Hi,

So a few weeks ago I was driving around in the country side and suddenly I lost brakes in my font driver side. Assumed it to be a stuck caliper or a bad hose. stopped and checked for leaks none found. but I ordered new zimmerman rotors and TRW ceramic pads all around changed everything. Since INPA would not connect to DSC_60PP I had to try the old fashioned way and started bleeding RL,RR,FL,FR. This is the procedure I followed.
Roommate helped in pumping the pedal while I closed and opened the bleed screw accordingly. No air and new fluid came out. stopped and ran the ABS bleed in ISTA went well, got a few bubbles out of RL,RR,FL.
This is where the problem starts when I tried to bleed the FR. I removed the hose and no fluid in the hose and nothing leaking from the pipe. First Red Flag.
I changed out the hose and topped up the reservoir again ( it never went lower than half. never let it touch min line ) No matter how many times I pump the brakes no air coming out nothing using ISTA as well. So I took the hose out again to see if there is any fluid at the tip of the pipe. There was just a tiny drop of fluid that would try to come out and go back in every time the brakes were pumped. I hooked up the hose back again and tried bleeding several times. No fluid coming out. I do not know if air is coming out since no fluid in line and cannot see air bubbles.
I am using ATE type 200 fluid and hoses from FCP EURO.
Please help.
My next plan is to build a power bleeder using garden sprayer. I was at a junkyard recently and took the reservoir cap from another E60 so I think that should not be an issue.
Any advise and suggestions is welcome.
Also the pedal is really firm. both when trying to bleed and in the test drive.
TIA

 

Try to do a gravity bleed on that side. Just loosen and leave it for about 10 mins and see what happens. Does the DSC activate when bleeding that side.

 

Either something is clogged, there's a leak somewhere or just a ton of air in the line.

 

yes, the dsc does activate. I removed the rubber hose that connects to the caliper and ran the DSC to see if any fluid comes out, there is a small amount of fluid on the top of the line that tries to come out but goes back in once the DSC bleed cycle is complete.

 

I am not sure how it could get clogged ? There is no leak since the fluid was almost max before I started the bleed process. the fluid was almost black. Not sure how air could have entered the system to that an extent. I am going to try power bleeder and see if that helps.
Any idea on how to check for clogged lines ?

 

Its probably not clogged if you see fluid exiting during the bleed.

 

I can see a very small amount as in just a drop on the top of the hard line. It comes out and goes back in. there is probably some pressure in there, I am not sure though. Just to eliminate air issue I am going to do a pressure bleed and then decide if I have to take out all the hard lines...!!!

 

Hi,
I tried vacuum bleeding today using the vacuum bleeder from harbor freight. it held good vacuum and no fluid came out. I disconnected the hard line at the abs pump and lost all the vacuum. this leads me to conclude that the pipes are not bad. I pumped the break pedal with the line removed from the abs pump. pedal is hard as rock and no fluid comes out. even with engine running I cannot get any fluid to come out of the abs pump. Is there any way to rebuild that or any kind of repair ? I am looking at a junk yard to see if I can get a used pump to replace mine.
please advice..

 

The pump is a simple replacement. I did it on a 750Li years ago. Took me no more than 30 mins.

 

Thank you. I found a 2010 535i in my local Pick N Pull. Can I use that pump ? or does it have to be from a 528i ?