fleaBay has a 10% off coupon good for 24 hours starting this morning and while casting about for something to save money on, I realized the $40 pressure bleeder I bought 40 years ago was loaned out the the prospect of it never returning, so there we go!
The big question is pressure or vacuum? I've only used the E36 M3ty non-bladder pressure unit that if you didn't pay attention to the fluid level would be more than happy to blow air through the hydraulic system you're trying get air out of; over the years that happened to me more than once.
I've got a MityVac vac/pressure pump that has a little bleeder attachment and it's less than optimal for anything more than motorcycle brakes (and borderline for that at times), hence my reluctance to drop a Benjamin on a vacuum based bleeder.
There are several fairly nice looking bladder pressure bleeders in the slightly about Bennie price point. Any body with experience with those?
I can make my own adapters and have some from the old POS that I can probably change fittings to work with the new one.
I anxiously await suggestions from The Collective. I've got about 15 hours left on the coupon...
ross2004 said:
Have you got an air compressor? This thing works great for me: https://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-brake-fluid-bleeder-with-auto-refill-kit-61912.html
Always 20% off :)
Is 24cfm @ 175psi enough?
I made my own from a garden sprayer and a Motive cap. Works great and the $20 motive cap was the most expensive part and because I was using it on my Porsche, I splurged for the fancy cap instead of using a spare plastic cap and popping a hose fitting into it.
Honestly, its a fairly simple device, I don't know why people make it so complicated or have so much trouble with it.
I've found the vacuum hand pump solution is great for everything else except bleeding brakes. I've used mine for checking vacuum lines and similar more than actually trying to remove air bubbles from brake or hydraulic systems.
A good cooling system pressure tester, a vacuum pump for the vacuum lines and a smoke machine to check for intake leaks will go a long way towards solving a wide variety of problems that plaque more modern cars that can stymie quite a lot of "techs"
ross2004 said:
Have you got an air compressor? This thing works great for me: https://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-brake-fluid-bleeder-with-auto-refill-kit-61912.html
Always 20% off :)
That looks cool, but I'm not sure how it works with brakes.
It looks like a great way to pre-oil the engine in my TR3 before I fire that mother up. .
In reply to ross2004 :
I have this same one and it works surprisingly well for the cost. It does take a lot of air but my 30 gallon craftsman can run it.
I have a little vacuum hand pump that came with a reservoir for liquids collections.
It works great for bleeding brakes by myself. Even if you are doing a system fluid change it works.
And with its clear reservoir you can see the fluid change color from the old dirty stuff to the new clean stuff.
I have both a Mityvac and Motive bleeder. I wouldn’t call either of them great, but the Motive does a better job at bleeding the air out.
I use the engine to provide vacuum. I put a rubber line to a vacuum fitting on the intake that runs to a bottle with two pieces of hard brake line through the lid. From the second piece of hard brake line I run a piece of rubber line to the bleeder. It works very well and very fast. Watch the master cylinder ,it can be emptied quickly.
In reply to pilotbraden :
Wow, that's a great idea. I'm going to have to try that some time.
pilotbraden said:
I use the engine to provide vacuum. I put a rubber line to a vacuum fitting on the intake that runs to a bottle with two pieces of hard brake line through the lid. From the second piece of hard brake line I run a piece of rubber line to the bleeder. It works very well and very fast. Watch the master cylinder ,it can be emptied quickly.
DOH!
Why the HELL haven't I thought of that. I have a vacuum system that I use with my compressor that I fabricobbled together. That sounds way smoother.
rdcyclist said:
ross2004 said:
Have you got an air compressor? This thing works great for me: https://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-brake-fluid-bleeder-with-auto-refill-kit-61912.html
Always 20% off :)
Is 24cfm @ 175psi enough?
That would be enough for a regular brake system. But if you go to a Big Brake system, you'll have to upgrade that.
In reply to Dr. Hess :
Well, of course. Probably 40cfm at 200psi would required. That's the great thing about this forum; the Big Brake guys don't tell you that before you buy and here we are, getting edified and all that E36 M3...
