Xsara Brakes

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Simon H
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Xsara Brakes

Post by Simon H »

Hello All
My dad has his Xsara (soon to be mine!) serviced at an independent garage last week. A brake fluid change was carried out and as I was visiting that day I went out in the car just to check it out for him. The brake pedal seemed to have a lot of travel , in fact more than I remember it ever having and not nearlly as 'firm'feeling as the brake pedal on my ZX, all indicating some air left in the system. Anyway I told my dad to take it back and the garage re-bled the system and said that all was OK. I live quite some distance from my parents but will see them again next week, and will check out the car again. If the pedal still feels 'soft' I think I shall do the job myself, so my Q is can any one give me the bleed procedure for a Xsara2 with ABS. Any comments much appreciated.
Regards
Simon H
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MW
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Post by MW »

Depending on what work they've done, it could be just that the self-adjusters haven't ratcheted themselves back to the position you're used to. I had a similar sensation on my Xant after a front brake overhaul, and it was so soft that for a while I thought the calipers were sticking. But after a couple of hundred miles and a few standing-on-brakes experiments (deliberate ones, in safe conditions!) it was all back to normal. Worth a try.
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Post by JohnD »

If new fluid has been put in, bleeding should be done like so: 1. Right hand rear, 2. left hand front, 3. left hand rear and 4. right hand front. Before bleeding, remove the reservoir cap and keep a check on the level.
Simon H
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Post by Simon H »

Many thanks guys, one thought, perhaps they bled the system with the handbrake on (!?).
Regards
Simon H
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Post by madasafish »

Has it ABS?
Simon H
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Post by Simon H »

Yes it does.
Simon H
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Post by madasafish »

Have you bled the ABS ? Often separate bleeding required. (PS I am sorry I have no idea how on a Xsara)
Stuart McB
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Post by Stuart McB »

First you have to ask yourself, is the car slowing down as you press the pedle? does braking become more as the pedle is pressed? if the answer is yes to either then the brakes are fine. I seem to remember that the ABS can't be 'bled' seperatly on the Xsara. One other thing having had 2 Xsara VTR's both Mk1's the braking was incredibly soft but effective. Almost delayed action you might say.
Simon H
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Post by Simon H »

Thanks Stuart
I will check the Xsara out next week, the brakes did work, just with excessive travel. In fact after posting I remembered that I burned up a few spare euros on my last France trip and purchased a rather excellent manual by Revue Technique (www.etai.fr) for the car (no Haynes manual is available for the Xsara2). Obviuously it is in french but technical language and diagrams are fairly translatable! Anyway it says that if possible the brakes should be pressure bled using apparatus set at 2-bar, I have a one-man bleed kit which I would have thought would be OK, the bleed procedure being rear right, rear left, front right then front left. I will post again next week to let you know how it went!
Regards
Simon H
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