Too much pedal travel after bleeding brakes

Try it with the handbrake on. If the pedal is higher, the rear adjusters are FUBAR.

If you pump the pedal and it comes up, there's air in the system.

If you do all of the above and its still on the floor, the master cylinder may be knackered. Unfortunately on one with several years use, a ridge can build up in the bore. This isn't usually a problem as you use the same amount of travel however when bleeding brakes the manual way as opposed to sucking it through with a machine, the piston travels further, over the ridge and it can sometimes fold back the rubber or split it.

That might be it then.... though I don't know how that happened if it is that. To be sure we're not talking a cross-purposes the pedal always returns to it's normal position when not being depressed, it never stays down. When you push it, you get immediate light braking but to brake hard it needs to be pushed far further back than normal.

I did neither, I've got one of those pressure kits which keeps the reservoir topped up and pressurized using a tyre at 15psi, no pedal pressing needed :) Also I'd have thought no real risk of air getting back in through the bleed nipples so I'm confused. The car is almost

Thanks for your help,

Peter.

to establish which wheel or wheels have the problem clamp the flexible brake pipes and see whether and when the pedal travel improves. Almost certainly there is air in the system.

When using one of those, it's important to ensure that the fluid doesn't become aerated. Shaking the can before pouring out the fluid is a common mistake, however when the fluid is poured into the pressure bottle, it's difficult to avoid air being introduced in the form of tiny bubbles that rise very slowly. Having filled the pressure bottle and connected it to the master cylinder, I wait about 30 minutes before bleeding the system.

That makes sense, and I'd never considered it before. Something else to file away upstairs for future use!

Si

On 31 Mar, 16:59, "Mrcheerful" wrote

This was the problem! Wasn't anything to do with how I did it though, there was a spilt in the rubber tube I was using to bleed them, one of the rear wheels had lots of air in the line.

Now we've gone onto the Ka... managed to shear off a bleed nipple : ( I've got some Ford wheel cylinders for the Fiesta handy, does anyone know if they'll fit before I dismantle things? I don't rate my chances of getting hold of one for the Ka tomorrow or Monday.

The Ka is 2002, the Fiesta is 2000.

Thanks,

Peter.

Errr. There should be. If it's the type that I used in my bleedin' days anyway.

?? I thought that some bleedin' tubes used to have a non-return valve to stop air being sucked back when the pedal was released? Saved having the missus depressing the pedal while you tightened the bleed nipple.

Gordon H Remove "invalid" to reply

Must be a different type ;) It was split at the end where it goes over the nipple, hence air was getting in.

They did. And some used a piece of soft rubber tube with the end blanked off and a slit in the rubber to act as a crude non-return valve.

Still got one in the garage from about 40 years ago...

Chris

you said that you were using a pressurised bleeding method, so there is no need even for a tube, as the fluid is being blown through then no air can get in.