OP
@bigben avatar
UTC

Evil
p2, jet2, lml166
Joined: UTC
Posts: 666
Location: Philadelphia, United States
 
Evil
@bigben avatar
p2, jet2, lml166
Joined: UTC
Posts: 666
Location: Philadelphia, United States
UTC quote
wheeled the stella into the basement of my building (my new winter garage) and /attempted/ to bleed the disc brake to no avail.

brakes were spongy then later a total loss of pressure at the lever. the bleed valve was frozen but eventually let loose oozing out a bit of fluid over the disc itself, but when i put the hose for my vacuum-gun. any fluid that went from the valve through the hose was probably a result of the initial runoff.

pumping didnt work, the old fashion way of slowly closing the valve, pumping at the lever to pressurized, and opening up - but nothings working. i was at it for about an hour and didn't manage to get an even a half an ounce of fluid out total.

i considered removing the brake line from the caliper but it too was frozen and i didn't try and force it. also, the bleed valve's stripping (not the thread) due to it being stuck.

thoughts/experience? cracked brake line, shot MC?
@subetherbass avatar
UTC

Ossessionato
1997 Italjet Formula 125, 2 matching N.Z. '69 VBC Super, 177cc Racer, VespaCross Bodge, Puch SRA150, Piaggio Zip 100! & others
Joined: UTC
Posts: 4721
Location: Australa, Mate
 
Ossessionato
@subetherbass avatar
1997 Italjet Formula 125, 2 matching N.Z. '69 VBC Super, 177cc Racer, VespaCross Bodge, Puch SRA150, Piaggio Zip 100! & others
Joined: UTC
Posts: 4721
Location: Australa, Mate
UTC quote
bleeding? they never do, nope, never... or a pain in the arse at least!
UTC

parallelogramerist
Joined: UTC
Posts: 5036
 
parallelogramerist
Joined: UTC
Posts: 5036
UTC quote
Since you removed the cover off of the master cylinder that's on the handlebars to make sure that the fluid is topped off, I would completely remove the bleeder bolt that's located on the brake caliper and make sure that the hole in the bleeder bolt isn't corroded shut. I have come across many (well over 10) bleeder bolts that have lost the rubber nipple cover and have had rust, dirt, mud, tiny rocks, grit, and slivers of wood impacted in the bleeder bolt hole. So much so that I've had to use a drill bit and compressed air to clean them out so that they would work again. Granted, it's not as common on a 2 wheeler as compared to a car or truck which normally sees thousands of more road/offroad miles. If the bleeder bolt is that corroded, cleaning is only a temporary fix. Replace the bolt and rubber nipple with a new one, and brush a little bit of Anti-Seize on the threads.
@ginch avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
74 Super, 75 Super, PX project, LML off-roader and '66 Blue Badge Smallframe
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8595
Location: Victoria, Australia
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@ginch avatar
74 Super, 75 Super, PX project, LML off-roader and '66 Blue Badge Smallframe
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8595
Location: Victoria, Australia
UTC quote
I guess you could try blanking off the outlet from the master cylinder. Then if it was still spongy you'd know that the m/c seals were toast.

There is a banjo connector you can buy that has a bleed nipple in it. That way you can bleed the line at both ends.
OP
@bigben avatar
UTC

Evil
p2, jet2, lml166
Joined: UTC
Posts: 666
Location: Philadelphia, United States
 
Evil
@bigben avatar
p2, jet2, lml166
Joined: UTC
Posts: 666
Location: Philadelphia, United States
UTC quote
Heres a vid for some potential clarity.

Didn't seem like the bleeder valve/bolt was stuck, though the rubber bit was def off. I've got to place an order through SWorks anyway, hopefully they'll sell that part and not try and give me some guff.
@niz76 avatar
UTC

Hooked
1980 Vespa P200E
Joined: UTC
Posts: 199
Location: Tampa, FL
 
Hooked
@niz76 avatar
1980 Vespa P200E
Joined: UTC
Posts: 199
Location: Tampa, FL
UTC quote
I have bled scoot systems with the "coke bottle method" but found sometimes the master cylinder just doesn't wanna pump... The very first vid I found the guy says some smaller motorcycles/scoots won't pump well enough to bleed the system from top down so now I always bleed/flush (simultaneously) from the bottom up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex-evh2g1O0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBk00597EyE
UTC

Hooked
Joined: UTC
Posts: 246
 
Hooked
Joined: UTC
Posts: 246
UTC quote
Easy if the bleed bottles don't work
Fluid in,Zip tie your brake lever over night,the little bubbles of air causing that spongy feeling will form into a big bubble which will rise up the hose,release the lever in the morning,done
@ginch avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
74 Super, 75 Super, PX project, LML off-roader and '66 Blue Badge Smallframe
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8595
Location: Victoria, Australia
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@ginch avatar
74 Super, 75 Super, PX project, LML off-roader and '66 Blue Badge Smallframe
Joined: UTC
Posts: 8595
Location: Victoria, Australia
UTC quote
niz76 wrote:
I have bled scoot systems with the "coke bottle method" but found sometimes the master cylinder just doesn't wanna pump... The very first vid I found the guy says some smaller motorcycles/scoots won't pump well enough to bleed the system from top down so now I always bleed/flush (simultaneously) from the bottom up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex-evh2g1O0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBk00597EyE
That bottom up method makes so much sense, thanks for the link. I have a vacuum pump thing but that looks way better.
@joshzingzing avatar
UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
px200 cutdown,px180,px150. Puch SR. Puch scooterette
Joined: UTC
Posts: 5109
Location: west aus
 
Veni, Vidi, Posti
@joshzingzing avatar
px200 cutdown,px180,px150. Puch SR. Puch scooterette
Joined: UTC
Posts: 5109
Location: west aus
UTC quote
dont forget the bleeder valve is at the top of the caliper

if you trying to bleed using the hose connecta nothing will happen

pump lever loosen bleeder and tighten all in one motion, use yr right arm on the bleedrer n lefty on the lever.

after youve done that enough to get the caliper half working, seal everything up and pump the lever a few times n it should hold the pressure.

bit different to a car but never had a problem doing that method on a px
DoubleGood Design banner

Modern Vespa is the premier site for modern Vespa and Piaggio scooters. Vespa GTS300, GTS250, GTV, GT200, LX150, LXS, ET4, ET2, MP3, Fuoco, Elettrica and more.

Buy Me A Coffee
 

Shop on Amazon with Modern Vespa

Modern Vespa is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com


All Content Copyright 2005-2024 by Modern Vespa.
All Rights Reserved.


[ Time: 0.0370s ][ Queries: 3 (0.0132s) ][ Debug on ][ 313 ][ Thing One ]