 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Bleeding ABS equipped brakes using Hawkeye diagnostics |
 
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| Marlin.45 Member Since: 20 May 2014 Location: Llangadog, Carmarthenshire Posts: 54   
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Well I have just stripped and rebuilt the rear calipers and the fluid hadn't been changed from new so this needed doing. As the calipers had been off for 4 days the lines were dry.
Not having this done before I had the Hawkeye unit to hand and realised it had an ABS bleed function built in, so I thought I may as well use that. Mmmm the problems then began. So as the instructions provided with the Hawkeye are almost zero, comments on the screen such as 'follow the instructions for a manual bleed' mean nothing to me? Who, what, where? So ignoring those and with a fully charged battery (on an 8 Amp fast charger as well) + a full reservoir I ran the ABS modulator bleed first. Res didn't drop at all. Ran it three times just to make sure. No difference. Moving on to the first displayed power bleed point the front LH caliper. I ran the bleed function for that point....20 times. This resulted in a small drop in the res level but not much. So am I doing something wrong? What is the manual bleed procedure that the unit refers too? Should the brake pedal be depressed during the caliper power bleed? Off back to the garage now for another try as the battery has just built up a bit more charge 
Paul 2006 TD5 90 County 1961 MF35 |
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16th Aug 2014 4:44pm |
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| Marlin.45 Member Since: 20 May 2014 Location: Llangadog, Carmarthenshire Posts: 54
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Well still no success so I am resorting to the 'Old School' method and sticking the Gunsons Easi-bleed on there
 2006 TD5 90 County
1961 MF35 |
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16th Aug 2014 7:55pm |
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| Lou Sparts Member Since: 15 Apr 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 1501  
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I've never bled my brakes form empty but when replacing the fluid ( every two years) I have bled the system the same as any other Defender, starting at the wheel furthest from the master cylinder and working my way nearer, I have no bleeding equipment other than a length of clear pipe to fit to the bleed nipple and a jar to put some fluid in and place the other end of the pipe in to stop it drawing air in on the up stroke. 2005 Td5 90 XS
Steve |
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16th Aug 2014 8:09pm |
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| udderlyoffroad Member Since: 18 Jul 2011 Location: Bristol Posts: 124
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Not Hawkeye but same principle Matt Real trucks don't have spark plugs |
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16th Aug 2014 8:45pm |
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| jimbob7 Member Since: 06 Jul 2013 Location: uk Posts: 2055 |
You need to get most of the air out first using standard bleeding procedure,its also easier if you pressure bleed them with this.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/13075908249...amp;ff19=0 Then plug in your Hawkeye and do a Modulator bleed,which (should) expel the air from the modulator,lastly do a power bleed, using a pressure bleeder AND Hawkeye to activate the ABS pump,this gets rid of any remaining air in the pipes,whilst the pump is running you crack open each bleed nipple on the calipers and bleed as per normal. It can be a pain in the a55 getting all the air out,you may have even drained the brake master cylinder,in which case crack open the pipes on the M/C and bleed that first. Pov.spec,ftw. 2006, 110,TD5. |
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16th Aug 2014 9:19pm |
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| Marlin.45 Member Since: 20 May 2014 Location: Llangadog, Carmarthenshire Posts: 54
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Cheers all !
Well I seem to be getting somewhere now. I covered the 'Jimbob' method in a roundabout sorta way 
It seems that my ABS pump has nowhere near the level of pressure shown in the LRTV video. I found this by using the Gunsons from the furthest point back, APU, and had a good flow with very little air. Then I did the 'power bleed' in the sequence stipulated by the Hawkeye. This had very low flow when compared with the Easi-bleed, but proved a point none-the-less? I will get back to this tomorrow and do one last bleed with the Gunsons + power bleed then check the system with the ABS active. Despite all the horror stories it seems the good olde fashion methods work if the modulator isn't dry? 
Paul 2006 TD5 90 County 1961 MF35 |
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16th Aug 2014 9:57pm |
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| jimbob7 Member Since: 06 Jul 2013 Location: uk Posts: 2055 |
fyi,when your doing a power bleed it chucks fluid out pretty fast,soon empties the reservoir if yer not careful,I think the reason for doing a standard bleed first, rather than just power bleeding from the start is to cut down on the risk of overheating the pump with excessive and continued use,so if you can bleed it completely without a power bleed thats best,but if there's a lot of air it can take forever
. Pov.spec,ftw. 2006, 110,TD5. |
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17th Aug 2014 9:08am |
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| Lorryman100 Member Since: 01 Oct 2010 Location: Here Posts: 2686 |
Never had to use a diagnostic tool to bleed the brakes, including when I replaced the discs and callipers all round, plus the system was empty for a couple of days. I bled the brakes the old fashioned way with the missus pressing the brake pedal whilst I bled each nipple starting from the furthest away from the brake cylinder.
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17th Aug 2014 11:58pm |
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| Marlin.45 Member Since: 20 May 2014 Location: Llangadog, Carmarthenshire Posts: 54
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Brakes all good now
If the modulator is 'wet' then the old fashioned methods would work fine but my concern was if it wasn't after 3 days of open feed lines. In the end it doesn't appear to be a concern. Regarding my initial post and the Hawkeye diagnostics reference to manual bleed instructions. I found a manual for the Wabco D mod and in there it does refer to a manual bleed procedure using...a pressure bleed system at max. 2.0 Bar before trying to bleed via the 'power bleed' option. The 'dry' modulator option is to use special vacuum equipment, or....go back to the pressure bleed system and use the diagnostics to activate a modulator bleed. There isn't an option there if the mod is dry. http://www.meritorwabco.com/MeritorWABCO_document/tp99124.pdf I am still concerned that the power bleed with a purged system and a pressure bleeder running the fluid doesn't flow anywhere near as fast as the video? Paul 2006 TD5 90 County 1961 MF35 |
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18th Aug 2014 9:47am |
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| munch90 Member Since: 26 Oct 2013 Location: guildford Posts: 3558 
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use brake pipe clamps (on flexi hose ) to stop fluid running out when disconnecting pipes , calipers etc and if you want to change fluid then bleed brakes for longer
if you don't have clamps you can just hold pedal down (edge pedal with block of wood ) half way when pipes undone and that will stop the fluid draining out |
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18th Aug 2014 10:04am |
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