[fastsoup]

Howdy all,

Noticed my brake pedal sinking yesterday, so today I put the car in the air and noticed a gash in the pass rear caliper hose. I disconnected it (first mistake) to see the part # and headed to the local parts store and got a replacement. Came home, installed the new hose (with the entire area covered in brake fluid), topped up the MC (took a whole bottle) and began to bleed the system with a 2 person procedure. No matter how many times we pumped the brake pedal, couldn't get any fluid to come from the pass rear bleeder. Driver rear had a slight bit come out...both fronts bleed normally (pedal to the floor and fluid streaming out from bleeder screw).

I am now understanding that I shouldn't have left that brake line to leak out all the brake fluid (introduced air into the MC). Do I need to now bench bleed the MC before proceeding with a 4 wheel bleed? Is there anything else that I can do? I don't have a bench vise. The vehicle is driveable, and a local shop has a brake bleed machine (one that hooks up to the MC and pushes fluid through the entire system). Would that be a better bet to push all the air out?

F

[pungo]

You probably got air in the ABS unit which is difficult if not impossible to get out without using a proper diagnostic tool(i.e. ista+) to put the ABS in bleed mode. If you don't have the proper equipment and the vehicle is drivable, take it to a competent shop (with equipment to put the ABS in bleed mode), tell them what happened and have them bleed it. Good luck

One of the front hoses on my truck sprung a leak which drew air into the ABS unit. I could not get a firm pedal no matter how much I bled them. I didn't have a diag tool for the ABS for this truck so I took it offroad and locked up the brakes to engage the abs several times which pushed the air out of the abs unit. A lot of air came out when I bled them again, then got a nice firm pedal. That's the backwoods method when you don't have the proper diag tool.

[fastsoup]

Originally Posted by pungo

You probably got air in the ABS unit which is difficult if not impossible to get out without using a proper diagnostic tool(i.e. ista+) to put the ABS in bleed mode. If you don't have the proper equipment and the vehicle is drivable, take it to a competent shop (with equipment to put the ABS in bleed mode), tell them what happened and have them bleed it. Good luck

One of the front hoses on my truck sprung a leak which drew air into the ABS unit. I could not get a firm pedal no matter how much I bled them. I didn't have a diag tool for the ABS for this truck so I took it offroad and locked up the brakes to engage the abs several times which pushed the air out of the abs unit. A lot of air came out when I bled them again, then got a nice firm pedal. That's the backwoods method when you don't have the proper diag tool.

I have a foxwell...hooked it up and tried the procedure via the software...which took me through a few instructions and completed OK. I did test drive on my street and flattened the brake pedal and my ABS engaged (I could hear it pumping).

I'm thinking a drive to one of the shops tomorrow and have them flush the entire system using their electric bleed machine will do the trick (I hope)

[383vett]

Originally Posted by fastsoup

Howdy all,

Noticed my brake pedal sinking yesterday, so today I put the car in the air and noticed a gash in the pass rear caliper hose. I disconnected it (first mistake) to see the part # and headed to the local parts store and got a replacement. Came home, installed the new hose (with the entire area covered in brake fluid), topped up the MC (took a whole bottle) and began to bleed the system with a 2 person procedure. No matter how many times we pumped the brake pedal, couldn't get any fluid to come from the pass rear bleeder. Driver rear had a slight bit come out...both fronts bleed normally (pedal to the floor and fluid streaming out from bleeder screw).

I am now understanding that I shouldn't have left that brake line to leak out all the brake fluid (introduced air into the MC). Do I need to now bench bleed the MC before proceeding with a 4 wheel bleed? Is there anything else that I can do? I don't have a bench vise. The vehicle is driveable, and a local shop has a brake bleed machine (one that hooks up to the MC and pushes fluid through the entire system). Would that be a better bet to push all the air out?

F

Did you drive home with no brake line or did you reinstall it?

[Lurcher]

Could you not do this with a pressurized bleed system (<$100)? Just thinking this would help for the "next time" (every 2 years)

And thats my PSA - change your brake fluid reguarly folks!

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by Lurcher

Could you not do this with a pressurized bleed system (<$100)?

I'm interested in this as well, I've got everything needed to bleed my X3 and 135i both but it's -5F here and too dang cold.

I think the ABS is sort of a separate thing and without the right tools you won't get it to open up to allow fluid exchange in it. Is how I'm picturing it. A bleed will still get almost everything else so it's still worthwhile, but maybe not that part.

Calipers are notorious for air pockets as well, can take a few attempts to clear them. Might have been the original problem. Didn't see a follow-up from fastsoup .

[wxm]

That is weird. Did you bleed them in the right sequence?

[gk_bimmer]

I recently replaced the ABS unit and did a full bleeding after that. Details in this video:

New to the BMW world but keep hearing about ISTA+. I have used a $500 scan tool for ABS bleeding, VTG reset, etc. and wonder if the following ISTA+ software for $40 is a REAL deal:
https://diag-tools.com/product/ista-...-installation/

Always appreciate a budget-friendly version if it works.

[drukpa]

Do ABS/DSC brake bleeding through ISTA+.