Do the job yourself. Don't mess with the Mityvac or EZBleed. I had
one and threw it away. DO buy a set of flare nut wrenches. They are
just like open end wrenches but they contact 5 flats and won't slip.
Brake lines can be very difficult to break free. Use a good fitting
socket wrench on the bleed screws. BTW, you can buy new bleed screws
at Pep Boys for cheep. They even have the ones with valves in them so
you can bleed by yourself. (That sounded dreadful!)
Buy a LOT of Brakleen spray and CLEAN everything. 4 or 5 cans for a
full system that hasn't been worked on in a while.
DON'T FORCE ANYTHING!!! If they don't loosen easily, squirt them with
Busty or PB Blaster and wait a bit. Try tightening a little, then
loosening. If you break off a bleed screw, and ez-out should work.
If you break an ez-out, buy a new caliper! And don't rebuild rear
brake cylinders. They are cheep.
To bleed the brakes, start with the longest line run, which is the
LEFT rear, then right rear, right front, left front. Open the bleed
screw, have someone press the pedal down slowly and hold it down,
close the bleed screw, pedal up, open bleed screw, pedal down, close
bleed screw, pedal up, etc., until only fluid comes out. Check the MC
often so it doesn't run dry or you have to start over. It is SIMPLE
process!
I agree that the rear brakes are the most convoluted to get right if
you have never done brake work. DO NOT disassemble both sides! You
will need to reference one side to get the other right.
Buy the braided brake hoses. I use Castrol LMA brake fluid. You can
consider ANY DOT 4 fluid to be a good investment. I don't like DOT 5
sillycone fluid (too spongy), and do not use DOT 3. DOT 4 is not
expensive and has a better heat range. GAWD, I hope I didn't start
the brake fluid thread! (Sorry Jay.)
BTDT!
Allen Hefner
East Coast OSHIT Group Brake Guy
On 5/27/05, Steven Michelsen <stevenm@optonline.net> wrote:
> Upon pushing my '78 Midget out of the garage this spring, I discovered (A) a
>pool of brake fluid where the front-left corner of the car stood, (B) an empty
>brake fluid cup, and (C) only about 20% brake capacity. Being the sensible
>soul that I am, I filled up the cup and proceeded to drive it about 6 miles
>via back roads to my friendly neighborhood Brit-car repair shop for an
>assessment. They determined that I needed a new switch assembly (the cause
>of the puddle), new hoses all around, and new or rebuilt rear brake cylinders
>(the seals are apparently going). AND while they were in there, they would
>re-do the rear axle seals. All this for a mere $1100. The calipers seem to
>be OK.
>
> I have never done brake work before, but this seems my golden opportunity.
>My plan is to flatbed the midget home (the garage owner tells me his lawyer
>insists), and stock up on a bunch of parts from Moss.
>
> Replacing the parts seems a straightforward bolt-up project, however, simply
>because I've never had to do it, "brake fluid handling" has always been a bit
>of a mystery. Can someone recommend one of the bleeding gadgets, like the
>Mity-Vac or Moss's "Eezibleed"? Any other general brake-project tips, or
>tools to consider? I am using Dot-3 and don't plan to change at this point.
>
> Thanks,
> Steve
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