Spect2K3

Here are the instructions on my "One Man Brake Bleeder"




I'm not understanding how I can open the bleeder screw, then put on the hose, go into the car, pump the brakes, and then take off the hose, and finally tighten the screw. Won't air get sucked right back up when I come off the brake? And also if I take the hose off before tightening the screw? If someone can either explain these directions or explain to me how I can do it myself in detail, that'd be great.

Otocan

um, wow, remove the bleeder screw entirely? and what do you do with all the fluid pouring all over your caliper, hub, and dripping all over the ground while you're "cleaning" the screw? Lick it up?

I wouldn't listen to those instructions entirely, someone obviously hasn't done their homework who wrote it. Obviously you want to tighten the bleeder valve screw before you pull off the hose because you'll drip fluid out, and there's no reason to "remove the bleeder screw to clean it" because there's nothing to clean, it's a screw with a hole in the middle.

follow the directions as they say, but be smart about it, attatch the hose to the end of the screw first before you loosen it (and you only need to turn it about 1/2 to 3/4 turns, not 1 1/2)

I believe those type of bleeder-assisters have a one-way valve that stops the fluid from being sucked into the system when you take your foot off the pedal.

also, you can expose the system at the bleeder-valve points when there is no pressure being applied either direction by pressure or vacuum, it will just drip out of the bleeder screw.

Spect2K3

Awesome, good information to have. It clarifies everything greatly.

Now is this all done with the car off? B/c I thought the brake pedal sorta 'locks up' when the car is off...

Its good to know that I can do this on my own at my convenience though, I didn't wanna have to bug anybody else to help b/c I like to learn and take my time when i'm doing it.

PakanaHerruus

your supposed to have two people do the job.. one person loosens the screw.. and the other presses the brake pedal down.. then the other person tightens the screw, and then the other person in the car takes foot of pedal.. repeat as much as nesseary.. (some jobs on cars are just meant to be done with more then one person) once you get the process down, its fairly easy)

the reason the pedal locks up when the car is off, is cause there is no vacuum to the booster to soften the pedal (making braking have alot effort)

Otocan

it can be done with the car off - the brake pedal "locks up" because you're not using the brake booster that uses the vacuum of the engine to multiply the pressure applied to the pedal, it still works the same though, you mainly have fluid in a cylinder with a piston, you push the pedal, it pushes the piston compressing the fluid and it goes out of valves. When you open the system, the brake pedal will be much easier to push and can and will be pushed all the way to the floor, it's not recommended, but on our cars specifically there aren't any negative side effects. it's all a very simple system really, once you've got your bearings on how it works.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/power-brake.htm

Spect2K3

Alright, so should I do this with 2 people or will this one-man bleeder do the same job? I'm worried that it won't be perfect and let some air in basically ruining the job!

This should probably take a while as i'm planing on dumping ALL of the old fluid to replace it with a nice synthetic DOT4. I'm planing on doing a little bit at each bleeder valve until the new fluid starts to flow. It should take a while. I have 3 bottles of the following but might go out and buy a 4th just to be sure I don't run out by flushing the system.

Otocan

I've got 4 bottles of those sitting next to me in 32oz size, that bottle looks like 12oz size, I would definitely get some more fluid if you plan a full brake flush, if you bought a single 32oz bottle ontop of what you have that would definitely be enough - I'm planning on doing a full brake flush on my girl's car, and her accord has 2 brake reservoirs, so I got 4 just in case.

it took me 2 bottles of 32oz to put it through the entire system on the TC, so 64oz total, which would mean 5 bottles of the size you posted.

the one-man bleeder should do fine with just you, just hook it up properly and smartly, and get in the car and start pumping the brake pedal, first pump I would check to make sure it is working correctly, then just keep pumping it and checking the reservoir, you don't want it to get close to empty because you will suck air into the system from the front end which will make your job that much harder

you will want it connected to one corner in the back and pump it until you see the new fluid coming out, it will be much lighter and clearer in color than the stock fluid. Once the first corner you do at the back of the car is done, the other corners will only take half a dozen pumps or so to get the old fluid out, think of it as 2 "Y" junctions coming from the master cylinder, the master cylinder has a lot of fluid in it, but the brake lines are very, very tiny and don't hold a lot of fluid. You'll need to pump a lot out of the first corner to get it all out of the system, and the rest will just be what's left in the "daisy-chains" if that makes sense.

it's all very simple, a trained monkey can handle it, seriously. Don't worry yourself, the worst that can happen is you suck air into the system somehow and you just have to pump more to get it out, that's all.

Spect2K3

Thanks Otocan. You've been really helpful as always.

I'll definitely pick up at least 3 more bottles of fluid to make that 6 12oz bottles that i'll have. I may even get a 7th just in case.

I'll make sure to keep checking the cylinder after each bleed and adding fluid. The way you're describing it, it really doesn't sound hard at all. I'm skeptical about the 1 man bleeder, but like you said, if it sucks up air, no big deal. I'll just grab a friend in that case and do it the old fashion way.

I debated getting some stainless steel lines since I am bleeding the system anyway, but they look like a pain in the butt to install and only really improve brake feel (not braking power).

Otocan

actually, stainless steel lines are easy to install, especially in the rear, the only problem is you HAVE to get new copper washers for the bolts that connect to the lines, 8 in all, and they're not too easy to find, I had to buy 8 packages of the "brake-line washer multi-packs" to get the right size I needed.

the only thing about stainless steel lines is that it will make a mess of brake fluid, but all you do is disconnect the brake lines at the connection to the brake caliper and the connection to the metal brake line and replace it with the new lines, fluid will drip out, and you'll need to clean it up. Brake fluid is hygroscopic which means it absorbs water, and it WILL break down in just plain water, so if you hosed down the hub, axel, wheel well, and anything else that got brake fluid on, it'll be easy

if I can remember correctly, there's a "banjo bolt" that you need to disconnect at the caliper side, and a bolt you need to loosen at the other connection side and pull out a copper spacer with a pair of vice-grips to release it. All completed with hand-tools and if you know righty-tighty, lefty-loosey you can't mess it up.

if you want to replace the brake lines, obviously do it at the same time as bleeding the brakes, you'd need to replace all the lines, ensure they are all tight and not leaking fluid with the new washers, then bleed the brake system one corner at a time, preferably starting in the rear.

truthfully I know you already got pads and rotors, and if you're replacing the fluid and have the money to buy stainless steel lines, you might as well anyways, but from experience, i can tell you they don't make an incredible difference, but they are noticeable

BTW, isn't this like the third thread of yours I was the only guy to answer over like 6 posts? lol

Spect2K3

lol, yea, you're the brake king! Not too many people know much about brakes, so you're definitely a good guy to have around here. I always have questions the first time I do anything b/c I'm still learning, so I have no confidence yet.

Anyway, the brake lines don't sound like that big of a deal to do, those washers sound like a pain though! I'm probably going to hold off on it. I'm hoping that bleeding the lines and throwing in a quality fluid will eliminate the mushy pedal feel. Once I do it the first time, i'm sure i'll see that it isn't a big deal and can always do the stainless lines in the future. Thanks otocan!