Bleed breaks skoda fabia 2003

[rum4mo]

I consider that proper use of swearing only comes with old/older age, it is definitely then as the world seems to be out to get you/me that it is really needed!

 

Flare nut spanners really should be used when connecting up pipes like at the ABS block, nowadays, I always "crack" the bleed nipples using a deep hex socket, and if I feel the need, the same when giving them a final slight "nip up".

 

Really small bleed nipples worry me when I come across them, as said already they are keen to shear off.

 

An aside comment:- I bought a "re-manufactured  by Pagid" Lucas/TRW rear RHS brake calliper for my wife's 2015 VW Polo as the original RHS had seized up, bought it via Halfords, it looked well re-manufactured ie back to original condition. So, I had the idea to catch the rear LHS before it started seizing due to moisture ingress, so bought another Pagid one from Halfords - this one, at some time in its life had ended up with a stripped bleed nipple thread, so the M10 hole had been opened up to M12/M13 and a threaded repair insert had been fitted, but its internal thread was M7 or M8 so I was ending up having one small bleed nipple on that car - in the end after a lot of huffing and puffing, I just handed it back to Halfords quoting "not re-manufactured back to original state" and added that I don't think that Pagid, or however Pagid uses to re-manufacture brake callipers are qualified to change any part of a safety related product.  Halfords said that they couldn't guarantee that the next one they supplied me would be any better!  Plan B is to, when the warmer weather turns up, remove the still okay rear LHS calliper, remove its piston and polish it and fit a new score seal and dust cover. So, thanks Pagid, you've forced me to actually service my own brake callipers to avoid them ending up seized - and I've even bought some new aluminium banjo bolt sealing washers - in case they are needed!

[nta16]

Remanufactured/refurbished/reconditioned - all depends on the state the original unit was in when sent in for work, who does the work, how well and how many times it might have been through the cycle.

 

I had a car that used lever arm dampers (unfortunately they weren't the same ones as used on contemporary London Taxis at the time) and recon ones were very cheap to buy, which was enough of a warning really but lots of people and garages bought them and fitted them, and I think for recon they probably got little more than a wipe over and respray and perhaps fresh (cheap as possible) oil in but I'd not be surprised if even that was missed out, then re-con price, retail supplier's uplift and VAT.  I'm sure some were worse condition that the worn dampers they replaced.  20 years later I saw the same dampers were being sold, bit higher prices but not by that much and people were still buying them.

 

[Natalie1982]

1 hour ago, rum4mo said:

I consider that proper use of swearing only comes with old/older age, it is definitely then as the world seems to be out to get you/me that it is really needed!

 

Flare nut spanners really should be used when connecting up pipes like at the ABS block, nowadays, I always "crack" the bleed nipples using a deep hex socket, and if I feel the need, the same when giving them a final slight "nip up".

 

Really small bleed nipples worry me when I come across them, as said already they are keen to shear off.

 

An aside comment:- I bought a "re-manufactured  by Pagid" Lucas/TRW rear RHS brake calliper for my wife's 2015 VW Polo as the original RHS had seized up, bought it via Halfords, it looked well re-manufactured ie back to original condition. So, I had the idea to catch the rear LHS before it started seizing due to moisture ingress, so bought another Pagid one from Halfords - this one, at some time in its life had ended up with a stripped bleed nipple thread, so the M10 hole had been opened up to M12/M13 and a threaded repair insert had been fitted, but its internal thread was M7 or M8 so I was ending up having one small bleed nipple on that car - in the end after a lot of huffing and puffing, I just handed it back to Halfords quoting "not re-manufactured back to original state" and added that I don't think that Pagid, or however Pagid uses to re-manufacture brake callipers are qualified to change any part of a safety related product.  Halfords said that they couldn't guarantee that the next one they supplied me would be any better!  Plan B is to, when the warmer weather turns up, remove the still okay rear LHS calliper, remove its piston and polish it and fit a new score seal and dust cover. So, thanks Pagid, you've forced me to actually service my own brake callipers to avoid them ending up seized - and I've even bought some new aluminium banjo bolt sealing washers - in case they are needed!

I may redo mine if I ever get the abs  light sorted I love my little car but over a grand for a new pump is ridiculous 🙃.

[Paws4Thot]

13 hours ago, nta16 said:

Halfords Advanced Flare Spanner - 9mm/11mm - £5.29

That's for brake line unions, not for bleed nipples.

[rum4mo]

4 hours ago, nta16 said:

Remanufactured/refurbished/reconditioned - all depends on the state the original unit was in when sent in for work, who does the work, how well and how many times it might have been through the cycle.

 

snip snip.

 

The thing, for me, is, any "man and/or his dog" can refurbish or recondition parts and offer them for sale, so prices do vary, for a respected brand like Pagid, to supply re-manufactured callipers with their own packaging, when brake friction parts is their core business - and they do supply as OEM in Europe, does to me suggest that they are to be trusted - remember TRW the company that now probably own the rights to manufacture Lucas callipers also sell re-manufactured brake callipers, as in deed maybe so do VW Group - this all makes sense as if the re-manufacturing is done to the correct standard then material like the body casting can be reused - same for many other items. Where this individual item failed to meet the mark, in my eyes, was in the standard of the threaded hole repair, now if that occurred prior to it passing in to the re-manufacturers then I would have expected that it was either rejected or re-worked in bring it back to as original standard - and it wasn't, and that was my concern. 

 

There are some people around, including me, that now and again has considered that they have reason to believe that ECP as the sole importer of Pagid branded items into UK, is willing to take some short cuts. This time I avoided contacting the UK sales team of Pagid and emailed Pagid's European contact and really just asked them if this sort of repair was acceptable as it was a change to another manufacturer's design of a safety related car part - surprise surprise I never got an answer, so I returned it to my supplier who was Halfords, once bitten, twice shy.

[rum4mo]

15 hours ago, nta16 said:

I've been happy with the Halfords Advanced stuff I've had.

 

6mm and 7mm Halfords Advanced Combination Spanner with Surface Drive Plus ("An average of 28% more torque before rounding on the open end") - £3.29  - https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/spanners-and-wrenches/halfords-advanced-combination-spanner-with-surface-drive-plus-712414.html

 

They don't do 6 or 7mm but do 11mm - Halfords Advanced Flare Spanner - 9mm/11mm - £5.29 - https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-tools/spanners-and-wrenches/halfords-professional-flare-spanner-228251.html

 

Good luck.

 

I agree, for most DIYers, there is a Halfords near by and if you are selective, you can end up buying suitable tools, all my 1/2" SQD sockets and spanners - ring and open ended, are Britool, but all my combination spanners and ratchet spanners are Halfords Advanced and surviving well like my Britool ones are.  My only concern was once buying a set of Halfords Advanced ratchet spanners - which have a lifetime guarantee - but bought via ebay which out a Halfords receipt - but years of use later they still work well, I saved enough doing that to justify buying them, but took a risk!

Edited 12 April by rum4mo

[Natalie1982]

Update bled the breaks, the back ones were 7ml  sprayed them cleaned and bled started the car  took it for a drive and abs went off.  I am over the moon she is finally now not lit up like a Christmas tree 🤣 thankyou everybody who helped.

[nta16]

17 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

That's for brake line unions, not for bleed nipples.

True but it could also be used on the bleeder valve and different spanners can give different opportunities of fit  and getting at and on to the fixings.  In the photo the area looks very open but often there's other stuff that gets in the way and can be difficult or a right PITA to get out of the way.

 

[nta16]

@rum4mo Pagid (Performance Braking at least) used to be at IIRC Leeming, N. Yorks until the at the time German overlords rationalised, or wotever they called it, their operations and their would have been some sort of expertise about (unless they'd already got rid of anyone that really knew, as of course brakes are not just on modern cars.  TDM Friction I know nothing about other than they own brand names like Pagid.

 

I sometimes had problems explaining to some posters on other forums, from Tasmania and USA that despite living in a county formally of much engineering and still with much motorsport involvement that we don't have "shops" where you can borrow hand tools or take stuff in and get it machined unless you know the business owners and finding the right people to do good quality work isn't that easy and if you can they've already git more work than they want or need.  But as I put before I've never used our local familt business of EBC Brakes despite a mate knowing the family from the 1960s.  It seems in the 1960s everyone in motors port or that type of car trade knew everyone else and it wasn't all top executive corporate type because their business weren't huge.  Unfortunately these types are so old they either dead or long retired, though some still have sheds and unit they might still do a bit of work for themselves or their mates or those that can find them and can wait.

 

Motorsport isn't Fabia brakes but refurbing the brakes on a 1960s motorsport vehicle is the same and they may have the machinery and certainly the skills to do the job properly.  Packaging is just marketing and sales, the guy that can do the job properly probably wouldn't involve any packaging other than for posting and it'd probably smell of oil.  😊

 

I'd not worry about a receipt with the Halfords Advanced, I took a rachet back and I had the receipt but it wasn't asked for and the item swapped without question and as they didn't have the same one in stock I was given an upgrade (and the item wasn't faulty I later discovered just me not knowing how to use it).  I had some imperial rachet ring spanners, they were so good and at such good price over the next year or so I bought two mates the same set and later decided I ought to treat myself to a second set as they were so useful even though they'd be full price (I didn't have trade discount) but by then they'd stopped doing them all together.

 

Seeing the Britool on the bleed valve was a bit ironic, but of course Britool isn't Britool any more.  From decades back I had some Gedore spanners that I gave away and some other I was going to clear out and a mate said the older ones would be Germany made and good and later ones made in India and not so good and I remember one set definitely had Germany on them and sure enough when I looked at the two set I still had both were India.  😄

 

I've got a couple of late 1970s screwdriver that were "bottom draw('er)" purchases hardly used and when I thought I'd like some more of those in sizes I use because I prefer the grip on the handles and the better quality than the ones I can afford, I had a look on eBay and they're collectors items at silly prices, not to be used but just collected!  😄

 

[rum4mo]

@nta16, yes, such is "progress" TMD Friction in UK now is just Mintex I think - or were when I last had reason to contact their sales people concerning ECP being silly about some of the "short ranges" of "fit all" brake pads they stocked .

My Britool stuff mostly will now be almost 50 years old. Facom seemed to be a brand that people with money bought - but Toolstation sell a model/version of Facom that is/was really cheap for stuff including Facom in the product description - I've bought a few of their brand of sockets to have for specific "service" uses so that I keep my main socket set intact and "in waiting" for other jobs, silly really - maybe.

 

I bought a set of cheap Draper open ended spanners just to have in my nasty old Anglia van to deal with "running repairs", after I had upgraded to a used MK2 Escort 1.6 Ghia, I had a look at this set of Draper spanners - "made in India" - oh!  They were bought in a general accessories area in a "good old time honest" all brands local privately owned garage, not good! Also some Indian rascal had not been very observant when the blanks were getting their ends punched out, so some might have been strong enough and some definitely had not much strength, as in, lets say the 12mm/10mm intended blanks had maybe 8mm/6mm openings - and some were the other way round.  Anyway, as someone was dipping their hands in, or borrowing some of my tools at work, I swopped my works spanner set for these - and let thieving clowns clear them out of my tool box before asking for a new set, that sorted that problem out!