Brake Bleeding Order confirmation - 88ss


  • Brake Bleeding Order confirmation - 88ss

    Hey all,
    Had a quick question.

    I noticed that in my 88ss that I hear a faint squeak (once per rotation) when applying the brakes (sound is more pronounced when I am going slow, but happens consistently when applying the brakes; noise does not happen when coasting).
    After some googling and searching here I think I may just have a bad rear caliper (thinking the piston may not be fully retracting).
    No wheel play when jacked up (so that rules out bad bearings being the cause). I know it is the rear since I believe I can hear it from inside the car (and it happens when I pull the ebrake; which wouldn't happen if it was the front).
    Summary: What is the correct order to bleed brakes in an 88ss (where master cylinder is on driver's side)?
    I am swapping out the rear passenger caliper and wanted to double-check (I was told it was furthest away working in; so in my case: passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front).
    Found a link online that had the opposite order (if this was the case, I think I would only need to bleed the one I swapped).


    Details below (you can ignore)

    I found some good articles online here:
    http://300zx.tombeauchamp.com/05_01_…calipers.shtml

    However it doesn't say the order to bleed the brakes.

    There is a comment here:
    http://z31.com/repairs/bleed.shtml

    Just wanted confirmation (although the 2nd link sounds clear), that if I replace my passenger rear caliper, that I only need to bleed that caliper.
    The order listed in the second link is to do this last.
    Although I thought previously it was to go in order from furthest away from the master cylinder to the closest.
    I see that on my 88ss the master cylinder is on the driver's side (next to the power steering fluid tank), so this seems backwards of what I thought should be the order.

    I do have an FSM, but don't see any mention of the order to bleed (checked BR, GI, and MA sections).

  • #2
    rr, lr, rf, lf

  • #3
    Correct me if I am wrong, but you start with the caliper that is furthest away from the BMC.

    That would be…
    rear left
    rear right
    right front
    left front

    The brake lines goes down the passenger rail to the rear right area, then splits off from there to the rear left, making the rear left the furthest away from the BMC.
    So again, after the splitter, the brake line to the rear left is longer than the brake line to the rear right.

  • #4
    Thanks all.

    Now I have 3 different ways, lol.
    I think amreboot is correct since that indeed would be going from furthest to closest.

  • #5
    Just adding two things in here. One, I have always bled my Z's the way Alex has stated above.
    Second, I absolutely love this post because you obviously searched for answers to your question before you made a thread about it haha! That is all.
    Build Log Link: http://z31performance.com/showthread…-VG33-HX35-WIP

  • #6
    Originally posted by ZEricMZ View Post
    Just adding two things in here. One, I have always bled my Z's the way Alex has stated above.
    Second, I absolutely love this post because you obviously searched for answers to your question before you made a thread about it haha! That is all.
    Had some time to kill waiting to get the part from Steve at 300zxpartsforyou. Figured I would do my homework as I never personally bled brakes before. I've done pads on my z, so just wanted to read up on what else I would need to know about before the swap.

    I've had this problem intermittently for the past 2 years or so, and trying to fix it for good.
    I feel so embarrassed taking the z for a spin and hearing that faint squeak when I'm slowing down.

    Figured you guys (and elsewhere on the web) would have done this already and had some info to provide.

  • #7
    +1 what amreboot said

  • #8
    Mods feel free to close/lock this thread. I have the info I need

  • #9
    Closed!