Bleeding Brakes-ABS equipped 328

Yep, I was told to use the ABS pump to do the rear brakes only. So you attach your bleed hose, switch the ignition on and get someone to depress & hold the brake pedal between a third and half way to the floor. Fluid doesn't exactly come flying out, its a fairly slow process.

The front brakes are done the old fashioned way although I prefer to use a pressure bleeder rather than pump the pedal. If you do pump the pedal then put a block of wood under it to stop it going all the way to the floor otherwise you risk damaging the seals in the master cylinder.

Don't ask me why the difference between the front & rear brakes -its just what I was told to do by my local indy & is what I have done ever since & it seems to have worked OK.

I.

 

Maybe Ferrari ABS brakes are different but I have been draining/replacing brake fluid in ABS cars since they came out and bleed them just like non-ABS brakes (using a pressure bleeder). Be interested to hear what's different about the Ferrari set up that requires something else.

 

This is what I got from my dealer for my 89 328:

Remove wheels
Fill brake fluid reservoir
Turn key on (level should drop)
Top off reservoir again, almost to the top and leave the key on
Have a helper sit in the car
Open the bleed screw on the right rear caliper
Have helper slowly press the brake pedal, after the pedal drops a couple of inches the pump will start to run and fluid will come out. Helper should hold the pedal at that level so pump will continue to run.
After approximately ¾ of pint has come out, close the bleed screw.
Top off reservoir again
Now repeat the procedure at the left rear caliper
After both rear calipers have been bled turn the key off and fill the reservoir to the full mark (seam on tank)

Now bleed the front brakes manually
Starting at the right front caliper
Helper should pump the pedal three times then hold it down
Open the bleed screw until the pedal reaches the bottom, then close the bleed screw (repeat this process 10 times on each front caliper)

**While bleeding the front calipers watch level of fluid it may overflow before it starts to go down (because accumulator may release stored fluid) also don’t let level get too low there are three chambers in the reservoir and its hard to watch them all. If the front chamber gets too low you will get air in the system.

After all four calipers are bled turn the key on when the pump motor stops running turn key off
Pump the brake pedal 50 times to depressurize the accumulator, watch the fluid level so it doesn’t overflow (use a turkey baster or syringe to suck some out if its going to overflow)
After the accumulator is depressurized the fluid level should be at the top of the reservoir (bottom of the filler neck)
Turn key on again after pump stops running the fluid level should now be at the max mark (the seam in the reservoir)

 

Ah...that procedure sounds like one that was used for very early integral ABS brakes so I guess the early Ferraris must have used that type of system. I thought they were gone pretty quickly. BUt I guess 89 was still pretty early for ABS my wife's 87 MB had ABS which was the first car I saw with it - not that others weren't around earlier. You had to do all that to ensure the check valves were in the proper position.

 

Nice write up, thanks for sharing.

Jeff

 

Has anyone actually bled their '89 ABS brake? Any tips to share? The above procedure is simple enough but anything else should I pay extra attention to?

Thanks in advance.