Eezibleed question...

[slow-lane-Matt]

I bought one of the £16 ones on the recommendation of another post, but am having problems.

It all fits together fine, holds correct (20PSI) from tyre etc.

When I release the nipples in the correct order the fluid comes out without bubbles from each corner.

...but the brakes are still way too spongy.

Have successfully bled brakes in the past with wife pumping the peddle.

..and I have read the Eezibleed instructions.

The instructions talk about "ensuring the cyclinder is in the closed position" on some cars - is this the case
for VWs...? Could there be trapped air in the cylinder?

The instructions also talk about pumping the peddle in some cases, which kinda undermines the one person thing...

I only replaced one slave cyclinder so most of the system should be intact and air free...

What am I doing wrong...?

 

[Moseley]

There could well be air in the master cylinder - when replacing the slave cylinder, did the level of brake fluid ever get low enough that air could have got in this way? Or was the van jacked up such that air would track back to the MC?

Master cylinders are recommended to be bled off the vehicle, however, I did mine on the van - but it will need the pedal pumping technique to be used. The downside to this, is that air will be expelled down all brake line, so they will all need bleeding a fair amount to push the air from one end of the system to the other.

An error I made before when I couldn't get a pedal - I hadn't adjusted the shoes correctly, so what I thought was air in the system turned out to be just slack in the shoes. Worth checking that all wheels are sound first just in case. Any trapped air will be forced out easier if the shoes are as close to the drums as possible.

 

[slow-lane-Matt]

There could well be air in the master cylinder - when replacing the slave cylinder, did the level of brake fluid ever get low enough that air could have got in this way? Or was the van jacked up such that air would track back to the MC?

Master cylinders are recommended to be bled off the vehicle, however, I did mine on the van - but it will need the pedal pumping technique to be used. The downside to this, is that air will be expelled down all brake line, so they will all need bleeding a fair amount to push the air from one end of the system to the other.

An error I made before when I couldn't get a pedal - I hadn't adjusted the shoes correctly, so what I thought was air in the system turned out to be just slack in the shoes. Worth checking that all wheels are sound first just in case. Any trapped air will be forced out easier if the shoes are as close to the drums as possible.

Thanks Moseley, I had made the same mistake as you - I had adjusted the brakes, but forgot the shoes shift around after a few presses and need re-adjusting.

My problem was exacerbated by the brass tube connection/join in the Eezibleed cap was not 100% sealing, so was not delivering full pressure. This leak also had inconvenient side effect of completely filling the reservoir to the brim.

For anyone reading this - assuming you have an air gap between the top of the fluid and the cap normally - that same gap should exist during and after the Eezibleed process, if the reservoir fills up you've got a leak and you'll have problems bleeding...