Bleed brakes with wheels on

C

ClumUK

Member
 Gloucestershire
Quick question for you guys, 35is with 19" wheels, can the brakes be bled with the wheels left on? And if so, would a garage choose to do it this way when carrying out a brake fluid change as part of a service?

Cheers
 
I’d say yes and with a lift probably a lot easier and quicker than taking the wheels off
 
Its possible but is it advisable.. No.

Brake fluid is nasty stuff for paint and if it spills onto your wheels or gets on a body panel you will regret it, add to that the lack of space to work and difficulty with access for hands and tools.... for the sake of 60seconds to remove the wheel, I'd just remove the wheel. :thumbsup:
 
Flyingfifer said:
Its possible but is it advisable.. No.

Brake fluid is nasty stuff for paint and if it spills onto your wheels or gets on a body panel you will regret it, add to that the lack of space to work and difficulty with access for hands and tools.... for the sake of 60seconds to remove the wheel, I'd just remove the wheel. :thumbsup:
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I'd agree with all the above, but I suspect a garage would go for the easy route while it's up on a ramp.
So it would be wise to keep your wheels clean and sealed if possible, then plenty of water and a clean up as soon as it's home, just in case.
 
Chippie said:
I’d say yes and with a lift probably a lot easier and quicker than taking the wheels off
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I'd agree with this , My local Indy does the brakes on both my Zed and 320D with the wheels on.
 
I'd agree that with the wheels on is perfectly normal. As long as the risk of spilt fluid is mitigated with the careful use of a rag, then I don't see the problem. It's just an efficient way of doing the job.
 
If you're doing it at home, the time saved in not removing the wheel would probably be offset by the buggeration caused by the of lack of space, lack of easy vision, probability of having more cleaning than necessary (had a bleed pipe pop off when using a "one person" kit) even if you have a spare bucket of water, it's still a faff.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm just trying to identify which idiot overtightened my locking wheel nuts costing me £100 to get them welded off and replaced today, and wondered if it could have been from the service I had two weeks ago so I can avoid them in future :x
 
I was at my local indy a while back, they had a three foot long wrench and two of them hanging off it (then me) - the wheel had been put on by a cheapo tyre place, not only had they cross threaded the nut, it'd been over tightened too. Mechanic was not a happy bunny.

Said it seems that some of these places use the air wrench first rather than finger tight, then nipping up
 
Depends what they did on the service,ordinarily I wouldn't expect wheels to come off unless they changed pads - pad wear can be seen without taking the wheels off with the car on a ramp.
 
Jasonn said:
Said it seems that some of these places use the air wrench first rather than finger tight, then nipping up
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From my experience 99% of garages I have come across use the dreaded air wrench to tighten the wheel nut back on.
 
All of them do - tyre places often use a torque wrench to do final tightening though (to avoid liability issues). Its not often i stand a watch a normal workshop doing their thing though but if you have a windy gun then you'd use it! Time is money and all that. :D
 
Rockhopper said:
All of them do - tyre places often use a torque wrench to do final tightening though (to avoid liability issues). Its not often i stand a watch a normal workshop doing their thing though but if you have a windy gun then you'd use it! Time is money and all that. :D
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But how much of that is 'bullsh*t baffles brains'?
After they tighten up with the airgun, does the torque wrench ever actually turn, or just click?
A lot of gullible folk may think the click = correct torque, whereas we all know it just means the nut is at a minimum of the correct torque.
 
It is common practice to not lubricate wheel nuts.
I personlly disagree and have always lubricated wheel nuts.
Clean Oil and Grease on the Lock nut especially.
Never had a whell come off or loosen, always check after tyre changes.
Also put a film of grease on the alloy wheel where it meets the hub unless you have those plastic shims that go between.
I shall probably be shot down in flames now.
 
Rucky said:
It is common practice to not lubricate wheel nuts.
I personlly disagree and have always lubricated wheel nuts.
Clean Oil and Grease on the Lock nut especially.
Never had a whell come off or loosen, always check after tyre changes.
Also put a film of grease on the alloy wheel where it meets the hub unless you have those plastic shims that go between.
I shall probably be shot down in flames now.
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The problem with lubricating wheel nuts is that they no longer receive the correct tightening torque :?
Rob
 
i would guess that many garages use a pneumatic system to bleed brakes and change fluid. i have one called a gunsen easy bleed that works very well.
 
Jasonn said:
I've always used a thin smear of copperslip on the threads
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Ok, so given that the torque setting is reached when the resistance to turning of the stud equals the setting on the torque wrench, the stud will stop at a particular point. Now, add a lubricant which makes it easier for the stud to turn. Therefore it will move much further before the resistance equals the torque wrench setting.
Imagine how much extra force you would need to apply to get the stud to move that far without lubrication. Quite a bit.
Therefore, although it could be argued that the torque setting is still the same, the stud must be further in to the thread in the hub, which means it is applying much more force to the seat in the wheel and equally, the stud itself is under much more tension.
Although the turning force applied has effectively been the same amount, the gripping force of the stud holding the wheel is much higher.
In conclusion, I'm with [ref]Smartbear[/ref] and will leave the studs dry, but ensure they are correctly torqued up.
 
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