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My car is out of warranty and it's time for a brake fluid change so I figured I'd go ahead and upgrade to some ECS braided brake lines.
Searching online, the service information says to depress the brake peddle and hold it while replacing the line to keep air from getting in the master cylinder, then bleed the new line afterwards.
Since I'm changing all four lines and all the fluid I wonder if it wouldn't just be easier to drain the whole system, change all the lines, and then bleed everything.Has anyone done anything like this on their Mini yet?
Available Tools: I have a mighty vac I can use to drain the system and a pressurized brake bleeder to refill the system with.
You'll need a dealer or someone with BMW factory computer access is you drain it completely. The BMW computer program cycles the ABS system in such a way that i eliminates any air pockets. I used a pressurized brake bleeder when I found this out the hard way on my R56. Chris at G3 Automotive helped me with the R56 problem and I'm sure he can help with yours.
I figured he knew that since I'm pretty sure Chris did his Manic Tune. I didn't think to include the info for others that might be interested though. Thanks for adding that. I try to give G3 a bump whenever I can, because he has done the majority of the work on my car. He does good work for a reasonable price.
Cant you just do a normal full bleed and do a couple abs- inducing panic stops to draw fresh stuff into the abs solenoid? Thats what I used to do on my vette.
BTw, what is the proper sequence for a full bleed? RR, LR, FR, FL?
Cant you just do a normal full bleed and do a couple abs- inducing panic stops to draw fresh stuff into the abs solenoid? Thats what I used to do on my vette.
BTw, what is the proper sequence for a full bleed? RR, LR, FR, FL?
My Vette is a lot easier to work on than the Mini.
You are correct. Sequence is to start at the farthest point and work your way in. RR, LR, FR, FL.
After completing this job, I discovered the brake line kit I purchased for my car is not designed to fit my car. At the time of installation I was cussing the rear brake line, thinking the whole time it was a poor design. As I went to write this, I went back and looked at the part number and realized my blunder. However, everything fits so well, that I don't see where I'm going to encounter any problems with reliability or performance. Below is what I originally wrote, knowing what I know now it all makes sense. I'll come up with a solution on the rear brake line to help secure it.
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I finished changing out the lines today, along with a complete system bleed including clutch slave. Front line replacement was super easy and very straight forward. ECS lines are a little longer than stock but didn't cause an issue.
The rear on the other hand where not so easy. The biggest problem is that the stock hose has the nut set back from the caliper so you can access it. The ECS line the nut sits flush to the caliper. The issue is the e-brake bracket severely impedes the wrench movement. You've got to wiggle the wrench between the bracket and the ebrake cable.
In addition the the rear lines are missing one of the grommets that holds the line in place, even though it has the wear sleeve. Its also a little bit longer than the stock line, but there is enough room so that its not an issue.
I've only driven the car around the block so far to test it out, couldn't really tell a difference at neighborhood speeds, but I was able to engage the abs with a low speed panic stop and everything held tight with no leaks.
