Hi all,

in prep for a track day, I flushed the brake lines with new fluid, bled etc. Now the brakes feel nowhere near as “bitey” as they did before I did this.

they’re stopping the car properly and the pedal doesn’t go all to the floor or anything, but that initial bite is gone.

any thoughts on what I could have done wrong? Fluid was the same as what it had before.

‘16 R.

thanks for any insight.

 

If they lost initial "Bite", it is possible you spilled brake fluid on your rotors, etc. when you were flushing it. Not sure what procedure you used to flush them and/or if you used a power bleeder, but a spongy pedal after bleeding would most likely mean you got air in the lines.

DC

 

This is absolutely the first thing to suspect.

 

Agreed 100%, but have done brake bleeding a hundred times in the past and thought I did everything properly as I have in the past. I was curious as to whether there was a Jaguar-weirdness rule/process that I may have missed, as it seems to be the case with several repairs I’ve made so far.

 

Without knowing what your bleeding process is, no idea what occurred while you attempted it. I have included a link below (for others as well) on the DX process for a Spongy Pedal, as well as the outlined JLR Bleeding process for the F-Type (without Ceramic Brakes).

DC

Spongy Brake Dx and Bleeding Process (will also place on my DIT thread)

 

thanks for the attachment - and yep, followed this process, with the exception of not using the Jaguar diagnostic tool. I also didn’t put it into brake maintenance mode, as I read in other posts that it wasn’t necessary for just a brake fluid flush. I wonder if that was the problem - not using the tool/not using brake maintenance mode.

 

I can't imagine it was lack of maintenance mode. That retracts the pads mechanically, but I don't think it would have any effect on the hydraulics.

 

Update: Took to trusted mechanic, as I gave up. Got a call back, "it feels fine to me. we can charge you for the bleeding, but doubt it will feel any different, and don't want you to be unhappy when there's no difference".

Sigh. I took it back, as they made me doubt myself entirely. Now it feels as if the pads don't easily release from the rotors when I lift off the brake pedal, and I'm wondering if there's a gummed up slider pin causing the issue. Time to clear a weekend to learn how to take them apart, as I've been putting off the installation of new pads anyway.