[SidViscous]

Hmmm noticed we don't have a wrenching/wrenching tricks forum.

Well as you all probably learned at some point, when doing a brake bleed one person working the pedal, other doing the down - up - down - up - down business. just like sex, including the brake fluid.

But, requires another person. Somewhere here or t'other plaice. I talked about a setup I had done with a bottle that has a magnet, some tubing and a one way valve.

Turns out all that business is extranous, all you need is some tubing. I used some surgical tubing I had around. Used enough to go from the nipple, straight up over the wing mirrors (In the back just went up about as high and tucked it into the gap in the door frame, and then back down into a bottle. The steep up climb lets bubbles rise quickly. If you pump enough it just turns the corner and goes into the bottle. Crack the valve a little. Get in, pump it a few times until you think your done, check that there is a goodly enough amount of fluid in the tubing. Tighten the bleeder valve. Check pedal feel. If it's good. Then just pinch of the tubing near the nipple, hold it up high and pass the tubing through your hands until the excessive fluid drains out.

Done, quick and simple.

[David993S]

Simple and effective.

When I was a kid wrenching on all my British cars, I always asked someone to pump the brake pedal. When I got older I used an electric power bleeder. Now I just have my service guy bleed the brakes every other year. I've found that to be easiest solution.

[N_Jay]

Home pumped pressure bleeder and a tube with the end in a small bottle of brake fluid as an air trap works fine.

[fast_freddy]

Why "Rube Goldberg" it?

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-motive-part ... /motivepb/

[SidViscous]

Only Freddy would call a single piece of tubing "Rube Goldberg" and then go spend $53 for a tool.

I'd have the brakes done before you got that thing out of wherever you store it.

[N_Jay]

Try flushing the fluid your way.

[fpena944]

I use a pressure bleeder but it can still get messy and does take time to connect and set up.

Doesn't all this tubing though create a lot of wasted fluid?

[fast_freddy]

Only Freddy would call a single piece of tubing "Rube Goldberg" and then go spend $53 for a tool.

I'd have the brakes done before you got that thing out of wherever you store it.

Whut?

What if you don't keep any surgical tubing around?

With some brake systems, MB as an example, you need pressure to do the whole brake bleed thing. Last winter the hard brake line in my sons Benz ruptured and drained 100% of the brake fluid out. Even after the brake line was replaced, simply putting fluid in the reservoir didn't give any pressure in the system to satisfy the computer to go through the bleed proceedure. With one of those bleeders, notwithstanding getting the car in the air, it's a 15~ minute job. Otherwise, I imagine it takes 35-40~ minutes with surgical tube treatment. I'll trade $53~ for 20-25 minutes of my time every time. Here's the rub, it saves time every time I bleed the brakes even on non MB cars. Six cars, once a year each is ninety minutes a year. I've had one for ten years. Thats saved me 15~ hours for $53.

[SidViscous]

Try flushing the fluid your way.

??? If you've ever used teh pump the brake method you know it doesn't take that long. There isn't a huge amount of fluid in the system. I half way flushed the system just bleeding them.

I use a pressure bleeder but it can still get messy and does take time to connect and set up.

Doesn't all this tubing though create a lot of wasted fluid?

<shrug> not much. How expensive is brake fluid?

[SidViscous]

Only Freddy would call a single piece of tubing "Rube Goldberg" and then go spend $53 for a tool.

I'd have the brakes done before you got that thing out of wherever you store it.

Whut?

What if you don't keep any surgical tubing around?

With some brake systems, MB as an example, you need pressure to do the whole brake bleed thing. Last winter the hard brake line in my sons Benz ruptured and drained 100% of the brake fluid out. Even after the brake line was replaced, simply putting fluid in the reservoir didn't give any pressure in the system to satisfy the computer to go through the bleed proceedure. With one of those bleeders, notwithstanding getting the car in the air, it's a 15~ minute job. Otherwise, I imagine it takes 35-40~ minutes with surgical tube treatment. I'll trade $53~ for 20-25 minutes of my time every time. Here's the rub, it saves time every time I bleed the brakes even on non MB cars. Six cars, once a year each is ninety minutes a year. I've had one for ten years. Thats saved me 15~ hours for $53.

Took me about 5 minutes per wheel. And that was for new calipers. And that's from cracking the bleeder, to tightening it at the end.

Used surgical tubing because I ran across it while looking for my other system. Any tubing that you would normally use for brake bleeding will do.

[N_Jay]

Try flushing the fluid your way.

??? If you've ever used teh pump the brake method you know it doesn't take that long. There isn't a huge amount of fluid in the system. I half way flushed the system just bleeding them.

I use a pressure bleeder but it can still get messy and does take time to connect and set up.

Doesn't all this tubing though create a lot of wasted fluid?

<shrug> not much. How expensive is brake fluid?

Yep, not much in the system and not much in the reservoir.
So much easier when you can watch what is coming out without worrying about letting the reservoir get low and let in air.

I put off buying one for years, and finally got it when I simply couldn't get a firm peddle on an A6.

Now I never even bother starting without the power bleeder.

[N_Jay]

I use a pressure bleeder but it can still get messy and does take time to connect and set up.

Doesn't all this tubing though create a lot of wasted fluid?

Shouldn't be messy if you use it properly.
Yes, you do waste a few OZ, but not enough to worry about.

[tooloud10]

With some brake systems, MB as an example, you need pressure to do the whole brake bleed thing. Last winter the hard brake line in my sons Benz ruptured and drained 100% of the brake fluid out. Even after the brake line was replaced, simply putting fluid in the reservoir didn't give any pressure in the system to satisfy the computer to go through the bleed proceedure. With one of those bleeders, notwithstanding getting the car in the air, it's a 15~ minute job. Otherwise, I imagine it takes 35-40~ minutes with surgical tube treatment. I'll trade $53~ for 20-25 minutes of my time every time. Here's the rub, it saves time every time I bleed the brakes even on non MB cars. Six cars, once a year each is ninety minutes a year. I've had one for ten years. Thats saved me 15~ hours for $53.

Yep, it's been more complicated like this for a lot of years. Even for my '99 Porsche you can't properly bleed the brakes without a computer if the whole system is drained and you have PSM. My independent mechanic was finally able to figure it out but even the Porsche dealer went through $200 of brake fluid trying to figure it out. They 'graciously' comped it after admitting that they didn't know how to bleed the brakes on a 996.

[XR4Tim]

I use a Motiv pressure bleeder in my garage. I'm as likely to have that with me for an emergency repair as I am to have several feet of tubing. I used to have a vacuum bleeder that used shop air and a venturi valve to suck fluid out of the bleeders. I really liked that, but had one Audi with contaminated brake fluid (consistency of custard) that required both the vacuum bleeder and a pressure bleeder to be hooked up to get that goop bled out.