after succesfully helping john re chassis his car, just a quick question..

when you remove the engine and box, and dis connect the brake pipe from the master cyliner, that bit of fluid you loose is it crucial? john stick a bit of old brake pipe in the hold to stop loosing fluid

does anyone also have a spare bit of brake pipe with the thread i could have (will pay for) so one day when i have the engine out or if i need to i can block up the hole?
ta

and on re fitting the engine, do you need to bleed brakes or anyuthing?

You need to bleed the brakes when you put it back together. The brake pipe has a seal on the end of it. You should fit a new seal when you put it back together again. The loss of brake fluid is in itself neither here nor there, other than the fact that it makes a mess; you replace it when you bleed the brakes. The disks on your disk brake car use LHM brake fluid BTW.

There's unlikely to be anything crucial about that particular bit of fluid, just check the level when you're finished


The thread in the hole is a standard M8, so just block it with a bolt. The awkward bit is that when you pull the pipe out, the rubber seal will stay in the hole, but when you come to put the pipe back it won't go into the rubber. You have to hook the rubber out and put it on the end of the pipe first. And the fluid will be leaking out while you do so.

or undo the front brake pipe at the gearbox end, then hook it up so that its end is above the level of the reservoir?

ken

The thread is common as muck M8 so a suitable bolt is easily found to blank off the master.

If you just want to remove the gearbox for repair or replacement, and won't be disturbing the braking system any further, it's possible to remove the callipers from the gearbox in one piece, and keep them connected to the master cylinder.

The callipers are made in two pieces, and if you allow them to come apart, you'll end up with LHM everywhere and have to bleed the brakes, so the trick is to keep the two halves clamped together. You can remove the front calliper bolts, loosen off the rears *just* enough that you can swivel the callipers around them, lift the front of the calliper up so the bolt holes are above the top of the gearbox and replace the front bolts, tightening suitable sized nuts onto the end of them. With the front bolts clamping the calliper halves together, you can remove the brake pipe clamps from the top of the gearbox, withdraw the rear calliper bolts completely, and tie the callipers up out of the way. You can find suitable sized nuts holding your airfilter onto the engine-gearbox studs.

Refitting, as Mr Haynes would say, is a direct reversal of the removal procedure. If all has gone well, you won't have lost any fluid or allowed any air into the system, so you won't need to bleed the brakes. Oh, and I think you'll want to remove the brake pads before you start.

*shrugs* bleed the brakes. Confused. I'll have. Read of haynes tonight

Why confused? It is a hydraulic circuit. It is a damn sight "easier" to compress air than a liquid

Therefore when you split the lines and let air in you need to purge the air from the circuit. If you don't your brake pedal will go to the floor as it compresses air rather than move brake fluid to the callipers and wheel cylinders.

James,

I had a couple of bits of old brake pipe to hand with "ends" on and put them in to save makeing a mess and for us to get on with the job. The whole system on my car will be replaced with new pipes, completely.


I did what I did to save hassle and LHM all over the place at the moment !


People above have suggested other "blanking" options. I am sure they are right, but happy to cut off the ends of the old ones on the D*lly and let you have them if you want to....but for me its major overhall time and so it will be new pipes, seals, fluid and anything else.