DIY pressurised brake bleeder

[ae86levin]

I've just finished a brake system overhaul on my Hilux that included front caliper rebuild, rear disc brake swap (using subaru calipers), extended brake line install and a master cylinder upgrade to a 1" 80 series master to suit the rear discs.

Needless to say after all this I needed to bleed the brake system from a totally dry starting point.
Being the impatient type and wanting to get back on the road ASAP I didn't want to wait until I could get someone to help me with the normal two man bleeding opertaion.
After searching on the net I found the 'power bleeder' made by motive products in the US and after watching a few testimonial videos on youtube I thought it looked pretty good.

So I decided to make up my own pressure bleeder based on the power bleeder. The main parts to make the power bleeder can be bought from bunnings for around $20.
Pressure sprayer - $11
50mm pvc plumbing end cap (high pressure endcap thick walled) -$4
Rubber reducing collar 50mm -> 40mm -$6

Other parts that are also required but I already had were:
6mm tail fitting
6mm pvc hose (5m at bunnings is around $6)
pressure guage (I'm sure a cheap tyre guage could be used if you needed to)

The end cap, tail fitting and reducing collar


How they go together


How it attaches to the master cylinder


The fully assembled bleeder - I replaced the standard black feed hose with clear and shortened it after pressure testing


Here it is in operation


The bleeder operates by pressurising the brake system to 15psi (the noinated pressure by motive for their bleeder) so when you crack the bleed nipples you don't need someone on the brake peddle to create pressure to force the air out.
Another advantage is that the master cylinder won't run dry as you can put plenty of fuid in the pressure bottle which keeps the master topped up while bleeding.
I had great success with this cheap contraption so I thought I'd share it. All up it took me half an hour to bleed the system after I attached the bleeder. It also fits onto the clutch master as well for when you need to flush that.

[4X4 shorty]

Thats cool have to try it sometime 10/10

[DUDELUX]

We had something very similar at the kart workshop I worked in a few years ago, but it came from the brake fluid place.

Was a 2lt bottle, with a hand pump on the top, with some clear hose going from the bottle to a lid(lid was the same as the lids on the brake master).

Simply screw the lid onto the master, open the bleed nipple(single caliper-1 bleed nipple), pump the bottle until the fluid coming out was clean, tighten the bleed nipple.
Go do a few hot laps to double check the brakes were good. Job done.

Ive been thinking how I could make something like that for use in the shed, like the one you made. Its always just me doiung stuff to my car, so this will help me bleed the brakes a hell of alot quicker than the current method I use.

Good job mate.

[Clanky]

Nice work.
I bought one of those commercial things a few years back and it has never worked properly. Keen to give this a go for sure.
Thanks for sharing this

Do you just fill the reservoir and the rubber adaptor with fluid, or do you have it in the pump sprayer?

Cheers

[ae86levin]

Nice work.
I bought one of those commercial things a few years back and it has never worked properly. Keen to give this a go for sure.
Thanks for sharing this

Do you just fill the reservoir and the rubber adaptor with fluid, or do you have it in the pump sprayer?

Cheers

Yeah you add fluid to the bottle and the pressure causes it to fill (and keep full) the master and the rubber adaptor. When you are finished bleeding you just leave a nipple open until you see the fulid empty down to the full marker on the master.

[coilylux]

i bought this years and years ago....

http://www.speedibleed.com/order/k100.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

one of the best tools ive bought

[Willy Hilux]

Love it. I'm gunna make one.

Thanks heaps!

[chimpboy]

That's awesome. I actually bought a vacuum one ages ago, but I find it pretty shit. I think I'll copy your idea next time I need to do brakes.

[ledgend80]

just wondering what happens once you finish bleeding if you excees fluid above the top of the resivour on your master cylinder. godd effort though.

[ae86levin]

just wondering what happens once you finish bleeding if you excees fluid above the top of the resivour on your master cylinder. godd effort though.

When you are finished bleeding you just leave a nipple open until you see the fulid empty down to the full marker on the master.

The video below is from Motive who's device I copied it shows how it works better than my instructions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0h5bMoW-aw

[Wendle]

You can also get a spare cap for your reservoir and fit a tubeless valve stem to it and use a bicycle pump to do the same job

[ae86levin]

You can also get a spare cap for your reservoir and fit a tubeless valve stem to it and use a bicycle pump to do the same job

Yeah I reckon that would work too. The only downside would be having to top up the resevoir regularly. Not a problem if bleeding a full system but I used the better part of a litre of fluid to get mine bled from dry.

[Guy]

how did the plastic go after having brake fluid in it ? has it cone all soft or brittle ?

[ae86levin]

how did the plastic go after having brake fluid in it ? has it cone all soft or brittle ?

The pressure bottle shows no sign of damage - it's pretty thick walled and made to hold pesticides.
There is milky discolouration on the pvc hose after the fluid was in it but thats only $5 - 6 so it can be replaced each time (or wash it out after use).

[Bumpy45]

how did the plastic go after having brake fluid in it ? has it cone all soft or brittle ?

The pressure bottle shows no sign of damage - it's pretty thick walled and made to hold pesticides.
There is milky discolouration on the pvc hose after the fluid was in it but thats only $5 - 6 so it can be replaced each time (or wash it out after use).

You will find that the hose will go hard after a while. If you are going to wash it do it with metho not water.

[cliff]

This is bloody brilliant. I'll be putting extended, braided lines in shortly, so one of these is on my to make list. Thanks for sharing!!