I tried to bleed the bakes on my 360. I did turn on the car during the process several times to gently and slowly pump the brake pedal. I went from Right Rear to Left Front then from Left Rear to Right Front. Although I kept refilling the reservoir, it was sometimes difficult to judge if I needed more fluid. I may have let some air into the system. After the first go around, the pedal was very spongy and had lots of travel. So I re-bled and did get air from the the Left rear Caliper. But the pedal still has more travel and is not hard. Any suggestions? (probably bringing the car to the dealer next week to fix my error)
Bleed the master cylinder to get rid of the air you introduced by letting the level get low. Taz Terry Phillips
Access to master cylinder seems to be quite limited. Is there a trick. I was trying to access it from panel beneath the hood. I tried using a long screw driver. Once you loosen the screws, do you have to pull off the hose to releave fluid or just unscrewing will let air out? My car is f430. thanks
Better ask one of the pros for advice on that. The WSM shows how to remove it, but not how to bleed it. Taz Terry Phillips
I was using a clear hose with an airtight adaptor to fit on the bleed nipple of the caliper. The other end went into a clear bottle and was submerged in brake fluid. No air went backwards.
Hi Taz- Thanks for the suggestion about bleeding the master cylinder. I will have to research how that's done and judge if that is something I can do !
I am curious about your bleeding order. You should bleed the rears first and then do the front, no? When you bleed each wheel, did you bleed both inside and outside nipples? Same thing happened to me. Too me 3L to get the air out. My brake still feels a little soft. I would be interested in knowing how the master cylinder is bled.
I bled each circuit, Rear Right then Front left, Rear Left then Front Right. Each caliper was done from outside nipple to inside nipple. I think the outside nipple is farther away than inside nipple.
Hey Taz- I found the master cyclinder and bled the nipple and the pedal went rock hard! Thanks!! The following pics will hopefully help others trying to get their pedal to firm up! Pic 1 shows the black nipple cover you must remove and not drop into the black hole! Pic 1 shows the 8mm wrench you can use from the factory tool kit Pic 2 shows the wrech on the bleeder nut and the bleeder hose on the nipple! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The master cylinder is found a few inches beneath the reservoir. Open the reservoir. Remove the black rubber nipple cover to expose the bleeding nipple. Next place the 8mm wrench on the bleeding nut and then place your bleeding hose on the nipple. Turn the wrench 1/4 turn counter-clockwise to bleed. Start the car, and then slowly depress the brake pedal but not all the way to the floor. When you release the pedal do so in a slow fashion. Repeat several times. The pedal should go firm and develop a hard point
First of all, that's GREAT news the master cylinder has a bleeding valve; MUCH easier to bleed that way than having to do a reverse bleed after air gets into the system. Hey Malibuguy, what panels did you have to remove to get to the brake fluid reservoir? Just curious. And is the clutch fluid fed from the brake fluid reservoir, or does it have a separate reservoir? And where is it? No need to start the car to pump the brake pedal when bleeding brakes in my experience. Have you tried? It's a bit harder than without the vacuum assist, but pedal is easily depressed by hand when a bleed valve is open, even after vacuum is depleted. And finally, the ideal sequence of bleeding is to start with the farthest wheel from the ABS PUMP, not from the reservoir (don't know where it is on the 430). And if you change the fluid regularly, no need to do the bleeding twice; a waste of time and fluid.
On the 360, the panel is located just above the front boot near the wipers. You have to open the front boot and then unfasten a few metal screws to open the access panel.
No the master cylinder is underneath the reservoir. (I added "open the reservoir" so you can watch the fluid level and add more fluid when needed.) Take a look at picture 2 in my post and you will see the reservoir and the master below with the wrench and hose attached.
I thought we were talking about the 430. But no biggie folks; just be careful not to suck the reservoir dry. Have never done that myself after a few dozen times, but once did manage to open the wrong valve (service manual wasn't clear) on my BMW bike with ELEVEN bleeding nipples (servo brakes) and had to do a reverse flush to get rid of all air in one of the 4 circuits. That bike was complicated. Doing a brake fluid flush on a car is a piece of cake by comparison. What remains to be disclosed is where's the nipple for the clutch slave cylinder.
it is the same location for the 360 and 430. I use a Motiv Power Bleeder in my Scuderia, I've bled my brakes at least 6 times in this car, and the Power Bleeder is a great tool.
I looked inside yesterday and I couldn't find the black nipple cover. I definitely see the master cylinder but unlike the picture above, I don't see the black nipple cover. Hm....
I have a 360. You have a 430 might be different. I used a flashlight to see the master cylinder which is a grey colored metal tube like structure underneath the reservoir. You can follow the hoses from the reservoir to the master cylinder. The black nipple cover is located on top of the master cylinder inbetween where the black rubber hoses connect to the master cylinder. If you can't find it, better let someone else do the job. You have to be able to get a wrench down there and apply the hose and turn the wrench. If you end up dropping stuff in that hole you will be upset and have to let someone else do it anyway.
So late last night I drove the car and did some brake tests and activated the ABS system to purge any old fluid. Then today did a re-bleed of the whole system including the master cylinder. Test drove again. The brakes are awesome. Castrol SRF is good stuff!
Today I had the soft pedal issue after brake fluid change, but I fixed the problem quickly, thanks to the information about master cylinder bleeding nipple found here.
why does this happen? If one bleeds the calipers properly and not let air into the master by letting the fluid fall too low this should never be a problem. Is there something special about the 360 that causes this?
