Brake bleeder

What is a good brake bleeder device?

I know I"m going to catch shit over this.....but the best tool is GRAVITY,

and to get it started....drill a couple small ~< 1/8 inch holes above the rubber in the m/cyl cap...fill the thing totally full, put the cap on WITH the rubber seal....blast air in top of the cap....use the type of air jet with the holes in the sides that way it limits the full force.....do both sections....use this technique for the normal bleeding pattern...RR, LR, RF, LF.....refill the m/cyl as necessary during the process....

done.....guaranfreeking TEED,.....then you just seal the top with a dap of RTV....

the above was the way I finally got all the air out of the lines with my O ring conversion, it was a PIA for that RR, after that I went for the HBoost setup, and REALLY got some pedal....

I don't know if it's the best, but it is what I prefer.

Motive pressure bleeder. I use a C clamp instead of the chains. When I do it, I use a quart of brake fluid and flush at the same time using all the fluid since it is no good on the shelf after you open it. Go around and flush the system and then go around one more time and do the final bleed.

Last time I did it i think I went through 2 quarts since the flush was still dirty after the first quart. I wonder what the capacity of the entire ssystem is...MC plus lines plus calipers.

Gravity is basically the same as pressure bleeding - with pressure it's faster as you're getting more flow.
I used a $10 bug sprayer from Lowes instead of the $60 Motive bleeder.... works just as good.

Here's a few pics of the setup (old pics, 2004):


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One more comment on the motive. The hose will crack at the clamp. It happened to me once before under pressure. It will spray like a fountain. I don't know which hose would be better to put on it, but I recommend changing the hose with something a little better...looks like ou have a nice hose on yours Karsten.

That plate and all that crap shown above....gimme a break already...too much messing around over a simple job....just blast air above the gasket in the lid and force the fluid throug the system....cover the hole or use another top/lid....
job DONE by the time you make all the above stuff....

:bounce::smash:

If you don't supply fluid to the reservoir you risk pumping air into the system when the level in the reservoir gets too low.... it's messy when you take the lid off but DOT5 silicone fluid is not corrosive so no big deal if you spill a little...

This setup is 5yrs old, the hoses are probably dry rotted by now....

Here is what I have come up with for this. The shut off valve is not needed. It's there because I drilled two holes before I figured out I could route the bottom to pressurize both cylinders.:crap: Anyway I haven't tried it yet and I will need to fill the reservoir manually, but I think it will work. I plan on clamping it on with a C clamp, regulating down my air compressor to 10 – 15 PSI and hooking it up and let the bleeding begin. What do you guys think will this work??

What is that you are using for the seal on the MC? Looks like cork.

SmokinBBC said:

What is that you are using for the seal on the MC? Looks like cork.

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Yep, will it cause a problem??

Edit>>>I guess I should explain. I had some gasket material here at the house and thought what the heck I'll try it. I know some form of rubber would be better, but I had the cork here.

Well, I would guess that if your running constant pressure at 10 to 15psi that you'll need and airtight seal on the master. Not sure if cork would provide an airtight seal. I think the motive uses rubber.

SmokinBBC said:

Well, I would guess that if your running constant pressure at 10 to 15psi that you'll need and airtight seal on the master. Not sure if cork would provide an airtight seal. I think the motive uses rubber.

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Hmmmm that may be a problem....:crap:

Theiskell said:

SmokinBBC said:

Well, I would guess that if your running constant pressure at 10 to 15psi that you'll need and airtight seal on the master. Not sure if cork would provide an airtight seal. I think the motive uses rubber.

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Hmmmm that may be a problem....:crap:

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The stock rubber inside the stock lid works great....just drill the holes in a old lid if you all concerned about cosmetics...

:bounce:

So what you guys are saying is that all commercial stuff is crap?

"Who saw that one comming ;-)"

Maybe I need to be more specific. I share a warehouse with 10 others, as a group we repair all kind of cars, some for our selfs and some for friends. Lately a lott of rotors and brake pads are replaced. So we are looking for some semi profesional tools to help us out. In this case a break bleeder.

The Motive bleeder for example has received good feedback but since it's the same design I doubt it's any better than my homemade bleeder. Sealing the lid on the reservoir is the one and only tricky part - I'm using a aluminum plate and soft rubber. Instead of the hose clamps you can use one or two C-clapms, that's up to you.
All you need is something that forces the fluid thru the system, you can either suck on the bleeder with a vacuum device or pressurize the reservoir.
I do not like using air to pressurize the reservoir because you cannot see the fluid level inside the reservoir and re-filling the reservoir while you're trying to bleed the system is a pain - IMO it's way more convenient to have the pressurized container supply fluid instead of air.

MYBAD79 said:

The Motive bleeder for example has received good feedback but since it's the same design I doubt it's any better than my homemade bleeder. Sealing the lid on the reservoir is the one and only tricky part - I'm using a aluminum plate and soft rubber. Instead of the hose clamps you can use one or two C-clapms, that's up to you.
All you need is something that forces the fluid thru the system, you can either suck on the bleeder with a vacuum device or pressurize the reservoir.
I do not like using air to pressurize the reservoir because you cannot see the fluid level inside the reservoir and re-filling the reservoir while you're trying to bleed the system is a pain - IMO it's way more convenient to have the pressurized container supply fluid instead of air.

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Especially if you completely flush the whole system before bleeding, which is a good thing to do on a regular basis.

010752 said:

MYBAD79 said:

The Motive bleeder for example has received good feedback but since it's the same design I doubt it's any better than my homemade bleeder. Sealing the lid on the reservoir is the one and only tricky part - I'm using a aluminum plate and soft rubber. Instead of the hose clamps you can use one or two C-clapms, that's up to you.
All you need is something that forces the fluid thru the system, you can either suck on the bleeder with a vacuum device or pressurize the reservoir.
I do not like using air to pressurize the reservoir because you cannot see the fluid level inside the reservoir and re-filling the reservoir while you're trying to bleed the system is a pain - IMO it's way more convenient to have the pressurized container supply fluid instead of air.

Click to expand...

Especially if you completely flush the whole system before bleeding, which is a good thing to do on a regular basis.

Click to expand...

Unless you doing DOT5 like me...then it's a one stop shop....I can't see all that screwing around when most any brake reservoir top can be drilled and done my way....most other cars do well with gravity anyway....these sharks are another PIA though, no question,

:bomb:

Karsten,what kind of pressure are you keeping in the bottle when you bleed the system????
I have to agree,having the bottle with fluid in it makes since,that way you don't have to keep pulling the cap off and refill the mc with fluid. Let the mc run out of fluid and now you have just forced air into the system and have to start over again.:amazed:

Maybe 5-6 pumps on the garden sprayer, not much pressure at all... just enough to force the fluid thru the lines. It's really no different than gravity bleeding, just faster.

mrvette said:

Unless you doing DOT5 like me...then it's a one stop shop....I can't see all that screwing around when most any brake reservoir top can be drilled and done my way....most other cars do well with gravity anyway....these sharks are another PIA though, no question,
:bomb:

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Hate to tell you but, you still get moister in your brake system with DOT 5. The difference is the DOT 5 won't mix with the water. You still need to change the fluid to get the moister out.