Please Help! Ongoing Brake Problem

[Tuccy]

Guys is there a way to disable or bypass the abs system on my willy3 ?
im almost at the point of banging my head of the wall with my brakes

it all started ages ago just after i bought the car.
basicially what happens is this:
if i press my brake pedal it does right to the floor with very little effort and the brakes dont really apply, it only slows the car very gently, if i press the pedal to the floor then release it and press it again immediately i get brakes that are excellent, ie first press of the pedal nothing really happens, but on second press brakes are like amazingly good.

ive bled the brakes, this seems to cure the problem for a few days or maby a week before if starts being silly again, ive completely drained the brake fluid and replaced it with new stuff, same thing happens, temporary fix only, ive replaced my master cylinder with a new one, still the same thing, im NOT loosing fluid anywhere, no leaks anywhere, ive clamped all the flexi lines to check the new master cylinder but it seems ok, ive stripped all the callibre`s and freed them all up, this hasnt helped either.. im simply lost as to what is causing this..

all bleed nipples are tight, but could the brake system be drawing air through the threads of the brake nipples, should i remove them and copper thread grease them?

Having said this the pedal does NOT feel spongie like it would if there was air in the system which is a contradiction because if i bleed the system it temporarly cures the prob lol

would the equaliser valve on the rear of the car being set wrong cause this prob? should i re-adjust the equaliser valve? im asking this because the car was lowered when i got it and i havnt checked if the valve was set to suit the lowering...

also ive fitted all new brake pads all round on the car too..

please help its driving me nuts here :(

any ideas are much appreciated.. and a big thankyou in advance for any suggestions or ideas

[northy]

im having trouble too with my rear brakes on my 3 mate, no matter what i do i carnt get the drivers rear to bleed. Its not even getting to the caliper....further investigations are needed on my part.

Is your abs working ok pal ?

[BristolSam16v]

Sounds a bit like the caliper isnt in contact with the pad so on the first press it makes contact 2nd press you get full effect?

[Tuccy]

im having trouble too with my rear brakes on my 3 mate, no matter what i do i carnt get the drivers rear to bleed. Its not even getting to the caliper....further investigations are needed on my part.

Is your abs working ok pal ?

hey northy how do i tell if the abs is working ok,?? sorry if that seems like a silly question

if i was to jump on my brakes (TWICE at the min lol) it feels like there is a
virrbating feeling coming through the brake pedal, although ive never managed to lock any of the wheels, dunno if this is because my abs is working or just because my brakes are really bad and just aint workin

[northy]

abs = anti lock brakes.

So if its working at normal braking they will feel normal

Hard braking the pedal will vibrate as the abs stops the wheels from locking.

There is a fuse to disable the system though but u need it functional for mot tests

the pedal should not need pumping. when u have been doing the bleeding as u keepin the fluid topped up and no air comes out ?

what method of bleeding are u doing

[Tuccy]

yeah northy i feel the vibrating in my pedal under hard braking so i may assume my abs is working...

i have tried two ways of bleeding,
the first way i started with the wheel closest to the master cylinder and worked away from the cylinder ending with the furthest wheel away from it.

and then when the problem reoccured about a week later i did the same thing but this time i started with the wheel furthest away from the master cylinder and worked my way round each wheel till i ended with the wheel closest to the master cylinder..
at all times i was very very careful to keep the resivoir topped up.

ive tried the two person bleedind ie me bleeding the nipples while a friend pressed the pedal for me. and ive bought a oneway bleed pipe and bled them myself too

im puzzeled with this lol

[Tuccy]

i removed the abs fuse you mentioned northy and tried my brakes, its just the same with the fuse removed

[MAXIBOY]

hi mate

have you put a dial gauge on the discs and checked for run out and are all wheel bearings in good condition.

new to make sure the discs aren,t warped..

[drsmith1979]

i have a brand new willy 3 (abs) rear bias valve boxed from renault, had it on special order as we couldnt bleed the passenger rear caliper, however, after it settled over a day, it bled fine. cant take it back as it was special order. i think they are nearly £100 from Renault, if anyone wants a shiny new one, you can have it for £80.

Northy if you want it i can deliver

[Tuccy]

hi mate

have you put a dial gauge on the discs and checked for run out and are all wheel bearings in good condition.

new to make sure the discs aren,t warped..

i will check now as have borrowed a dial guage from my dad, so i will post my findings a bit later. this guage measures in 0.01mm segments so it should be very accurate, is there a rough quide as to what measurments would be acceptable and which would not?

many thanks for all the help and suggestions so far guys i really appreciate your help :D