[Birdog]

Howdy

I am planning on putting better pads and brakes fluid into/onto my GP, was at a trackday recently and the brakes got a bit spongy after a while.

I have read the haynes manual for the cooper and it looks straight forward enough, but I`d like to check some stuff.

Fluid :
Top the brake fluid resevoir to the max, open the first bleed nut and pump the brakes pedal until the new brake fluid can be seen squirting from the valve, then seal the bleed nut.
Do this on all four corners, one at a time and never let the resevoir empty as this will allow air into the system.
Is this correct ?

Pads:
The only bit I`l not sure about is moving the caliper piston, the book say clamp the pipe feeding the caliper, open the bleed nut then puch the piston in. is it as easy as it states in the book ?
Whats the best thing to use to clamp the pipe, I dont want to damage it ? could I damage it ?
The book also says to use a g-clamp or "piece of wood" to lever the piston in ?

Are there any special tools needed/recommended to complete these jobs, the book mentions a brake bleeding kit ?

Any help is, as ever, much appreciated

Thankyou very much

[grant watson]

just did my brakes last weekend.. yep your right, to change the fluid type I would make sure you buy plenty of fluid so that you can properly flush all the old fluid out..

as far as the pads go, as long as you leave the fluid reservoir cap open you can then leaver the front pads in with a c-clamp and wood, (or 2 screwdrivers as I did at the time) the rears are a little tougher, but needle nose pliers are great for pushing and rotating the rear piston..

my brakes feel so much better after a good bleed, we made sure we pumped the brake pedal 7-8 times on average for each caliper, we also tightened the bleed nipple when we finished the pumping of the pedal on the fully pressed in.. dont think that's really required thou...

[johnmdanskin]

I have been unable to find aftermarket pads for the JCW brakes. Carbotech will stick material onto your old backing plates. I'll probably go this route if I don't end up going to a big brake kit.

I had spongy brakes on my GP until I:
a) made the decorative brake ducts real. (with a pen-knife. SHHHH. You can't tell from the outside.)
b) switched to motul 600 at $17 for 16oz. This is actually incredibly cheap for a substantial upgrade in brake function.

Neither of these matter unless you are at the track or habitually drag your brakes down the rockies.

I am currently trying to find stainless brakelines for the JCW brakes. If I really can't find these (no luck so far), this could be what pushes me into a big brake kit. I'm finding the JCWs grabby relative to 4-piston brembos, but I could live with that. I am truly uneasy with rubber brake lines at the track however.

[Hobbe]

I've got stainless brakelines on my GP (front and rear).
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Any reputable aftermarket dealer should be able to help you out.
Using ATE Blue brake fluid, have done my brake ducts, but still waiting on my Carbotech front pads (rear fitted).