Brake Bleeding and Gearbox Oil Questions

[chroniclesofcf]

Should we be bleeding brake calipers with rear e-brake servo open? I.e in brake pad service mode? Or with them engaged. After changing pads, discs and calipers all round, even after a couple bleeds now, the top of the brake pedal is a bit squishy.

While I’m at it, does anyone know if the gearbox oil on the 1.4tsi (think it’s the MQ200) can be drained/changed? I’m at almost 150k miles now and gears 1 and 2 specifically are becoming pretty notchy especially when cold.

 

[Mr Pig]

I spoke to a dealer about the gearbox oil last week. He said it never needs changing and they don't see any problems with the manual gearbox. Personally, I'd change it. Fresh oil is never a bad thing.

If the pedal is soft you've not bled the brakes properly.

 

[SuperV8]

New pads+discs can feel a little spongy until fully bedded in.

There's nothing special about the hydraulic side of the TRW EPB calipers.
TRW say to bleed the brake caliper before 'closing the brake' with the diagnostic service tool. Though i'm not sure it matters.
Presume you have the calipers on the correct side - with the bleed nipples pointing up?
What bleeding technique are you using? I personally like the 'gravity' method. Nice and simple.

This is interesting regarding gearbox oil change:

How to change the oil on a Mk7 Golf MQ200 or MQ250, 5 speed or 6 speed, manual gearbox.

Disclaimer:- This info is for community usage. I am NOT affiliated to, or sponsored by, any company/individual to promote them or their products. Companies/individuals may NOT use my name, photos, or threads/technical guides, for financial or personal gain (fraudulent misrepresentation). Part 1...

www.golfmk7.com

 

[chroniclesofcf]

New pads+discs can feel a little spongy until fully bedded in.

There's nothing special about the hydraulic side of the TRW EPB calipers.
TRW say to bleed the brake caliper before 'closing the brake' with the diagnostic service tool. Though i'm not sure it matters.
Presume you have the calipers on the correct side - with the bleed nipples pointing up?
What bleeding technique are you using? I personally like the 'gravity' method. Nice and simple.

This is interesting regarding gearbox oil change:

How to change the oil on a Mk7 Golf MQ200 or MQ250, 5 speed or 6 speed, manual gearbox.

Disclaimer:- This info is for community usage. I am NOT affiliated to, or sponsored by, any company/individual to promote them or their products. Companies/individuals may NOT use my name, photos, or threads/technical guides, for financial or personal gain (fraudulent misrepresentation). Part 1...

www.golfmk7.com

Hey Super

So after scouring the internet for hours after posting this, I may have some answers for myself.

I’m using the pressurised filler bottle system.

In terms of the EPB, it obviously run on servos meaning not seven hydraulically, so it shouldn’t make a difference, open or closed.

It seems I may need to up the pressure from about 10-15psi, up to 29/30psi. This way if there are any air bubbles trapped in the abs module, the higher pressure can eleviate that.

Another weird one to do is drain from closest to furthest point. I always thought it was rears first, then fronts. From furthest to closest the reservoir. VW recommends bleeding from closest to furthest. Maybe the clutch in between the two fronts.

In regards to the gearbox oil, I was literally just reading that article. Seems we have a separate drain and fill port. I’ll have a look for them today and go from there. Some great information on there!

 

[Mr Pig]

I must admit, I don't bleed brakes myself anymore. It's just not worth the aggro. Last time I got my car done the garage phoned to say a nipple had snapped and did I want them to fix it? As opposed to?? Point being that the garage have all the stuff to deal with crap like stuck bolts etc. I've been there. A job that should have taken an hour and ends up all day with trips to get tools you need and much cursing. Sod it. For sixty quid someone else can have the hassle.

 

[chroniclesofcf]

I must admit, I don't bleed brakes myself anymore. It's just not worth the aggro. Last time I got my car done the garage phoned to say a nipple had snapped and did I want them to fix it? As opposed to?? Point being that the garage have all the stuff to deal with crap like stuck bolts etc. I've been there. A job that should have taken an hour and ends up all day with trips to get tools you need and much cursing. Sod it. For sixty quid someone else can have the hassle.

Luckily, after been through the bother of new brake system all round, the nipples are lovely and fresh

 

[SuperV8]

If you have just changed the caliper, and clamped off the hose there should be no air in the ABS module.
If you have air in the ABS module then you need to use the diagnostics to carry out a bleed procedure - where it cycles the module. Needs to be a pressure at least 2 bars to bleed the hydraulic unit.

 

[chroniclesofcf]

If you have just changed the caliper, and clamped off the hose there should be no air in the ABS module.
If you have air in the ABS module then you need to use the diagnostics to carry out a bleed procedure - where it cycles the module. Needs to be a pressure at least 2 bars to bleed the hydraulic unit.

Didn’t clamp the hoses off, but found a procedure online that if the brake was held fully down it closed off the master cylinder from the loop. I then bled the caliper till it stopped which was barely even 40ml, then did the caliper change over, rinse and repeat.

 

[chroniclesofcf]

If you have just changed the caliper, and clamped off the hose there should be no air in the ABS module.
If you have air in the ABS module then you need to use the diagnostics to carry out a bleed procedure - where it cycles the module. Needs to be a pressure at least 2 bars to bleed the hydraulic unit.

GREAT SUCCESS!

Pedals back and clutch isn’t juddering as much. I think another, and maybe main problem, was using stuff I had stored in my pressurised container for about 12 months. Surely contained some H2O.

Bled it from front to back with new fluid in record time. To race to my alignment

Bled it at 25-30psi. Front drivers side, clutch, passenger side, rear drivers side, rear passengers side. Pulled through 250ml on all calipers, and around 200ml on clutch.