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One man brake bleeder

Chief Brody

Chief Brody

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Anybody tried one of those one man brake bleeders...:dunno:

specifically the MotiveProduct.com one for "American Cars"....you hook it up to the master cylinder and send pressurised brake fluid out to each caliper...they sell blue fluid so you know when the new fluid is coming through.

Just wondering...thought I might try one...can't find anybody when I need them to help me bleed the brakes.
 
I have one and it works well. The only problem is that the cap is a bit flexible and it is tough to get a good seal on the master. I would recomend fabing a piece to go on top of the rubber cap - you will see what I mean when you get it.
For the most part, it is a great kit.
 
Yep, i have the exact setup.

Same issue, the cap is floppy, and i could build a better one. The little goofy chain hooks they give you to clamp it down suck. I put a block of hardwood on top of the plastic lid, and clamp it to my METAL master cylinder with a c clamp.

No other issues.

BUT, there is a thread here to make your own pressure bleeder. Really, the only difference will be a little more effort, and no pressure gauge. If you have the time and patiencne, i recoemnd making your own. You will be able to fab a better master cylinder interface plate, trust me. I ordered, thinking the pro one would be better on a short timeframe, but really, kinda wish i had built one. Depends on what your time is worht.

If you have other questions, feel free to hit me up.

Either way, pressure bleeding is the way to go if you often work alone.
 
I built the opposite. A jar that sucks fluid from each bleeder. For a vacuum source I use the on-board 5.7L pump. Just don't let the jar fill with fluid to the vacuum line!
 
I have one of those myte vac things. It is great for bleeding brakes and you can move the hose on it and can use to put fluids back into something, such as differential.
 
I use the vacuum bleeder I made from a glass mayonaise jar I made years ago,uses the engine for the vacuum source--works great...also have used those bleeder screws with the built in ball check valve ,they work well too,but I wouldn't leave them in there permanently...the Mighty-Vac's work good but they dont seem to last very long in my experience..

I had a "one man brake bleeder" that was nothing more than a hose with a spring loaded check ball you clipped onto the bleeder screw--it worked but I had trouble keeping it from popping off the bleeder,and I also had to submerge it in a bottle of brake fluid to get ALL the air out,I think the ball bearing in it leaked a bit,let air sneak back in...I find the vacuum bleeder the easiest to use and quickest--I used clear vinyl hose to connect it to the bleeders,it lets you see any air bubbles easily...
 
I fill an old sauce jar with clean brake fluid 1/2 way. Put a vacumn hose on the bleeder and submerge it to the bottom of the jar thru a hole in the lid. Leave the bleeder open and pump away while looking under the truck at the jar and using your hand/arm to pump the pedal, when no more bubbles, close the bleeder and top off the master, move to the next wheel. Really never needed 2 people. I usually start at rear driver since its farthest from the master and work your way to the wheel closest to the master and I go around 2x. I change the brake fluid in the jar every 2 bleeds. Never had an issue doing it this way, just uses a bit more fluid and time, but its near free.
 
image_2567.jpg


25 bucks at Harbor Freight...always done the trick for me.
 
i bought a little crappy one that had a hose to attach to the bleeder and a little bottle with a valve on it to keep air from going into the hose and back to the bleeder. it was terrible. i want my six bucks back.
 
One advantage of using vacuum bleeders to suck the fluid out of the bleeder screws is that you wont risk tearing the seals in the master cylinder piston by pumping the pedal beyond its normal range of travel in its bore,which is often pitted or rusty ...
more than once I've had to replace a master cylinder after bleeding the brakes by pumping the pedal due to that!..
 
AJMBLAZER said:
That a purpose made bleeder?
Click to expand...

That it is.

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

The only thing is you really need a good air supply for it to work. I tried to use it with my little 5 gal pancake compressor and it wasn't having it. Swapped over to a 30 gal and it works fine.

You're supposed to fill the tall skinny bottle up and invert it over the MC so it automatically fills...works ok but a pain to setup so most of the time I just keep an eye on it and fill by hand.
 
Interesting. Think The Blazer needs a brake fluid flush. Might just go pick this up.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
Interesting. Think The Blazer needs a brake fluid flush. Might just go pick this up.
Click to expand...


So, to open another can of worms....who flushes their fluid regularly?

I flush whenever i bleed....but if it ain't broke......

I seem to cause more issues trying to mess with brake issues than i solve trying to do routine maintenance like brake fluid flushes.

If you haven't done if before (AJM?), think i'd have a hard time suggesting someone flush it.

But then again, if you aren't introducing air, just replacing fluid.....maybe its not too bad.

What say everyone?
 
I've never done mine. Every now and then when I'm in there I will siphon out most of the fluid in the mc and then replace it with new. Never actually flushed everything on the stuff I've owned.

Then again I've never owned a BMW either.
 
I don't do it every break job. If it's just pads or shoes and the system doesn't need to be bled I just check the level and move on unless it looks really bad or it's the first time I've done a break job on that vehicle. If I crack the lines at all to do calipers or something I always flush the whole system.

I use that vaccum bleeder I posted to suck the MC reservoir down to just above the piston ports then fill to the brim with new fluid and bleed every corner until it runs clear. As long as you keep those ports submerged there's no reason the MC should suck air.

Using the bleeder it doesn't take that much longer than if you were just trying to get the air out...it's not like there's really a large volume of fluid in the system anyway. I bet with the tool you could flush the whole system in less time than just trying to get air out playing the old 2 person pedal pump game.
 
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