3 amigos -- GONE! Pics--may be slow to load.
#1
3 amigos -- GONE! Pics--may be slow to load.
After months of procrastination, I finally did the shuttle-valve replacement a few weeks back. Swapped the shuttlevalve (from a kit purchased from Atlantic British), had a local shop reset the ABS fault code. It's been over 1000 miles, so I'm cautiously optimistic that I saved some $2300 over what the dealer wanted. (But I did originally have the dealer scan the code, who traced it to the modulator. Of course, they wanted to stick a brand new unit on the car. Thanks, amigo, but no thanks).
Pretty straightforward job, overall. Here's the picture of the removed Modulator and the new shuttle valve kit. The shuttle valve attaches to the bottom of the ABS modulator unit. Removal of the ABS modulator unit is not complicated. All you need are 11mm and 13mm wrenches. Mine weren't on that tight. The specs call for 14 Nm for 11mm nuts, and 22 Nm for 13mm nuts.
Here's a picture of the old vs. new shuttle valves. Those hex screws to attach the shuttle valves to the modulator were pretty darn hard to turn. I think the spec calls for only 3Nm, but since the screws have those non-slip coat on (I don't know what the technical term is for that), it makes is super hard to turn. BTW, the kit comes with new screws, so you don't have to worry about stripping them. Clearly, the old one looks kinda grimy. PO told me that the 3 amigos came on after he had Wal-mart guys change the brake pads. Hmmm....could it be possible, however unlikely, that they didn't loosen the bleed valve before pushing the caliper pistons back???? Stay away from wal-mart, guys (for car service that is).
This is what the modulator unit looked like after the shuttle valve unit was removed. I cleaned it out prior to installation of the new one:
Here's the new shuttle valve all installed:
You know, they say "don't allow the brake fluid to contact painted surfaces"? Believe it. I had a bunch of shop towels below the ABS modulator unit when I removed it, but apparently not enough. Check out the bare spots! Learn from my mistake--there's no such thing as too much protection. In retrospect, I probably should have gotten one of those plastic sheets that the painters use, and placed it under the unit. Oh well. Too late for me:
Here's the modulator all installed:
Now, it's time to bleed the brakes. I used Valvoline synthetic DOT4 fluid. I went ahead and purchased a "Motive Products" bleeder to avoid grief from my wife (and from my 10 year old, for that matter). But I found that Disco's brake fluid reservior is too wide for their "adaptor to fit most imported cars", so I created this contraption to make if work. Not elegant, I know, but it worked and I had the materials and tools handy to make it:
Here is the Motive bleeder at work:
Now here's a controvercial topic: Common sense and the wise men (women?) on this board says to bleed starting from the caliper that's the farthest away from the master cylinder. That would imply the right rear wheel. But RAVE explicitly says to bleed from front passenger side, followed by front driver's side, then rear passenger side, followed by rear driver's side. They say that "braking efficiency may be seriously impaired if the incorrect bleed sequence is used". Now it didin't make a whole lot of common sense to me, but I followed RAVE sequence. Braking has been hugely improved so far. But maybe PO had wal-mart bleed the brake fluid too, which mgiht explain a lot about the "improvement".
I'd say the whole deal cost me less than $150, including the motive bleeder. Now that's a whole heck of a lot cheaper than $2500. Use that savings to get yourself a nice flat panel LCD for your family room (I did! Man, those things are amazing!) or a nice collection of wine or buy many kegs of beer for a huge party.
Pretty straightforward job, overall. Here's the picture of the removed Modulator and the new shuttle valve kit. The shuttle valve attaches to the bottom of the ABS modulator unit. Removal of the ABS modulator unit is not complicated. All you need are 11mm and 13mm wrenches. Mine weren't on that tight. The specs call for 14 Nm for 11mm nuts, and 22 Nm for 13mm nuts.
Here's a picture of the old vs. new shuttle valves. Those hex screws to attach the shuttle valves to the modulator were pretty darn hard to turn. I think the spec calls for only 3Nm, but since the screws have those non-slip coat on (I don't know what the technical term is for that), it makes is super hard to turn. BTW, the kit comes with new screws, so you don't have to worry about stripping them. Clearly, the old one looks kinda grimy. PO told me that the 3 amigos came on after he had Wal-mart guys change the brake pads. Hmmm....could it be possible, however unlikely, that they didn't loosen the bleed valve before pushing the caliper pistons back???? Stay away from wal-mart, guys (for car service that is).
This is what the modulator unit looked like after the shuttle valve unit was removed. I cleaned it out prior to installation of the new one:
Here's the new shuttle valve all installed:
You know, they say "don't allow the brake fluid to contact painted surfaces"? Believe it. I had a bunch of shop towels below the ABS modulator unit when I removed it, but apparently not enough. Check out the bare spots! Learn from my mistake--there's no such thing as too much protection. In retrospect, I probably should have gotten one of those plastic sheets that the painters use, and placed it under the unit. Oh well. Too late for me:
Here's the modulator all installed:
Now, it's time to bleed the brakes. I used Valvoline synthetic DOT4 fluid. I went ahead and purchased a "Motive Products" bleeder to avoid grief from my wife (and from my 10 year old, for that matter). But I found that Disco's brake fluid reservior is too wide for their "adaptor to fit most imported cars", so I created this contraption to make if work. Not elegant, I know, but it worked and I had the materials and tools handy to make it:
Here is the Motive bleeder at work:
Now here's a controvercial topic: Common sense and the wise men (women?) on this board says to bleed starting from the caliper that's the farthest away from the master cylinder. That would imply the right rear wheel. But RAVE explicitly says to bleed from front passenger side, followed by front driver's side, then rear passenger side, followed by rear driver's side. They say that "braking efficiency may be seriously impaired if the incorrect bleed sequence is used". Now it didin't make a whole lot of common sense to me, but I followed RAVE sequence. Braking has been hugely improved so far. But maybe PO had wal-mart bleed the brake fluid too, which mgiht explain a lot about the "improvement".
I'd say the whole deal cost me less than $150, including the motive bleeder. Now that's a whole heck of a lot cheaper than $2500. Use that savings to get yourself a nice flat panel LCD for your family room (I did! Man, those things are amazing!) or a nice collection of wine or buy many kegs of beer for a huge party.
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RE: 3 amigos -- GONE! Pics--may be slow to load.
ORIGINAL: tads
RAVE is the shop manuel for Land Rovers. Anyone can get one. Go to roverrenovations.com and search RAVE CD. They'll send you one. They are very helpful in jobs like this one and others.
Cheers!
RAVE is the shop manuel for Land Rovers. Anyone can get one. Go to roverrenovations.com and search RAVE CD. They'll send you one. They are very helpful in jobs like this one and others.
Cheers!
I have no idea what it stands for....
Google says it is British slang for a wild party...seems to fit...
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