Capri - Brake Bleed

On the drive to Ipswich on the weekend in my green Deluxe, I wasn't real happy with the brakes as I seemed to have to pump them at times. It has been worrying me for some time, not so much that it is a real safety issue but the fact that my white Capri has a really good firm brake pedal. Also, on the way home the brakes were squealing nearly every time they were applied. So, I had  a free day and it was time to bleed the complete brake system & have a look at the front disc pads.
Firstly, I drained the master cylinder, making sure the paint work was protected as that brake fluid marks the paint really quickly. That didn't take long but revealed a lot of gunk in the bottom of both chambers. Getting it out was not that easy but sucking it up with a plastic filler got most of it, then I modified the end of the vacuum cleaner & sucked up all the rubbish. Using a small rag on the end of a screwdriver, I cleaned it all as well as I could. I really didn't want to remove the plastic chamber from the metal main section of the master cylinder as I have had problems with refitting it.



Next step was to jack up the car & have a look at all the brakes, front & back. I find it easier to take off all the wheels so I can get to the bleeder screws. None of the corners seem to have any leaks which was a good sign. I then removed the front disc pads as I wanted to apply some anti squeal grease to them. Both the disc pads & the rear linings had plenty left on them so no need to replace anything.
Then I attached plastic hoses with containers to the three bleed points, both front & rear left, undid the bleeder screws and let all the fluid drain.



While these were draining, I cleaned all the components on each wheel with compressed air. This blew a lot of rubbish out of the discs & the rear covers.
Then, using the Bendix lubricant (as per the attached photo) on the back of each disc pad, I refitted the disc pads.
Next step was to reconnect the brake lines to the master cylinder, top it up with new fluid & then let it run through to each of the corners with the bleeder screws left open. This took a few minutes and then I tightened all the bleeder screws. I have a one person bleeder hose, so I did one round with this on each corner. Next was the call for help to the home maker. I asked my good wife to do it the old fashioned way & after two rounds again of her pushing in the pedal, I was pretty happy with the pedal pressure. I haven't yet given it a really good test on the road yet, so I am interested to see if the pedal holds up & the brakes have stopped squealing.
I love old cars!!
Until the next little task!