The 'E' Type Forum

It had to happen in the most inconvenient place, on a T junction at the red light. Lights turn I put the clutch in and nothing but a long spongy feeling and no gears. I was not the most popular person on the road being a Saturday morning but luckily enough a few helpful souls gave me a push and I managed to get it off the road. Quick look and I could see the hydraulic oil seeping out when my daughter pushed the clutch pedal (only time she will ever get behind the wheel I might add) So thank you Mr AA man for a short wait (10mins) and a lift back to the garage. Flew out to the states next day and on return had a new slave unit (thank you SNG for quick delivery) hopefully replacement will be painless (might even be pipe gone) but I am looking forward to bleeding the brakes with interest. While Im at it Its time for a disc and pad change so might do it all at once. Only problem is flew back from Florida where it was 88 deg and Im freezing.
Any hints always welcome
jon
still smiling though

I had two new clutch slave cylinders fail on me in quick succession (aka whilst still in the garage) due to the very poor seals used; made in China I believe. In the end I found a NOS original AP one on eBay which has served me well. Keep an eye on your replacement

Hi Jon,

Just to ask first of all. why are you bleeding the brakes because of a clutch problem? The systems are totally separate.

Anyway, bleeding the brakes on a Series III is no more difficult than any other car, except perhaps for access. The main difficulty for any E-type is the inboard rear brakes and you could take the opportunity to add remote brake bleeding nipples at the rear.

A pressure or suction bleeding kit is useful, but I find that even then, I normally find that finishing off with manual bleeding can help a lot. I normally finish by getting someone (my wife has just piped up and said that you need a "Lynne") to help. What I do is go to each bleed nipple in turn, I can't remember which is which, but start at the one furthest from the master cylinder, close all bleed nipples (this is after bleeding the system as well as possible by going around the points one by one), then get the assistant (in Lynnes' case, make sure you call her the beautiful assistant!), to pump the brakes several times, finishing with the pedal held down. Then release the bleed nipple and allow the flow, keep the pedal held down and tighten the blled nipple. Ensure at all times that you have a tight fitting bleed tube to reduce the risk of introducing air again.

Anyway, on releasing the nipple you will get a fairly substantial flow, tighten the nipple as soon as it stops, and repeat a few times, then do the same at each other bleed nipple, working around and ending at the one nearest the master cylinder. This always seems to remove some air from the system which I can't get from any other method and the pedal usually hardens afterward.

Don't be tempted to reuse brake fluid, it will be aerated and even if you allow it to stand for a long time to remove the air, old fluid is likely to have attracted water, which can't be removed. If you are bleeding an old system, buy and use several litres of fluid to ensure a good flush, which is important for future performance - fluid should be flushed every 2 years; usually this is overlooked but should not be.

Another thing is that if you are taking the trouble to bleed the whole system, do check that all the hydraulics, including the brake pipes and hoses, are in good condition prior to beginning - you don't want to have to do it all again a month or so later.

Good Luck,

Regards,

As car is going up on ramps I thought I might as well do the brakes at the same time. The fronts appear ok but the pads are fairly hard and one of them squeels like a pig, the rears are a different matter, the discs require replacing and the pads so I might as well do the lot in one hit. I am also going to manufacture some remote bleeding lines for future use as after looking Jaguar obviously decided most people had 3 foot arms with 10 fingers on each and only 1" in diameter. The car is also sitting approx 1" low which looks great but means I catch the exhaust regulary so I am also going to look at the shocks / springs / torsion bars the latter being a pain
jon