bleeding GT-S brakes

[00 scrub]

How can I bleed my brakes on my 2001 GT-S 6spd w/ ABS? Is it a difficult job, I know it takes a long time, but are there any guides online that show me step by step how to do it (the teamunison website is gone now :( )? I want to do this because I am going to a track day soon and my pedal seems to have more travel in it now than before and I want to have my car in top notch shape before the race. Also fluid_gts suggested that a switch out my brake fluid to Motul 600 or a better one so I don't boil my fluid. How hard is this and what kinds of fluids does everyone reccomend?
Thank You

[fluids_gts]

I have the service manual, and it does not give any special instructions in regard to the bleeding the brakes for cars equiped with an ABS system. In fact, the instructions seemed quite generic. I just did a normal bleed: loosen the bleed screw on the caliper, have someone push and hold the brake pedal to the floor, tighten the bleed screw, and then release the brake pedal. Repeat the process until fresh fluid is coming out of the bleed screw (difficult to tell for certain, unless the new fluid has a different color). Be sure to keep an eye on the level in the reservoir, as if it gets too low you will suck air into the line. Some people advise that you start with the most distant caliper first (which I believe is the right rear), and the proceed through the ones with succesively shorter lines. I didn't really see any compelling argument for adhereing to this strictly... perhaps someone else can comment.

In terms of time committment, it may take you two or three hours if you have never done it before (on the conservative side), but if you know what you are doing, it can probably be done in 30 minutes or so.

Also be sure to check the wear on your pads. It turned out that my left rear caliper housing was not floating properly, and was causing excessive wear on those pads (i.e. it had worn away about 3 or 4 mm from the pad, where the others were only worn less than 1 mm.

In terms of fluids, there are dozens to choose from. The Motul 600 I used was definately on the more expensive side of the spectrum, but I was having difficulty finding the ATE Super Blue at the time. Since I wasn't planning to change my brake fluid more than once a year, my biggest motivation was to pick a fluid that had a high wet boiling point, so that once the fluid does absorb moisture, it will still perform well when driven hard. Here is a link to a discussion I found on a volvo site comparing some different fluids:

http://www.swedishbricks.net/700900FAQ/Brake%20Fluid%20Comparison.htm

There are undoubtably more out there that you can find. The numbers that really convinced me were the wet boiling point for standard DOT 3 spec fluid: 284F (which I believe comes stock in our car). I would not be surprised if my calipers came close to or exceeded this temperature on the track, as slowing for a 40 mph hairpin from about 110 will cook those puppies real quick. I went for some easy insurance, and changed it out for a high-performance DOT 4 fluid, which when new had a boiling point of 585F, and even when wet would be at 421F, giving at least a 137F margin over the stock fluid.

Finally, in regard to the ABS system, the standard bleed procedure will most likely leave some old fluid still in the ABS reservoir, but since this is located several feet from the nearest caliper, I did not think it was too critical to get the fluid out from here. The only way I can think to flush that reservoir would be to activate the ABS system in during the bleeding process. To this, you would either need to drive around and aggressively brake to activate the ABS, or get some type of tool that activate upon command. It just didn't seem to be worth the hassel.

My apologies for a long post, but I hope this helps some.

[GTS LAID]

heres a general thread covering the topic...

http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4329

[00 scrub]

wow thanks for the info, but it looks like I can't go to the track day now. I can't even drive my car because I broke my thumb. I'll think about getting that Motul 600 sometime and putting it in. That Volvo link was really useful. I had one last question, with these racing and DOT 5 fluids how often would I have to change them out?

[00 scrub]

GTS LAID: Damn that TSB forum is just too useful, thanks for the link.

[fluids_gts]

00 scrub,

Sorry to hear about the thumb. Hope you get a chance to head out once it heals.

I am not sure about the interval for changing the fluid, as I could not find much about what the corrosion protection of the various fluids. That site mentioned that "racing" fluids typically do not put much corrosion inhibitors in them, while the "steet" ones more typically would. I don't yet know what applies to the Motul 600. I will probably change mine once a year or so, unless I find reason to do otherwise.

[GTS LAID]

Originally posted by 00 scrub
GTS LAID: Damn that TSB forum is just too useful, thanks for the link.

lol.. glad you like it... i get the weird feeling sometimes that people dont know it exists.

[JaySong]

I have no idea what you all r talking about!

00scrub,

so you r not going to the track this 15th?