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MG MGA - Brake bleeding, etc.

I replaced the brake hoses in my 1500 (all drums) recently. The old hoses were literally coming apart inside and clogging themselves. Now that I've completed the project I am experiencing a strange issue.

In the past when my brakes weren't bled properly, pumping them would stiffen the pedal. Now however, the brakes feel fantastic when I first hit them, but soften with use. It isn't a heating issue because it happens during normal city driving. Not using the brakes for a bit returns them to a perfect, stiff pedal.

Is this a bleeding issue, a MC issue or perhaps debris in the system somewhere? I've bled the brakes three times with my EZ Bleed kit using an entire tall bottle of fluid.

Last thing I noticed is that the fluid was not coming out of the bleed screws as fast as I would normally expect. It was very slow actually, and I had to have my wife/assistant push the brake pedal a few times to help the process along.
Steve Simmons

Hi Steve

It must be so nice to have a willing mechanical helper!

Have you checked for leaks?

If no leaks, then this is a sign of an internal leak in the master cylinder, you need to replace the seals and make sure that they are all correctly seated.

Dominic
dominic clancy

No leaks I can detect in the lines and hoses. Darn, I really didn't want to remove that bloody thing from the car. I've heard it can be a real pain. Well, that's the only area of the car with a rust problem anyway so I guess I can take care of that at the same time.
Steve Simmons

Hoo ha. I'm there, doing that now. It is a pita.
Wray Lemke

This thread was discussed between 21/10/2005 and 23/10/2005

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.