Brake bleeder

[RobbieRacer]

I had a Mity-vac. It sucked. Ill try old school first i guess. Drag the wife out to the garage. But i will look into Motive Products "Power Bleeder" too.
Thanks for the info.

[Rich Biebel]

Get a clear plastic hose that slips over the bleeder screw as tight as possible.

Drop it into a bottle of brake fluid and keep it so the tube stays submerged in the fluid.

Open bleeder screw but a small amount.

SLOWLY pump brakes a few times.

Start with the right rear, left rear, right front, left front.

One man and usually works perfect.

Gravity also work very well.

Newer vehicles with ABS.....turn key on, don't start it....also works well.

[FrankM]

I have the mityvac hand pump model (older unit) and have never liked it. Read on here to use the gravity method and it works great.

[Dragsinger]

As posted above, the hose in bottle method works well.

Also, I have not done so but I think the spring loaded bleeder screws would be a good option. [that is to say, the bleeder screw has a spring-loaded check ball. Seems reasonable in theory]

[Tom Goldman]

The gravity method works well with most cars with firewall mounted master cylinders.
The master cylinder should still be bench blead before installing ,since on many cars the master cyl. is not level and can trap air in the high point if not bench blead.
A helper pump on the pedal or a vacuum bleeder like a MightyVac is still necessary to remove all the air from the system.
Harbor Freight has the Mighty Vac bleeder kits for $43.00 ,I paid over a hundred from Snapon for the same one years ago and still use it.
One thing I'll mention is Drag Racers generally don't pay enough attention to brake fluid condition .
I maintain several road course cars that must have the fluid changed before they race an event....After 1 race the fluid is usually in terrible condition.
Our cars brakes are subjected to short periods of extreme heat followed by long periods of unuse. .. This is a perfect climate for fluid contamination and break down.
If your fluid is dark or cloudy looking change it .
At the very least it should be changed annually ,preferably at the end of the season ,so it is not stored over the winter with fluid that can contain moisture or other contaminants that will damage components.

[nhramnl]

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

The gravity method works well with most cars with firewall mounted master cylinders.
The master cylinder should still be bench blead before installing ,since on many cars the master cyl. is not level and can trap air in the high point if not bench blead.
A helper pump on the pedal or a vacuum bleeder like a MightyVac is still necessary to remove all the air from the system.
Harbor Freight has the Mighty Vac bleeder kits for $43.00 ,I paid over a hundred from Snapon for the same one years ago and still use it.
One thing I'll mention is Drag Racers generally don't pay enough attention to brake fluid condition .
I maintain several road course cars that must have the fluid changed before they race an event....After 1 race the fluid is usually in terrible condition.
Our cars brakes are subjected to short periods of extreme heat followed by long periods of unuse. .. This is a perfect climate for fluid contamination and break down.
If your fluid is dark or cloudy looking change it .
At the very least it should be changed annually ,preferably at the end of the season ,so it is not stored over the winter with fluid that can contain moisture or other contaminants that will damage components.

All very helpful information. I forgot to mention the importance of bench-bleeding the master cylinder. Thank you, Tom. It makes for a long day if you don't start with a fully bled master cylinder. I guess I've been lucky or dumb (maybe both), but I haven't had to use any mechanical device to "finish" the gravity bleed process ever since adopting it. The comments about brake fluid condition are spot-on. Because brake fluid is hygroscopic, it is virtually always absorbing moisture, and, as Tom suggests, silently corroding internal brake system parts. Changing fluid each season is cheap insurance, and you might be surprised by improved pedal feel with fresh fluid. I always remember what I learned when I was young; in the final analysis, all a car HAS to do is steer and stop.

[ALMACK]

I bought one of these Phoenix reverse bleeding kits a few months back.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Phoenix-Sys...s2I:rk:25:pf:0

Worked decent on my tow truck. Good pedal feel afterward.
I like the idea of pushing fresh fluid from the bleeder up to the master cyl.
Trapped air rises easier than trying to force it downstream.

I plan on doing hydraulic clutch work soon so that was another reason I bought it

[Tom Goldman]

Originally Posted by ALMACK

I bought one of these Phoenix reverse bleeding kits a few months back.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Phoenix-Sys...s2I:rk:25:pf:0

Worked decent on my tow truck. Good pedal feel afterward.
I like the idea of pushing fresh fluid from the bleeder up to the master cyl.
Trapped air rises easier than trying to force it downstream.

I plan on doing hydraulic clutch work soon so that was another reason I bought it

The Phoenix bleeder works particularly well on vehicles equipped with Anti Lock brake systems.
We used one many times to bleed troublesome vehicles at the Jeep dealership ,particularly some of the older hydraulic clutches.