Motive Power Pressure Bleeder

big2bird

Charter Member, Founder Bird-Run, Cruise-In Bird-R
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
5,719
Location
Anaheim, Ca.
Now I have been an advocate of this tool for some time now. I recieved one as a gift two years ago.
http://store.motiveproducts.com/sha...reType=BtoC&Count1=663143336&Count2=580283761
Now as much as I love it, it has some issues. I found out early the chicken shit chain clamps that come with it are worthless. I use two large "C" clamps instead.:thumbs:
I also found this morning, after time, the gasket comes off the adapter. No biggie. Spray 3M adhesive, and good to go.:)
After installing the adapter, I always check for leaks at the master. This time, the POS hose clamp at the adapter leaked. No biggie, I just added a worm type clamp.
I bled the left front chasing an issue, and pumped up the bleeder for the right side. THIS time, the hose broke at the tank, and covered me and the car with brake fluid. I have decided this issue is directly related to me spending $100 last week to have the car buffed out for the first time in 8 years last week.:smash:
I still recommend this unit, but I do wish they would address these issues, and pay to have my car rubbed out again.:suicide:
 
Jeff,

You what they happens when you stop using things for a while, They stop working. But you are right, it is still a good tool!
 
Wow, that sucks.

I had the hose crack in half. I was lucky. I grabbed the damn thing by the hose to get it out of the box when it cracked.
 
Shit, Bird, that sucks.

I have a couple runs in my paint from Dot 3 & other chemicals, and a couple oil stains, and some scratches, and a hundred chips. Luckily I don't give a shit about paint. (Actually I developed that attitude because I am such a spaz I myself have ruined the few nice paint jobs I ever had on a vehicle!) The body itself is 99% perfect, that's the only exterior thing which I care about.
That really sucks though when you buy a not-inexpensive piece of equipment and then have to spend so much time & effort to make it work right. I want to get one of those myself, I appreciate the heads up about its problems.

Brake fluid sure tastes like crap, don't it? Takes hours & hours and lots of beer to get the taste & feeling out of your mouth. Oh yeah, I speak from recent experience.
 
Back in 2004 I didn't even know about the Motive pressure bleeder when I used a $10 garden sprayer to pressurize the MC....not my "design"... a friend came up with that idea... it works like a charm, I'll see if I can find some old pics of that setup.... and the best part: no leaks :1st:
 
FWIW- I'm NOT using silicone fluid in my Vette. Some of that DOT 4 stuff. Actually I think it's DOT 5.1 the non-silicone but has a higher boiling point.
I flush the bleeder and wash every thing with denatured alcohol when I'm done.

JPhil-Jack Daniels works much faster to get that nasty taste out of your mouth..
 
I had much the same issues Bird. I'd left mine with fluid in it from the last time I used it and when I went to bleed my brakes a couple of weeks ago, the bottle wouldn't hold pressure even with the C clamps on the mc. Tracked down the leak to where the hose joined the reservoir/bottle where there was a small split. The hose was so rat shit that I just replaced the whole thing and it was good to go.

Luckily no fluid spilt on the car though :thumbs:
 
I think that there was something in the instructions about flushing the unit after use. I will see if I can find my instructions.
Ahhh... instructions. Lord knows where mine ended up.

It's probably a good idea to flush it out but if it's only the hose that's going to suffer if you don't, then it's a quick and simple fix. Also, when I replaced my hose, I put a piece on that was much longer than the original so I could put the bottle on the ground beside the car rather than have it up in the engine bay...
 
I think i will go down to the lumber yard and buy me one of those sprayer bottles and find an extra m/c cap off e-bay and build one of those,i bleed mine by vacume right now it works good but i can only do one wheel at a time :quote:
 
I modded an mc cap so I didn't have to use the Motive adaptor but I couldn't find a damn seal out here without buying a whole new mc :suicide:

Went with the motive adaptor and C clamps...
 
I modded an mc cap so I didn't have to use the Motive adaptor but I couldn't find a damn seal out here without buying a whole new mc :suicide:

Went with the motive adaptor and C clamps...

Getting a cap and seal here will be no problem :D
I just thought of a question though,how do you overcome the m/c being over filled so when you take the cap off fluid will not run out?????
 
get a thick flat piece of aluminum (1/8" at least) and soft rubber to make your own coverplate. The stamped steel cover will flex and you can't apply enough pressure to seal it.

Release pressure from the sprayer bottle first before you remove the lid. Brake fluid will leak, place old towels under the master to soak it up. I use Silicone fluid that does not eat the paint.

You could bleed long enough so that the bottle runs dry - use clear hose and you'll see when you start pumping air into the reservoir. When you see the air going thru the hose into the reservoir, bleed for another three or four seconds and the fluid level should be low enough so you won't spill too much fluid. Do this for the front and rear reservoir.
 
Resurrecting this old thread. I'm thinking about buying a Motive bleeder. Any updates on their reliability? What adapter would work with a Wilwood master cylinder?

thum_534e716f207ec3a.jpg
 
I bought a vacuum pump that came with bleeding stuff ages ago - it has all the fittings to connect to the bleed valve and the cups that won't spill... I've got an air compressor vacuum pump, and I never use it because it's so much easier to just use the fittings and cups
 
Call Motive directly and get the correct adapter for the master cylinder. Cheap. easy, and effective.

-- I never put brake fluid in the Motive Bleeder I have after the first time I used it. I just use it to pressure the master cylinder. Never any overfill, never drips, and never any hassle. Once you get going, you can "estimate" how much fluid you've passed thru the system and then top the master cylinder as needed.
I figured out the hassle of rinsing the bleeder out with alcohol and washing everything down was just not worth it.
 
Top