Tremelune

Very frustrating. Got the car up, got the Motive on, didn't have a wrench smaller than 10mm...Adjustable wouldn't turn it, pliers wouldn't turn it. I sprayed some WD-40 on there, but now it's dark and I might as well get the right wrench tomorrow.

Just to be absolutely sure, what size crescent do I need? It's the same for the clutch slave, yes?

I've got the car level. I've read you should raise the back for the rear brakes and the clutch, but I'm hoping it's unecessary with the Motive.

qoncept944

I'm not sure what size they are as mine were stripped to the point that no wrench would turn them, but I'd guess 7 or 8mm. I used vice grips.

944smitty

Mine were different sizes, think the fronts & clutch slave were smaller than the rear (probably 7mm & 8mm as qoncept944 suggested). Two were so gunked up they wouldn't bleed with the Motive. Had to remove them & clean the holes with a paper clip and carb cleaner.
The vice grips are sure handy for stubborn ones

944Play

My rears are 7mm, fronts are 8mm, clutch is 7mm.

IIRC. YMMV.

Tremelune

Truly is this annoying, but thanks. I can't wait to pull the calipers off unexpectedly. Yay.

One day, one day I'll own a car that's only five years old. And a lift.

Dave in Chicago

7mm & 8mm. If the bleed screws are really old and crusty, they are easy and cheap to replace. I did mine with the Motive hooked up and worked fast to minimize spill. Also, the little rubber caps for them are cheap and very practical (keeps the bleed hole clean AND holds the wires for your pad wear sensors).

I think I've kinda mixed and matched mine, so I just try the 7 each time, switch up to the 8 when it doesn't fit.

On your 84, you can probably do all corners and the clutch if you drive the car up on ramps in the front (I use those black "Rhino" plastic ramps). I disconnect the negative terminal after finding out how the 7mm wrench makes a dandy conductor for the starter hot side. One liter of fluid will displace the whole system. Take your time on the clutch bleed, it probably hasn't been off the car more than a couple of times. If you loosen it too much, you will suck air into the clutch slave and have to spend a while getting it out.

Other than all that, it's fast. I can do all 5 bleed points in about 25 minutes or so.

Tremelune

Yeah, that sounds like a plan. All of my caps are in place in in good order. The clutch was actually bled recently (I think I used a now missing pair of vice grips), I just want to put in the same Ate blue stuff...plus, I lowered the level again, so...

Tremelune

I cajoled my friend into giving me a ride to Sears, got a 7mm wrench and an 8mm wrench and promptly stripped the bolt.

Now I need to go buy a pair of vice grips.

Awsome.

944Play

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Dave Swanson:
<strong>On your 84, you can probably do all corners and the clutch if you drive the car up on ramps in the front </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">I would NOT bleed the clutch with the front raised! Two reasons:
1. The clutch bleed screw is at the back of the slave cylinder. To evacuate the air, you want the bleed screw to be higher than the rest of the cylinder.
2. Apparently this applies more to the 85/2+ reservoirs, but the fluid supply runs dry much sooner if the front is raised.

I just bled my clutch with a $5 Kragen-sourced "one man brake bleeding kit" with absolutely no problems; I raised the rear wheels onto about a foot of wood blocks. I do not remove the starter, but I do disconnect the battery!

The one time I tried to bleed the clutch with the FRONT raised, it immediately sucked in air that I could not evacuate, not with aforementioned one man kit, not with the oil-pump-can reverse-purge method. I wasted a whole quart of brake fluid (and spilled enough on myself to turn my hands pruny) until I raised the rear of the car! After that, the bubbles marched right out of the system.

I will harp on this forever: no one needs a vacuum bleeder, speed bleeders, or a pressure bleeder to easily bleed a 944!

ELLSSUU

Trem, if you don't have a set I highly recommend a set of Flare Wrenches for these jobs. They will not strip the bolts like a crescent will. Get them from Sears or Snap-on for future useage.

Tremelune

Well, success. Pedals don't feel any better, but they don't feel worse, so I guess it was a success...I hope it does something, 'cause that was a pain. Needed to be done though, much gunk.

On to the fuel filter...

F18Rep

I had this same problem, its been a few weeks ago but I think I dug up a deep socket that fit. Have gone down the vice grip road too though (in my VW days), that ended with a new caliper. Porsche is so good about sticking to 10mm, why not here? I've gotten spoiled.

One other OT comment about Vice-Grip (a french company I belive and consequently on my "byte-me list"), for years thier tool has been clearly the better made choice over the imitations but lately have noticed the imitations are getting pretty good, walmart's chinese version is a very good value (~$3.50). Check it out. Just an observation - not affiliated. Tools from Wally World? On a Porsche? Blasphemer!

RI951

Just bled the brakes yesterday on a stock '86 951 I am considering buying. I believe I used an 11 mm socket to break the bleeder valves loose, then just used a crescent wrench to open and close the valve on each wheel. Did not jack the car up at all... the back wheels weren't too hard to get to, and the front wheels I was able to bleed thru one of the holes in the phone dial wheel, using a universal joint on the 1/4" drive ratchet. Was careful not to get fluid on the wheels, but all in all, a pretty easy job. I'm pretty sure it was an 11 mm wrench, 'cuz I naturally don't own an 11 mm box end wrench (yet); I did have 10 and 12 mm wrenches...

Used the old fashioned method of 2nd person in car pumping the brakes, with myself at the bleeder valve. Am going to buy a MityVac system, though. See www.mityvac.com for info. The usual disclaimer...

Pat

va944

I always first free the bleeder with a 6-sided deep socket. There's no way to strip it with that, unless it's already badly damaged.

Then, once it's freed, even an open wrench will do for the bleeding operation.

Skip Wolfe

RI951,

I would strongly urge you to check out the Motive Power bleeder before getting the Mity-Vac. I have used both and the Motive is much nicer to use.