NM'87 951

**NOTE: I attempted to bleed, using the described technique and tools, and all I could manage was a good pedal feel. The brakes would not grab, so I conceded I failed my first attempt. After getting evaluated, I was told it was probably the vacuum assist not working, we checked the lines and sure enough a vacuum line had come disconnected. Just a heads up, that can happen.


Just as the title says. Oh, i'm a post and picture ***** by the way. You will need lug nut wrench for the wheels, a floor jack that raises at least 14in, an 11mm wrench for the bleeder valves, 2 bottles of DOT 4 brake fluid (to keep the reservoir topped off before bleeding each wheel), and a helper. A catch pan and/or a bunch of towels help to keep it less messy. A beer, or other 'self medications', will help pass time even more enjoyably.

The directions say @ Clarks Garage to jack up the back of the car, then work from the farthest wheel from the BMC. I took this to mean I could jack up each tire separately, starting with the farthest one away. So, that's what I did. This was not a very complicated job, so this isn't a tutorial, it's just verification that someone with a basic understanding of the ends of a wrench can bleed the brakes on a 951.

I loosened all the lug nuts before jacking up the car. Makes removing the tires easier. Started with the rear passenger tire first. I set up some cardboard, a catch pan and a bunch of towels. This was a repeat on each wheel.



Bleeder valves are in same location on each caliper. The 951 has 2 on each caliper. 11mm wreches fit better than their standard counterpart, using 2 made it really easy. I didn't open the valves all the way, so instead of lots of spurting, i got slow dribble flow (I'm pretty sure I could still see the difference between air bubbles and steady stream).



I have seen plenty of ?'s about where the jack points are for the car, and a few good pictures, so I'll add mine. Next two show the locations for the jack points.

NM'87 951

The process for bleeding was pretty much repetitive for each wheel. Loosen the lug nuts, make sure the bmc reservoir is full, jack up and take the wheel off. Pop off the covers of the bleeder valves, put 11mm wrenches on each valve. Open the valves and tell your helper to push the brakes down to the floor a few times (not hard and fast), after a few presses hold the pedal to the floor while you close the valves. Allow the pedal to come back up, then open the valves again and repeat the pedal pressing and hold it down when you close the valves.

Open valve, press pedal to bleed and then hold pedal down, close valves, release pedal.

My girlfriend/helper had to leave for a minute, so I took the opportunity to check out the rotors. They feel fairly smooth, hardly any grooving.



The front struts both look like this. They REALLY need an m030 upgrade.



We got some exhaust work done recently. I'm satisfied with the daily operation of the car, but seriously??? I think i could weld better. I think i'm going to have to spring for all new piping down there, when I get the 2-3 pipe crack fixed (which I'm going to look for when I'm under there). There are at least two welds in the system that look like this



Found these going through a tool bin my girlfriend had. Motoronic told me the ecu they repaired for the car was most likely just rebuilt/reprogrammed, not tuned. I don't know what these chips are for, or when/why they were removed and kept.




God decided to let the rains come, and since my garage is open to the weather, i found it a good time for a pit stop.



Bleeding the brakes is pretty easy, I imagine even more so with a covered garage and a jack that gets your car up 20in so the stands can be put underneath. The method we used, jacking up each corner and doing the bleeding was pretty simple actually, and easily repetitive. The lugs were easy to remove, and loosened before hand made it even more simple to take them off. 11mm wrenches working in tandem made the bleeding process really easy. I did need a helper, and was lucky that mine is around usually anyway, but you could easily persuade a buddy to come have a beer or two (wouldn't take much longer than that), and get it done.

NM'87 951

I'm a geek. Here's a video, in case the post wasn't long enough for you.

NM'87 951

So, after testing, the pedal is much more solid, but there is no grab on the brakes. The clutch feels much the same, so if I get away with it after doing another bleed, ill bleed the clutch when I replace the feed line from the reservoir.

Update when it's done. Feed line and vacuum kit ordered. Ill add stainless lines and Venturi delete soon too.

william_b_noble

why do you take the wheels off to bleed the brakes? that makes no sense at all

Dougs951S

I take my wheels off to bleed brakes too. It takes an extra 5 minutes of your time to unbolt the wheels and stick the car up on 4 jackstands. Keeps brake fluid off your wheels and makes the whole process easier and less fumbly. Multiple ways to skin a cat I guess.

NM'87 951

The valves are accessible without the wheels being taken off, but only if you can get under the car to reach them. I have no such option, so it's much easier to take them off and put them back on.

Once the wheels are off, the access to the bleeder valves is so easy I'm surprised the directions don't call for removing them.

^^ Exactly. I couldn't get stands under the car, because of the set up of my 'garage', and I have no lift to get the car up. Still, if I did I would have removed the wheels for the reasons stated.

william_b_noble

I do this job without jack stands, and with the wheels on - rear is easily accessible, just reach around, the fronts are accessible if you turn the wheels left and right to reveal the caliper. It's just the clutch slave that requires jacking to bleed.

NM'87 951

Interesting. We have to bleed them again, so I may try that a bit and see how it works. I really did it because I didn't want to get the wheels dirty (didn't use drain hoses on the bleeder valves, might this time).

All in all, it takes 2 minutes to take the wheel off and on...

We gotta put it up on blocks the next time we get it up, so we can get under and bleed the clutch. Going to be replacing (hopes it gets here tomorrow!!) the feeder line to the clutch master, and doing the vacuum kit from lindsey, soon.

NM'87 951

Didn't get the feeder line done yet. I'm having a problem bleeding these brakes. We have bled the corners a few times. We did a skid test that seemed to show the rear driver wheel was not gripping, so we bled the back wheels, as they share the same brake line. Then we did the test again, and the front driver and rear passenger wheels didn't grip.

The pedal has great feel, only very slight sponging. We have done the bleed correct, to the best of our knowledge. We are liking the brake feel, but not getting any grip from the brakes.

lart951

I use the motive power bleeder it never fails, when i do clutch jobs, brake jobs it's worth it.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...orsche%2520All

NM'87 951

Lets pretend I gotta drive this tomorrow. Any tips on what I can try?

lart951

With air in your brake lines? I wouldn't

NM'87 951

lol right, i'm not going to thankfully. The lady is out of town this weekend, so I have time. Have a couple options going to try. Going to gravity bleed, and also try to power bleed from the bleeder valves.

Dougs951S

+1 to the motive, its one of the bests specialty tools I've ever bought/made. It literally pays for its self the first time you bleed a clutch with it. Every new 944 owner should just buy one off the bat.