L_U_D_I_AMaxima

iTrader: (3)

Ok, long story short after dealing with locked up rear calipers and warped front rotors for some time now I decided to replace all 4 calipers/rotors/pads/shims...
for what ever reason I seemed to be not able to bleed the system correctly... I have done many brake jobs in my life but to be honest this is the first time I am dealing with ABS brake system...
Here is what I have done so far: Disconnected the battery cable to deactivate the ABS module per nissan brake instructions... Bled the brakes starting RR->FL->RL->FR every time each caliper was bled 7-8 times before I moved to the next caliper and no more air bubbles were present in the line, I had a friend of mine pump the brake pedal while I was on each caliper... The master cylinder never ran dry of fluid! I repeated the bleeding procedure 3 times in row 7-8 times per caliper fallowing the bleeding sequence... Literally I used a full bottle of fresh fluid to flush the system...
Before replacing all calipers the brake pedal pressure was great...
I know that the MC is fine but I am confused in if I am using the correct bleeding procedure for a system with an ABS...
I read all the posts about bleeding and came across a couple that suggested using the fallowing sequence: RR--->FR--->FL---->RL or something that I have done before: RR--->RL---->FR--->FL
Thanks!

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

Bleeding sequence is specific to each car's hydraulic system.

ABS shouldn't have any effect on the physical bleeding of the system, the only reason you disconnect it is so it doesn't store a fault (to my knowledge)

It sounds to me like there are two likely causes, seeing as you seem to know what you're up to:

1) Your buddy is doing his job wrong on the brake pedal
2) you have a bad bleeder fitting that isn't sealing back up, and thusly, keeps pulling in air. try swapping the bleeder fittings for the old ones. Do this One at a time, and use pinch-off pliers on the brake hose as close to the caliper as you can get, this will mean not having to re-bleed the entire system again, you only have to bleed the caliper

A tip related to the above:
You should have done this in the first place dude it saves SOOOOO much headache. I learnt this trick not long ago. Makes swapping calipers a freaking breeze. You just swap one at a time, bleed after each caliper replacement, then move on to the next. You don't have to dig up the FSM procedure for bleeding, etc, etc, etc.
Unless of course you're flushing the fluid anyhow, then it doesn't matter you have to do it as you mentioned.

If you're getting a spongy pedal regardless of how many times you bleed, it really can only be two things (without getting silly), bleed procedure error or air getting in somewhere.

L_U_D_I_AMaxima

iTrader: (3)

thanks for the quick response...
Here is exactly what I have done when I replaced the calipers... With the old caliper still in the car attached with a wire to the spring/strut I installed the new rotor/caliper in place torqued all the bolts on the brackets/caliper mount. The next step I did was to remove the brake hose from the old caliper installed the copper washers (one on the top of the brake hose end, one on the bottom) and quickly attach the hose to the new caliper... basically I must have lost not more that 5-6 drips of fluid from the line before attaching it to the new caliper... Still id made no sense b/c I did get fresh new fluid to come out of each bleeder... No idea yet, I will try to swap the bleeders as you said hopefully it works... as far as the buddy goes I know he is good b/c he was the one helping me with my previous brake jobs and they turned great....

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

You should find someone with a Vacuum bleeder, I was told to disconnect the ABS fuse while I bled my system.

TunerMaxima3000

iTrader: (4)

having fluid come out doesn't mean air isn't getting back in

And dropping a couple drips doesnt matter, it's not how much fluid you lose when it's disconnected, it's how much air gets IN.

If you're confident in your assistants technique (may want to just double check and ensure he's doing it right, never hurts), then I'd go at those bleeder screws, probably some air pulling in at the threads or something.

L_U_D_I_AMaxima

iTrader: (3)

now that you mentioned that tonight after work I get back to the garage and this time I will be the one on the pedal and I will put him on the bleeding end... he was playing bejeweled on his phone while pumping LOL he might have missed a pump or two

you are right I completely forgot that the new calipers are empty and full with air... may be the air from the calipers founds its way back into the system... but I guess there will be more and more bleeding tonight...

L_U_D_I_AMaxima

iTrader: (3)

using a vaccum pump will be ideal... but I don't know anyone who has one...

TallTom

I know this is going to sound stupid, but make sure the bleeder valve is on hope of the caliper. Otherwise, you have them on the wrong side of the car. If the bleeder valve is on the bottom, you won't get them bled properly.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...al-travel.html

L_U_D_I_AMaxima

iTrader: (3)

Yep... they were actually marked R & L... I have rebuild many calipers before and that would have been a dummy mistake if I were to that, but thanks for the input on the subject anyhow...

L_U_D_I_AMaxima

iTrader: (3)

well after two and half hours of bleeding I finally got somehow of a hard pedal... I would say I am back in business... test drove the car outside of town and seems like the shake from the old warped rotors is gone... I didn't brake hard at all I would take my time and slowly brake in the new rotors/pads... I guess the first time I bleed the system I was in too much of a hurry to get the car back on the road and enjoy the new brakes...
Lesson learned bleed your brakes until you are sick of it and the some more LOL
Thanks for all the help and advice to everyone...