I'm happy to say that I didn't over indulge but was too busy to do so. A minor distraction in the form of a leak in the attic took some of my time and attention. Got it sorted though. But the car wasn't entirely neglected. I swapped out the drivers side rear exhaust box, using the very good one from my donor car. It was blowing a little and inspection showed it to be in bad shape. So I checked the passenger side box also and discovered it to be in worse shape, so it was swapped out also. Now it hums quietly again without the attendant rumble/pop. I also changed my "A" frame bushes. I took the "A" frame and brackets from my donor car and replaced the bushes in it, then just swapped the entire assembly onto my car. This limited the down time and allowed me to use my car at the same time.

The brackets on my car were quite cruddy, showing some rust but the replacements were much cleaner, so everything was sanded, wire brushed, cleaned and painted in black metal paint and it all looks good.

FWIW, I pressed the new bushes in (properly aligned) using the weight of my car as a press. I just located the bushes and jacked the assembly up, properly protected, under the jacking point on my car. The weight pushed the bush home to about 95% and after sitting overnight, it was fully bedded home next morning.

So my rear end "wiggle" is gone and everything feels and sounds better. Still lots on the "to do" list.

I looked into the handbrake cable adjustment but access isn't great and it's cold, wet and miserable her in Ireland, so it will wait until the weekend when things warm up a bit. The handbrake is effective but I'd like to just reduce the amount of travel needed on the handbrake lever, even by a notch or two, so I imagine taking up a little slack on the cable will do the trick. I will update when I get it sorted. And a Happy New Year to all.

 

Who knows which one is actually farthest away with MC on left (US CAR), ABS block on the right.

Anyone actually know for sure?

 

I would ignore the ABS block, as the master Cylinder is the real "starting point". On that basis, if your MC is on the left, then the furthest away wheel would be the rear right, then rear left, then front right and finally front left.
Based on the fact that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. This is how I figure it.

 

I think you do have to start from the ABS block, as the run from the master cylinder to the ABS block is shared by all of the wheels, and doesnt therefore make a difference in determining the relative lengths of the runs to the wheels.

Whilst using the correct bleeding order is best practice, I think it is less critical in a modern ABS setup where each wheel has its own dedicated pipe run. In the past, where there was often a common pipe serving both back, and more unusually, one serving both front wheels, bleeding in the incorrect sequence could in some circumstances trap air in the system.
The key with the X300 in my experience is to use a pressure bleeder at low pressure, and take your time to allow the fluid to run clear at each wheel.

 

That makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

 

Personally, if *flushing* a brake system I'll start at any wheel. You're just using new fluid to push out the old fluid. I don't think the sequence is important. Never ran into difficulties.

When *bleeding* a system.....removing the air from a system.....I use whatever sequence or method described in the manual.

Just IMO

Cheers
DD

 

Just an update to the above. I'm working my way through my to do list and finally got around to looking at the handbrake adjustment. I adjusted the handbrake movement at the bracket under the car, just in front of the diff.

I applied the handbrake to the point where it was just beginning to bite and then it was just a case of turning the nut on the bracket, enough to take up the slack in the cable/threaded rod.

I released the handbrake to ensure that the wheels were spinning freely, which they were and then applied the handbrake and it works perfectly, holding the car when it's in drive. It didn't do this before. And it applies fully with less than full travel on the handbrake lever. Prior to that, it really had to be pulled home fully and then one last heave to get another "click".

By the way, I don't depend on my handbrake to hold the car while in drive. This was done just for the purpose of testing.

I also bled and refilled my rear brakes while I was there and refilled the diff. Front brakes tomorrow!

Thanks for the input.