One man brake bleeder recommendation

[Ron in SoCal]

I did a search in this section and didn't see anything. Looking for the best one man bleeder. I'm thinking a reverse bleeder system like Phoenix, but would love to hear opinions.

[JB400]

Been wondering this myself. People are either too busy or too lazy to pump a pedal.:popcorn2:

[gearheads78]

I love my Vacula I bought off the Snap On man a few years back. My wife loves it too since she no longer has to come out to the pump brakes all the time.

[Sieg]

I've had a Mighty Vac for years and have always had acceptable results on bikes and cars, brakes and clutches.

I'd consider this system also: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mvp-0260/overview/

[SSLance]

I use a Mighty Vac as well, it's super handy when flushing fluid as you can see the dirty fluid going into the capture can and can tell when you get to the new clean fluid.

I overfilled my PS pump recently and even used the Mighty Vac to suck the expensive Royal Purple fluid back out and was able to save it back into the original container for later use.

[RBuhr69]

I bought the Motive product one listed in the link but the flat aluminum plate (red) did not fit my Wilwood big bore master cylinder as indicated :(..It was about a 1/16 off so it didnt seal very well and made a mess so i just bleed the ole fashion way...

I did use it on a standard master cylinder on a friends Hotrod and it worked fine. Poor fluid in, pump it up and bleed away...

More than welcome to try it if interested..

[rickpaw]

Believe it or not, I used the one from Harbor Freight

http://www.harborfreight.com/brake-fluid-bleeder-92924.html

Hook it up to an air compressor, and it pulls the brake fluids through the lines using venturi effect. Did the whole system by myself, although I did get a friend to pump the pedal at the end to make sure there was no air in the system (there was none).

[renegade6]

I use a large syringe (purchase from Tractor Supply) and reverse bleed them.

[Ron in SoCal]

I appreciate all the replies! Sounds like you guys have it figured out. I think I'd prefer to push the fluid from the Master out of the calipers. One question: I have the Wilwood resi:

http://www.wilwood.com/Images/MasterCylinders/MasterCylinder_Photos-Large/260-12696-lg.jpg

EDIT: Tech Sheet - http://www.wilwood.com/PDF/DataSheets/ds974.pdf

Any idea if the Motive or H-Freight master cylinder adapters would work?

[SSLance]

I would imagine that with all of these self bleeders, the success rate is going to be determined with how well the kit's adapters work with the end of the brake system you are dealing with.

The Mighty Vac comes with a large assortment of ends to put on the vacuum lines to connect it where it is needed. What I found though is the more connectors you use, the more areas there are for air to leak out which is frustrating. I would assume that the other kits that push from the MC side have similar issues but do not know that for sure.

What I found to work best is to use as few pieces as possible and be diligent that the connections are as tight as you can get them. On my rear calipers, the hose itself fits very snuggly on the bleeder screws and I route the hose so that it comes off the bleeder screw and turns up which leaves the open end of the bleeder in fluid after the air escapes. This works very well for the rears.

The hose does not fit as tightly on my front bleeders and while I can flush the old fluid out and get the caliper pretty well bled with just it, I still like to have a pedal pusher to get the last two bleeds as good as I can get them. Same theory, run the hose up from the bleeder to leave the open end immersed in fluid before closing it again.

All of this can be done under the car while it's up on the lift and all I have to watch for up above is not running the master cylinder out of brake fluid. So there is a little bit of back and forth involved, but not too much.

If someone with experience using the MC push type bleeders can chime in, how user friendly are they to use by yourself and how much of a mess is there to clean up in and around the MC once the lines are bled? How well do they adapt to different kinds of MCs as well.

[Sieg]

I appreciate all the replies! Sounds like you guys have it figured out. I think I'd prefer to push the fluid from the Master out of the calipers. One question: I have the Wilwood resi:

http://www.wilwood.com/Images/MasterCylinders/MasterCylinder_Photos-Large/260-12696-lg.jpg

EDIT: Tech Sheet - http://www.wilwood.com/PDF/DataSheets/ds974.pdf

Any idea if the Motive or H-Freight master cylinder adapters would work?

Ron,

Can you buy another Wilwood master cylinder top and put a valve in it? :sieg:

[Ron in SoCal]

Ron,

Can you buy another Wilwood master cylinder top and put a valve in it? :sieg:

Brilliant! :lol:

3DPKf7y1F-Q

[Sieg]

:lol:

:cheers:

[cluxford]

Made my own, cost under $15

Canister, drill 2 holes.
5m of clear plastic tube. This runs to the bleeder at the wheel
another 30cm of clear plastic tube, connects to the vacuum hose to the manifold (that also connects to the booster)

Put both tubes into the canister (I siliconed them in).

1 goes all the way to the bottom, 1 stays up toward the top.

Now stand by the MC, as it drains fluid fast so you need to be there to "top up" the MC

Start the car, let the engine do the work.

I bled all 4 wheels in under 10 mins

Just like the Mightyvac, but cheaper, quicker and less work

[JpRngr]

I have one of the Motive ones and it works great providing you can get the adapters to seal correctly. Most of the time it's just a matter of getting it tightened down enough and equally. Two biggest issues I have with it are a lack of a pressure relief valve(to release pressure before removing it), and the tubing sucks. It doesn't last but a couple years(sucks when it splits and you have a stream of brake fluid going all over your paint).


Corey

[Ketzer]

I also made my own that pressurizes the M/C.
Used a garden pump sprayer, some spare air chuck fittings, and made my own M/C cover plate out of some scrap aluminum plate I had ( but what Sieg suggested is golden). Threaded rod and wingnuts to hold the plate down. Plenty of youtube videos on it.

I have a MityVac that pulls vacuum at the bleeder, but never really felt like it did that great of a job.


Jeff-

[SSLance]

With these kits that pressurize the brakes from the top of the master cylinder, do you just top off the brake fluid, put the MC top on and pump pressure into it...which is relieved from the bleeder screws on the calipers?

If so, at some point you have to take the top off and add fluid to the MC correct? And like mentioned above, is it messy when you take the top loose while there is still pressure on the system from the pumped in air?

[Ketzer]

With these kits that pressurize the brakes from the top of the master cylinder, do you just top off the brake fluid, put the MC top on and pump pressure into it...which is relieved from the bleeder screws on the calipers?

If so, at some point you have to take the top off and add fluid to the MC correct? And like mentioned above, is it messy when you take the top loose while there is still pressure on the system from the pumped in air?

With my homemade unit, I put brake fluid in the garden sprayer. As I release the bleeder screw, it pulls in fluid from the sprayer to replace what's coming out. The master cylinder level stays the same.

The garden sprayer has a simple "pull up to release pressure" valve on the jug so I can let the pressure off when done. There is no pressure when I take the M/C lid off and so far this system does not overfill the M/C.

A couple things to point out,
It doesn't take a ton of pressure to do the bleeding, nothing like actual brake line pressure.
I use simple air chucks and fittings so I can leave the lid on and quick disconnect from the front reservoir to move to the rear.


Jeff-

[SSLance]

Interesting... Thanks for the reply.

[chetly]

The trick with the motive power pump is to not put the brake fluid in the tank. The plastic hose they use doesn't like brake fluid for some reason. As long as you don't let your master get to low, you won't push any air into the system.

[Rick Dorion]

The trick with the motive power pump is to not put the brake fluid in the tank. The plastic hose they use doesn't like brake fluid for some reason. As long as you don't let your master get to low, you won't push any air into the system.

Good advise. I too use mine as a 'dry pump' and make sure the MC doesn't get empty.