IG.
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A picture is worth a thousand words, so...
Also, I replaced stock bleed screws with speed bleeders, which makes bleeding really convenient. Not something you do every day, so it was a rather slow and careful process. Tightening carefully to 15 ft lb, checking for leaks, bleeding, etc.
I have to say that I drained all fluid with my vacuum pump (similar to MightyVac) first in order to get rid of the old fluid. The fluid was reddish dark - really needed to be replaced anyway. When the system is empty, vacuum is the only way to fill it initially. Interestingly (and this is not the first time I observe this), using vacuum does not get rid of all the air. Although the fluid was coming out without any bubbles, I believe there were small pockets of air, and therefore no amount of vacuum pumping would get rid of it. The lever was somewhat mushy. However, when I used only lever about 5-7 times for each caliper in order to bleed the system, I could completely get rid of air, and the brake lever got as hard as it gets.
In the last picture, you can see a barely noticeable notch on the reservoir cover, which has it on both sides. These are very small cutouts meant to allow air to escape. It is extremely important to keep those clean, which is usually not an issue. However, with any kind of painting, chroming, or even taping, covering those tiny holes may lead to a devastating consequences. When you use brakes, everything heats up and expands, so the air needs to be able to escape. Otherwise, internal pressure builds up inside the reservoir and acts as if you are pressing on the brake lever. This may cause excessive pad dragging on the rotors, and in extreme case may lock up the front brakes without you even touching the lever - ouch! I'v heard that those things have happened to some.
The clutch line and the rear brake line would be next. I am on a roll here...
Also, I replaced stock bleed screws with speed bleeders, which makes bleeding really convenient. Not something you do every day, so it was a rather slow and careful process. Tightening carefully to 15 ft lb, checking for leaks, bleeding, etc.
I have to say that I drained all fluid with my vacuum pump (similar to MightyVac) first in order to get rid of the old fluid. The fluid was reddish dark - really needed to be replaced anyway. When the system is empty, vacuum is the only way to fill it initially. Interestingly (and this is not the first time I observe this), using vacuum does not get rid of all the air. Although the fluid was coming out without any bubbles, I believe there were small pockets of air, and therefore no amount of vacuum pumping would get rid of it. The lever was somewhat mushy. However, when I used only lever about 5-7 times for each caliper in order to bleed the system, I could completely get rid of air, and the brake lever got as hard as it gets.
In the last picture, you can see a barely noticeable notch on the reservoir cover, which has it on both sides. These are very small cutouts meant to allow air to escape. It is extremely important to keep those clean, which is usually not an issue. However, with any kind of painting, chroming, or even taping, covering those tiny holes may lead to a devastating consequences. When you use brakes, everything heats up and expands, so the air needs to be able to escape. Otherwise, internal pressure builds up inside the reservoir and acts as if you are pressing on the brake lever. This may cause excessive pad dragging on the rotors, and in extreme case may lock up the front brakes without you even touching the lever - ouch! I'v heard that those things have happened to some.
The clutch line and the rear brake line would be next. I am on a roll here...