OP
OP
MarkB_MI
Well-known Member
- Location
- Motown USA
Update:
As I mentioned earlier, I ordered the Motive Products bleeder with the upgraded aluminum master cylinder adapter. I put it to use yesterday and I'm pretty satisfied with it. Pressure bleeding is definitely the way to go! No more recruiting a reluctant helper to pump the brakes, no more miscommunication about whether the pedal should be up or down, no more "are we about done? I have things to do!". You can do it solo, except when it comes time to doing the ABS bleed with a scan tool; for that you need someone to hold the brake pedal down.
I used the bleeder "dry". That is, I just filled the master cylinder reservoir, left the bleeder empty and used it to pressurize the reservoir. That way I didn't have to clean up the bleeder tank afterwards or remove fluid from an over-full reservoir. I did have to keep an eye on the fluid reservoir and refill it a couple of times.
The bleeder consists of two parts: A pump-up tank similar to a garden sprayer and a vehicle-specific adapter. The two are connected with a standard I-type air coupling so you can disconnect the adapter without losing pressure in the tank. I was tempted to just turn down the regulator on my air compressor and connect it directly to the adapter. As Hobo mentioned, it's not easy to get a good seal on the reservoir filler neck, which probably wasn't designed to hold pressure. But I was able to get a decent seal with the aluminum adapter.
With pressure on the master cylinder reservoir, I could immediately see the master cylinder flare fittings were leaking. It also would have been easy to tell if there were any other leaks in the brake lines.
Once I did the initial bleed, I hooked up my scan tool, got my stepson to hold down the brake pedal and attempt to bleed the ABS. I wasn't happy with the results, but that had nothing to do with the bleeder but rather my "scan tool". I was using my OBDLink MX+ and the Gretio app. Although Gretio has an "automated ABS bleed" function, it didn't really seem to be doing anything. Also, there was no indication of what I was supposed to be doing while it was running; there's an option to start the bleed, then Gretio says "success" and that's it. What I did was to bleed each caliper after restarting the bleed function, and I did get some air out, but I have no idea if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I think high-end scan tools will prompt you what to do. Also, I didn't hear any sound coming out of the ABS unit while I ran the ABS bleed.
A curious side-note: Motive Products is a Michigan company, and I received the bleeder the day after I ordered it. Then, a day later I got an odd email from them apologizing for the delay in my order! I replied to the email saying I already received it. A day or too after that I got another email saying the bleeder was on its way. So far I haven't received a second bleeder, but I might.
As I mentioned earlier, I ordered the Motive Products bleeder with the upgraded aluminum master cylinder adapter. I put it to use yesterday and I'm pretty satisfied with it. Pressure bleeding is definitely the way to go! No more recruiting a reluctant helper to pump the brakes, no more miscommunication about whether the pedal should be up or down, no more "are we about done? I have things to do!". You can do it solo, except when it comes time to doing the ABS bleed with a scan tool; for that you need someone to hold the brake pedal down.
I used the bleeder "dry". That is, I just filled the master cylinder reservoir, left the bleeder empty and used it to pressurize the reservoir. That way I didn't have to clean up the bleeder tank afterwards or remove fluid from an over-full reservoir. I did have to keep an eye on the fluid reservoir and refill it a couple of times.
The bleeder consists of two parts: A pump-up tank similar to a garden sprayer and a vehicle-specific adapter. The two are connected with a standard I-type air coupling so you can disconnect the adapter without losing pressure in the tank. I was tempted to just turn down the regulator on my air compressor and connect it directly to the adapter. As Hobo mentioned, it's not easy to get a good seal on the reservoir filler neck, which probably wasn't designed to hold pressure. But I was able to get a decent seal with the aluminum adapter.
With pressure on the master cylinder reservoir, I could immediately see the master cylinder flare fittings were leaking. It also would have been easy to tell if there were any other leaks in the brake lines.
Once I did the initial bleed, I hooked up my scan tool, got my stepson to hold down the brake pedal and attempt to bleed the ABS. I wasn't happy with the results, but that had nothing to do with the bleeder but rather my "scan tool". I was using my OBDLink MX+ and the Gretio app. Although Gretio has an "automated ABS bleed" function, it didn't really seem to be doing anything. Also, there was no indication of what I was supposed to be doing while it was running; there's an option to start the bleed, then Gretio says "success" and that's it. What I did was to bleed each caliper after restarting the bleed function, and I did get some air out, but I have no idea if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I think high-end scan tools will prompt you what to do. Also, I didn't hear any sound coming out of the ABS unit while I ran the ABS bleed.
A curious side-note: Motive Products is a Michigan company, and I received the bleeder the day after I ordered it. Then, a day later I got an odd email from them apologizing for the delay in my order! I replied to the email saying I already received it. A day or too after that I got another email saying the bleeder was on its way. So far I haven't received a second bleeder, but I might.
