All about BMW: BMW DIY, BMW series, BMW photos, BMW reviews...

Bleeding brakes on BMW e34

The Bmw E34/E32 brakes fluid should be flush and bled every year. Brake fluid mixes with the water in the air and become corrosive. It is the best time to switch to ATE super Blue and to bleed the clutch cylinders if you have a 5 speeds transmission.
Brake fluid corrodes paint and metal, wash with water if you spill some.

Calipers are always bled in this order: rear right, rear left, front right, front left. The farthest of the reservoir first and the farthest last.

Failure syndromes:
• Car pulling on one side during braking.
• Spongy brake pedal.
• Boiling brake fluid at the track.

Two persons procedure - no pressure/power bleeder
  • 7mm closed end wrench for bleed screw.
  • New brake fluid.
  • Your husband/wife or a buddy.
  • Clean syringe & transparent hose.

1. Remove the old brake fluid in the reservoir with the clean syringe Fill up the reservoir with new fluid. Watch closely the level, if it drops too low, you will pull air into the brake system and the ABS will have to be professionally bled.
2. You can remove the wheels on your car or just turn them and slide underneath your car to bleed the calipers. The cleanest way is to plug a clear hose to the caliper bleed screw and let the end of the hose into a container.
3. Have your helper pump the brake pedal 5-10 times and hold it down.
4. Move to the caliper you want to bleed, turn the bleed screw and let the old fluid flow out until it loses its pressure. Close the screw before air flows back in the hose. Have the helper pumping again the open the bleed screw. Repeat until the new fluid flows out without bubbles. Don't forget to watch closely the level in the brake reservoir.
5. Move to the next caliper and repeat the bleeding procedure until all 4 calipers are bleed.
6. Locate the slave cylinder in the right hand side of the transmission housing and bleed it the same way (using the clutch pedal). Top off and close the brake reservoir.

If you bleed your brakes and there is still air trapped: ask your friend to pump the pedal rapidly 5 or 6 time and then stand on the pedal as hard as he can. Then you open the bleeder valve and close when the pedal is on the floor. Sometimes it takes more pressure and rapid movement to get trapped air pockets out. Repeat this procedure a few times on each wheel in the specified order . Make sure you have your bleeder hose and bottle hooked up because it can come out under quite a bit of pressure this way. On a lot of Gm products this is the only way to get all the air out. (Thanks to Bill R.)

One person procedure
  • 7mm closed end wrench for bleed screw.
  • New brake fluid.
  • Power or pressure bleeder, or pressure source + special cap.
  • Clean syringe & transparent hose.

1. The procedure is the same as above except that you use air pressure instead of a helper.
2. Place the special pressure cap into the brake reservoir.
3. Apply 10-12 Psi (0.7-0.8 bar) pressure to the reservoir cap.
4. Move to the caliper you want to bleed and turn the bleed screw until the new fluid flows without bubbles. Don't forget to watch closely the level in the brake reservoir.
5. Move to the next caliper and repeat the bleeding procedure until all 4 calipers are bleed.
6. Locate the slave cylinder in the right hand side of the transmission housing and bleed it the same way. Top off and close the brake reservoir.