid through your not causing micro bubbles and it saved the seals in the mastercylinder dealing with the scum you have in the bottom of the tank.

I use a purpose made setup incorperating a fridge compressor as the suction and it works a treat.

That sounds quite handy. I would have thought the vacuum cleaner would have sucked all the fluid through in a nanosecond, but I guess it's worth a try.

I have an old vacuum in the garage, and it's very handy - clean up around the drill press, car floors, etc. It's worth picking one up or keeping your old one when it retires from household duties.

You could also get a MityVac hand operated vaccum that is built for doing such a job. Even comes with various hose sizes and nipples and has a built in containter for the fluid and a guage to show how much vaccum is in the line.
I have also tried gravity bleeding as suggested by a Mini shop. And I even made a cap that fits on the master cylinder with a schreader valve installed in it that I can hood up a bike pump and push fluid through.
But still I'd have to go with the one man bleeder kit with the little valve. It cost me 2$ and it has worked on every Mini or other car for that matter for brakes and clutches that I worked on since I got it.

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

I have one of those hand pump vacuum things - it looks like it would work really well, but it doesn't work as well as the wee one-way valve. The container for collecting the fluid takes a lot to build up enough vacuum to suck the fluid through - in essence it's easier to pump than suck (as you'd imagine )

You'll find a normal Vac is probably piss weak as they use fan blade design for high volume low pressure where a compressor uses more of a sealed volume extraction design. The Vac has no chance of sucking it all through at once as it doesnt have high pressure differential capability.

As I said I run a fridge compressor and this is attached to a tank (old LPG cylinder). It works really well. Change the brake fluid in 30min

Im currently having problems with my brakes as well. The master cylinder has been replaced (but not re-kitted) came from a 1275 LS all the brake cylinders are new, brake lines have been changed and new brake linings have been put on. We have some peddle but not as much as it had before. Should I have the master cylinder re-kitted? Also I have two conflicting "mini" books. One says start from the front when bleeding the brakes, while the other says bleed from the back. You normally start from the back don't you?