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Posted by: JohnO
Interesting... my 02 500i has a similar problem, have to pump the brake handle three times to get full pressure.
If you have excessive movement in a front wheel, that would push the caliper slave piston in, which would explain why it takes a few pumps to get brake pressure - you're reseating the piston in the caliper. If that is the case, then all the bleeding in the world won't solve it, because you don't have air in the lines.
Another test you could run is to pump the brakes up, let it sit for a minute, then try them. If you still have full pressure without moving the quad, it's almost certainly the wheel bearing, as without movement, the disc can't wobble and push the slave piston back in. If there was air in the lines, you'd have to pump them back up whether the quad was moving or not.
Looks like I'll be jacking my 500 up and checking the front wheels.
Posted by: swampyjunior
Sounds exactly like what happens when I get small rocks in the holes in my disks and it goes around and hit the pads pushing them out and then when I hit the braked it takes a few pumps to get brakes. I usually accelerate and pile drive the brakes a few times and it crushes the rocks and throws them out. Only happened a couple of times though but it is really strange when it does. I could see why excessive wheel play would cause the same thing.
Swampy
Posted by: cataway
which 400 are you talking about ? more than likely its air in the system, it can be hard to get out .
i'm still not overly impressed with mine but it is getting better
Posted by: mudslinginfool
ive had mine in the shop 5 times under warrenty for this problem. the only time its ever been fixed is when i myself put new brake pads on it. this only lasts for a bout a year though. then back to squeasing several times.
Posted by: Junkman673
my brakes suck too. I'm pretty sure the master cylinder is going bad. It cost 100.00 so I'm trying to make do with what I've got.
Posted by: Liteshow
HI,
Looks like my brakes are getting from bad to worst. When I first squeeze the brake lever , it would go almost to the handle bar, sometime, the brake lever would reach the handle bar and the brakes haven't fully grabbed. I almost always have to re-squeeze a couple of times before the brakes work. Almost got into a serious accident once.
I've even changed all 3 brake bleed valves, refreshed the reservoir with fresh brake fluid and bled the brakes twice. It has not improved. I have also noticed that the brake lever has to travel quite a bit before the brakes grab.
What should I look for next? Does this sound like a bad master cylinder? What do you guys think?
Dennis
Posted by: Liteshow
It's the 2003 400 FIS Auto.
I've tried to bleed the brakes several times before in the last few months but don't seem to improve. Just lately (this weekend) I changed the bleeder screws (all 3 of them) and re-bled - it only seem to get worst.
The other thing I noticed is the brake lever play. There is so much travel before the brakes actually grab. I don't mind if the brakes feel spongy but it bothers me that I have to squeeze the lever a considerable distance before it grabs.
Maybe I am bleeding it wrong? The repair manual (for the 2006 model though) specificially says to bleed from the nearest brake caliper to the furthers. I always thought it was supposed to be the other way around - furthers to nearest. I have tried bleeding it both ways but the results seem identical.
I'm a little lost as what to do next. Any advice?
Dennis
Posted by: Liteshow
I may have narrowed down the problem. I jacked up the front and notice my right front wheel wiggles alot. I removed the tire and a lot of play between the disk and the pads. Read in other posts and guys were saying that it could be a loose bearing that cause the play in the brakes pads and disc - leading to excessive play in the brake lever and needing to pump the brakes repeately before it grabs.
This probably explains why I wasn't able to bleed it properly. It could be a combination of other problems (E.g bad master) but definetely the loose bearing is causing problems.
How difficult is it to replace a bearing?? Any advice?
Dennis
