Bleeding brakes and fluid choice question...

[deviant]

Simple one here...I'm pretty sure I know what to do but I just want to make sure!

I am going to be bleeding the brakes on my own so need to make some sort of one man bleeding thingo....is something like in the attached pic going to work? Just using an old coke bottle?



As for the process:

Make sure there is a bit of fluid on the bottle so air cant get drawn back in to the pipe going to the nipple.

Stick the pipe on the bleed nipple and crack it open.

Take the lid off the brake fluid reservoir.

Pump the pedal half a dozen times.

Tighten the nipple back up and top up the fluid reservoir as needed.

Repeat on all 4 until pedal pressure is good!

At the moment although the brakes stop the car well enough the pedal is really spongy. Im sure there is no drama going on inside the master cylinder as doing things like holding the pedal down hard it doesnt slowly sink to the floor.

What brake fluid do people use? I'm hoping to hit the track in the next month so I am after something that can withstand that.

I have heard of people using stuff available in motorbike stores?

Also how much should I buy? Obviously I want to bleed all of the old stuff out so the system just has the new stuff in.

[jezza323]

i used just under a 500ml bottle to flush the fluid in my starlet, so it should be fairly similar to you (length of lines etc)

make sure u start from the furthest caliper from the master cylinder and work your way closer

[TooF]

the motul fluid is the pick.. RBF600 iirc is the name of it.. good stuff, and you wont cook it in any hurry. not cheap though


oh and my suggestion on how to bleed them... get an assistant

[jezza323]

yes, i also use motul RBF600, tis great stuff, still comes out clear even after a couple of track days

[deviant]

Motul it is! Is this the bike stuff or is it available from any car place?

I shall employ the missus in pedal pumping duties.

[TooF]

motul sell a lot of motor bike products so i imagien you could get it at a bike place. i get mine at my local enigne builder who supplies just about every other part i use. but any quality supplier (ir not repco, super cheap etc) should be able to supply it to you.

[RO11LR]

G'day Deviant , your drawing loooks exactly like the one i got of e-bay and it works suprisingly well


like this one : http://cgi.ebay.com.au/AMPRO-ONE-MAN...QQcmdZViewItem

[styler]

the two man bleed is with the line into a container and one person pumping and the other opening and closing the nipple appropriately as we all know...

the one man bleed device has a one way valve into a container and the nipple is left open whilst the one person pumps the pedal, the valve does the work of the second person instantly. then just close the nipple. makes fast work of it!

i think you will need the valve or someone to open close the nipple to make it work,
i not sure that coke bottle will work so well without the valve?

i have seen 2 one man devices, one container looking one like posted and one with a black section on the end which is pretty quality, both have one way valves and are about $15 ea.

i think the immersion part is used to see when the bubbles stop and new fluid comes through, or if someones slow on the nipple actions to stop a small amount of air going back up through the system? meh cant hurt to have it immersed anyway!

i think your supposed to start bleeding the furtherest away from the master cylinder and
work your way closer from what i have heard.

that motul fluid sounds good, ill be getting a bottle of that

[turbohachi]

As mentioned you really need some kind of one way valve to stop air and the old fluid being sucked back into the caliper when you release the brake pedal, when two man bleeding the guy on the caliper closes the bleed nipple before you release the pedal to stop this.

I have a little device I purchase from Supercheap for a few bucks which is a plastic tube with a one way valve at one end, you attach this to the bleed nipple before you crack it open, put the other end into a bottle and it allows fluid to flow out but not back in. Even better options are pressurised bleeders which you attach to the master cylinder and pump it up to create pressure - then you just have to run around and crack the nipples one at a time and the fluid is forced out from the pressure! I'm planning to get one of these soon as I bleed my brakes about 10 times a year!!

I've used Motul 5.1, Motul RBF600 and currently Martini GS610. Another good one I've heard is AP600(from AP Racing). But be aware that these high temp fluids tend to need bleeding more regularly as they absorb moisture more readily and go off a lot quicker than lower temp fluids.

[v8soarer]

So long as the tube goes up from the bleed nipple then down into the bottle you don't need a valve. As you pump, the bubbles rise up the tube and away from the bleed nipple so no air gets pulled back in.

You can get those one man kits from supercrap or even k-mart and they're great.

[deviant]

Thanks for the great advice guys.

Thinking about it I think it will need a one way valve of some sort....otherwise wont I just be moving the brake fluid back and forth....I.E. I press the pedal and fluid moves down the pipe into the bottle...I release the peddle and it draws the same fluid back in?

I'll make sure I ask about the life of the fluid....cheers for that heads up turbohachi!

[v8soarer]

It's easier for it to draw fluid in from the reservoir than sucking it all the way back up the lines so you don't need to worry about a valve. Besides which, I've watched it while a mate pumped the pedal

[EldarO]

i got me a 1 man bleeding kit, top stuff!

Eldar.O.

[deviant]

Cheers for the clarification V8.

Seems it would be just as easy to go and buy a one man kit than making one for what they cost! They never seem to have a very big bottle on them though!

How should I dispose of the old stuff?

[Brett]

Hands do a surprisingly good job of soaking it up