Changing pads, brake lines and fluid, process?

[Craig W]

Hai,

(Car is a Cooper S) Going to be doing this this afternoon, just trying to get the process correct in my head. Is the following correct? I only have two axel stands, so will have to do one axel at a time.

I have a brake bleeding kit, and I know there is a special tool for the rear brakes, stainless hoses, 1l of 5.1 fluid and the pads. What else do I need?

- put the front up on axel stands and remove wheels.
- dissasemble caliper and replace front pads
- compress the cylinder and re-assemble caliper housing
- repeat on other front side

- bleed the system until it is running dry on one caliper (is this correct?)
- bleed on the opposite side until it runs dry
- replace rubber hoses with staininless steel ones
- wheels back on
- jack up rear, remove wheels, and repeat above for rear brakes?

This is the part I am unsure of, do I then just fill the system up and bleed the brakes on each wheel? Do I need to bleed the clutch too?

Sorry for the lengthy post. Any help appreciated.

[Craig W]

Bump.

[Sam_68]

OK, in the absence of a better-qualified response:

Craig W said:

- bleed the system until it is running dry on one caliper (is this correct?)

You don't need to make any special effort to 'bleed' (drain) the system before changing the hoses (in fact you're better off trying not to lose any more fluid than you have to, as it'll just make the subsequent bleeding more difficult). Just make sure you have a receptical to catch the fluid as it leaks out, 'cos it's nasty stuff that well damage your paintworks given half a chance.

Craig W said:

This is the part I am unsure of, do I then just fill the system up and bleed the brakes on each wheel? Do I need to bleed the clutch too?

Yes, that is the case for MOST modern ABS braking systems, but disclaimer that I have never done a MINI and some (mainly early) ABS braking systems needed special precautions to ensure you didn't get air trapped in the ABS modulator.

Bleed the brakes in order, starting at the wheel furthest from the master cylinder (usually N/S rear)... so:
NS rear
OS rear
NS front
OS front

And no, you don't need to bleed the clutch too; it's on a separate master cylinder and hydraulic circuit, so it shouldn't be affected by work on the brakes.

What sort of bleeding kit do you have? If it's a simple one-way valve, then it's still very helpful to have someone to assist you, to keep an eye on the resevoir levels and pump the pedal whilst you fiddle with your nipples.

If it's a Gunson 'Easy bleed' system that pressurises the fluid, be careful to ensure that the cap is sealed properly before pressurising it, and make sure you have plenty of rags packed round the M/cyl when you remove the cap, 'cos they have a habit of pissing (corrosive) brake fluid all over your shiny paintwork.

But since brakes are so safety-critical, if you have any doubt whatsoever about your own capability to do the work, I would get a specialist to do it for you or find someone who knows what they are doing to help you out.

Edited by Sam_68 on Sunday 9th October 21:58