MalP
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| posted on 23/9/25 at 04:17 PM |
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HELP WANTED FOR BLEEDING THE BRAKES ON MY WESTFIELD
The brake system consists of Girling M16 Calipers on the front and Sierra calipers on the rear operated by 2 Girling 0.625
bore master cylinders on an adjustable balance bar.
The car has not been used for several years so I fitted new seal kits to both master cylinders. To test them I I put a blanking plug in each outlet
port. When I operated the brake pedal it moves about 6 or 8 mm and was rock hard.
In the past I have used rubber bleed tubes with a valve inside going into an old jam jar and usually the system was cleared of air after all 4
calipers had been attended to.
Yesterday I used the same method and brake fluid went into the. jam jar easily but he pedal went to the floor without any resistance.
Today I fitted a racing bolt on tyre valve the the filler cap and pressurised the reservoir with an electric tyre inflator. The first time I
switched the pump on the cap blew off but I cured this problem by fitting a jubilee clip over the cap. Again brake fluid went int the jam jars I used
first on the front and then on the rear.
I am at a, loss as to what to do next.
Do you have any suggestions?
Malcolm
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Sanzomat
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| posted on 23/9/25 at 05:53 PM |
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On my Locost with Sierra rear discs/callipers the callipers are upside down to get the handbrake cables to exit upwards (I'm guessing the the
callipers are behind the axle on the Sierra but are in front of the axle on the Locost) and as such the bleed nipples are on the bottom so however
much pumping or pressure I use air remains trapped. The only way I could clear the air on the rears was to remove the whole calliper and hold it on
the disc behind the axle while bleeding so the nipple is on the top.
I guess yours might be similar?
[Edited on 23/9/25 by Sanzomat]
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JAG
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| posted on 24/9/25 at 07:02 AM |
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The Sierra rear calipers are notoriously difficult to bleed - even when you have the bleed nipple at the top of the caliper.
Inside the caliper body there is the mechanism that links the handbrake cable to the caliper piston - it can trap air very easily and it can take
many, many bleeds to get the air out.
I would suggest removing the caliper mounting bolts and bleeding the calipers when they are off the disc. Make sure the bleedscrew is the highest
point during bleeding.
Then push the piston in and out a few times and repeat the bleed. You may need to do this several times to get them free of air.
Be patient 
Justin
Who is this super hero? Sarge? ...No.
Rosemary, the telephone operator? ...No.
Penry, the mild-mannered janitor? ...Could be!
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adithorp
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| posted on 25/9/25 at 08:55 AM |
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A couple of points from a brief read of your issue...
1. Always start from the furthest bleed nipples first.
2. Sierra calipers are ofter fitted upside down on kits. Make dure your bleeders are at the top when bleeding even if this means removing them from
the carriers and putting a scacer in place of the disc.
3. Dual master cylinders can lockout if one is being bled at once using a manual pedal press method.
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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adithorp
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| posted on 25/9/25 at 08:56 AM |
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4. You might have messed up fitting new seals.
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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