Flushing/Bleeding brakes

I have been reading the postings about using a pressure bleeder to flush brake fluid...is there a problem with using the old "pump and bleed" system?

Pump and bleed isn't a problem as long as you have lots of time and a friend to help you (in my experience). A pressure bleeder makes the job easy for one-person to complete, for the brakes. You'll still need a friend to bleed the clutch slave cylinder (for manual-transmissions).

A Motive pressure bleeder is well worth the money spent IMHO. Just finished flushing my brakes. I've given up on the pedal procedure. If you pump the manual recommends only pumping brakes 3/4 of the way towards floorboard in older vehicles like ours. Damage to master cylinder may occur if you stomp to an extreme. Also there are nine bleed screws to activate.

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Im going to be ordering a Motive bleeder in the near future and am looking forward to bleeding the brakes on all my cars. A little help for a newbie however. Each caliper has two screws, I get that. Whats the ninth?

Clutch slave on manual transmission cars.

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Im assuming this feeds off of the same reservoir and would need to be bled every time the brakes are bled?

Yes,. Gets fed from same reservoir. Manual recommends doing both every two years I'm pretty sure. Bleed the outside bleed screw on caliper first .

I"m another happy customer of the Motive bleeder. It makes the job quick and easy.

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I was recently told (here on rennlist) that although the clutch slave shares the same reservior, that it has two separate compartments (?) inside the reservoir, and as long as you don�t let the fluid level get too low as you are bleeding/flushing, you don�t need to bleed the clutch circuit when you are doing the brakes. Hopefully someone else can chime in and verify this.

Back before the pressure bleeders were readily available, I made my own using a small garden sprayer small garden sprayer and some fittings. Over the years I have accumulated a collection of caps for different vehicles (Toyota, Honda/Acura, Porsche, BMW), and I made one from a piece of 3/16 sheet and some rubber gasket material that works as a universal on the big domestic MCs like my Ford F250. It works very well, and cost a whole lot less than the Motive etc. But its kind of a tinkerer's solution, I suppose. The PCA DE events require flushing of the brake fluid prior to the event, and this ugly little garden sprayer rig makes flushing all four wheels (and the clutch) about a 1/2 hour - 45 min job.

I did the same, and it worked well enough. I bought the motive later and prefer it over the homebrew setup.

FWIW, all of the user how-to videos say to remove the filter basket from the fluid reservoir when using a power bleeder, but I spoke to Motive themselves and they said it isn�t necessary and not part of their directions.

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2 person pump and bleed system works and sometimes better in purging air, instead of just replacing new fluids. The cons are you need 2 people and a piece of block under the brake pedal to prevent t sinking down too much. The reason being it might damage the piston seals if it sinks too far down. The reason being the piston rarely sink down so drastically during normal use and if there is nothing preventing it from bottoming, the force might just crush the piston seal and cause a leak if not immediate, but might down the road. The pressure bleeder is good for replacing brake fluid with just one person. I use it for that reason in recycling old fluids with the new ones every 2 years. However, once air gets in, I rarely find it successful in purging the air out, whereas the 2 person pump and bleed method is preferable in this situation.

When using the power bleeder, the fluid drizzles out pretty slowly. Would it be bad to push the brake pedal(while the valve is cracked open) in addition to using the power bleeder?

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Why do you need to push the brake pedal with the power bleeder ?

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I didn't have to do anything with the clutch when I did brakes last year.

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If you pump it up to ~15PSIG, the brake fluid should come out at a reasonable speed. I never timed it but it feels like a minute per bleeder valve.

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Because it comes out painfully slow at 10-12psi. I read at too high of a pressure, you you can blow seals. I can�t think of there being an issue with pressing the pedal to help speed the bleeding process since it still has positive pressure from the Power Bleeder.

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I�ll have to try 15psi next time. I just need to either be patient or call the wife out to help me pump the old school way. Lol

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I never tried that. You could I guess, pressing on the pedal in conjunction with using the power bleeder to speed up the process. I think it is safe as long as you don't allow the pedal to sink way to the bottom.

BUY IT! Literally it is one of the greatest tools I've ever purchased, worth every single penny without a doubt. It makes bleeding your system so much more enjoyable with a lot less mess. I am pretty sure they recommend keeping it at 10 and not going above that due to potentially damaging seals on the low pressure side of the system. At 10 it's not squirting out but it runs out fast enough for me. I'm only flushing my system once a year at most, so I've never worried much about how long it takes. If you're doing multiple cars a day, I could see wanting a quicker flow. Edit: as others have stated 10 is much lower than the max. It's been a year since I've done it so I can't remember precisely. What I do remember is that the tool is a must have if you're going to be bleeding brake/clutch lines. I've purchased additional caps to fit other make vehicles and loaned it to my parents for their cars and used it on my wife's car as well. It has easily paid for itself several times over.

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Actually Motive recommends 15PSI https://www.motiveproducts.com/pages...r-instructions

They reference 15 psi for testing the cap for leaks, but up to 20 psi for bleeding. The Porsche shop manual says approximately 1.5 bar, which is 21.75 psi. I usually pump it up to just under 20 and haven't had any problems. Surely, bleeding at 15 psi is a safe way to go. (and don't call me Shirley) From Motive: 6. Tighten pump cap. Pressurize Power Bleeder to level recommended in vehicle service manual. Do not exceed 20 psi unless specified by your service manual. Higher pressures may damage your vehicle's hydraulic system and could result in serious injury. From 996 workshop manual: Fill reservoir to its top edge with new brake fluid. Attach bleeding device to reservoir. Switch bleeding device on. Bleed pressure approximately 1.5 bar.

Just be careful the reservoir cap is nice and tight, monitor for leaks...it should not fill all the way with fluid. Also surround with blue towels to absorb/indicate any leakage. After a couple dozen easy bleeds I had a hell of a mess one time when the reservoir seal leaked, luckily I got it up before paint damage. Also cover the fender with towels, tarp or something...it�s very easy to get little splatters of fluid when connecting/disconnecting the power bleeder.

I find 20 PSI start works great, I use turkey baster to remove as much from reservoir then refill with new fluid before starting . Keep reservoir filled with fluid. I miss ATE Blue fluid. If I'd known it was going to be outlawed a few years back I would have bought 5-6 cans first, only had 3 , I'm out now. Start with farthest away Bleeder, work your way in. fun job, great satisfaction.