Any issues with doing a brake flush using the 1-person bottle method?

[996GT2]

Most brake flush tutorials demonstrate either the 2-person method or the 1-person method using a pressure bleeder or vacuum system, but I came across an alternative which only requires a bottle filled with some brake fluid with a length of tubing submerged in it.

As demonstrated in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wwq1Vlk4Wg

I've watched several Youtube tutorials on bleeding the brakes in this manner and it honestly looks simpler and quicker than using a Mityvac or doing the 2-person method.

Are there any downsides to doing a brake flush this way over the other methods?

EDIT: did the flush, worked great using this method, see post #14 for details.

 

[Jimzz]

You don't even need to submerge it. Just get a longer tube and run it higher then the master cyl and then down to a empty container. Just make sure no brake fluid gets on your paint. It will eat the paint off.

I was able to bleed my 73 Chevy which is a hard one to do. But I was able to drain it completely and bleed by myself.

 

[Knowing]

It's simpler, but probably not quicker than using a mityvac. With this method you're going to have to get in to and out of the car to pump the brakes.

 

[brainhulk]

without putting pressure into the master cylinder or pumping the brakes, it takes forever for the fluid to come out. if you pump the brakes, you will need 2 people. so i use pressure pump

 

[thedarkwolf]

I just buy speed bleeders anytime I have to do brakes anymore.

 

[brainhulk]

now that i think of it, what if you put a brick on the brake pedal then move to crack the bleeder?

i think that might work

 

[Jimzz]

without putting pressure into the master cylinder or pumping the brakes, it takes forever for the fluid to come out. if you pump the brakes, you will need 2 people. so i use pressure pump

You do not need 2 people to pump the brakes. The method I listed and even the one the OP talked about still can pump the brakes with 1 person.

 

[boomerang]

I've been bleeding brakes solo using the method in the video for decades. No need for the zip tie though.

If I want to do a fluid flush I nearly empty the master cylinder reservoirs, put in fresh fluid and bleed from the farthest to the nearest to the MC. When the fluid in the tubing is clear, you know you've purged out the old fluid to the extent possible and you move onto the next closest wheel.

 

[brainhulk]

You do not need 2 people to pump the brakes. The method I listed and even the one the OP talked about still can pump the brakes with 1 person.

When you release the pedal, doesn't that suck fluid back in? Or do you just pump before you crack the bleeder? Didn't know that would work...

 

[boomerang]

When you release the pedal, doesn't that suck fluid back in? Or do you just pump before you crack the bleeder? Didn't know that would work...

You crack the bleeder open slightly so that it takes some foot pressure to expel the fluid. You raise the pedal slowly so that the fluid is replenished from the MC reservoir instead of sucking it back through the line. You can pump the pedal repeatedly this way. The danger is in sucking the reservoir dry and then introducing air into the system. So, you do have to get out of the car and check the fluid level. After a while, you get the hang of it. You need to get out anyway to check if the fluid coming out is clear, close the bleeder and move on to the next wheel so after a while it all becomes second nature.

I loop the hose up from the bleeder and then down to the bottle. This traps the air at the top of the loop and won't allow it to be cycled back into the brake system.

 

[brainhulk]

You crack the bleeder open slightly so that it takes some foot pressure to expel the fluid. You raise the pedal slowly so that the fluid is replenished from the MC reservoir instead of sucking it back through the line. You can pump the pedal repeatedly this way. The danger is in sucking the reservoir dry and then introducing air into the system. So, you do have to get out of the car and check the fluid level. After a while, you get the hang of it. You need to get out anyway to check if the fluid coming out is clear, close the bleeder and move on to the next wheel so after a while it all becomes second nature.

I loop the hose up from the bleeder and then down to the bottle. This traps the air at the top of the loop and won't allow it to be cycled back into the brake system.

Sweet, I learned a new method. Looks like it will take some practice and a light foot.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I have a mityvac. I use it quite often between my car, significant others car, and motorcycle. I use it for sucking out old power steering fluid too with one of the attachments. It's really worth the money and the time you'll save. You'll need a decent compressor too but that's something every self respecting do it yourself-er should have anyways.

 

[evident]

I just purchased a mityvac but haven't used it yet. it's been a few years since i've done the fluid on my suv.

 

[996GT2]

Reporting back.

Did the flush yesterday using the method in the video. Worked great. The fluid that came out was a medium brown color, certainly darker than the new fluid that went in.

The method described in the video is very easy, only took around 30 minutes to bleed all 4 corners, and the most time-consuming part was probably taking off the wheels, putting them back on again, and torquing the lug nuts with a torque wrench.

For my vehicle, 30 inches of 1/4" OD, 0.170" ID clear tubing from Home Depot worked great and provided an airtight seal even without a zip-tie in place. However, I chose to use a zip-tie anyway for extra peace of mind. FYI, make sure you suck out most of the fluid from the master cylinder reservoir before you start so that you are not running dirty brake fluid through the lines on the initial bleed. You also should check the reservoir every 8-10 pumps to ensure that you are not running it dry and getting air into the system.

 

[JCH13]

The gravity bleed method you describe has a hard time expelling air bubbles from some sections of brake lines and can take a long time. So long, in fact, that if you forget about it you can completely empty the brake lines.

I've had really mixed results with vacuum bleeding. I'm never quite sure if bubbles are coming from the brake system or getting sucked around the bleeder fitting threads.

2-person bleeding is faster than gravity, but slower than vacuum and pressure. It requires good coordination though, and can trash your brake master cylinder if you push it into a travel range where crud or bore damage is (happened to me once).

Pressure bleeding is where it's at. It's the fastest, easiest, and safest of all bleeding methods I've seen or tried. For ~$60 I put together a little system that has worked really well on an MG Midget, F250 Super duty, Miata, MR2, Mazdaspeed3, Camry, Civic, etc. See:
Brake bleed adapter
Hose whip
Regulator with filter and drier

I cannot recommend something like this strongly enough for brake work. Two nights ago my buddy and I bled his MG Midget rear brakes from completely dry to working in <15 minutes.

 

[996GT2]

The gravity bleed method you describe has a hard time expelling air bubbles from some sections of brake lines and can take a long time. So long, in fact, that if you forget about it you can completely empty the brake lines.

I've had really mixed results with vacuum bleeding. I'm never quite sure if bubbles are coming from the brake system or getting sucked around the bleeder fitting threads.

2-person bleeding is faster than gravity, but slower than vacuum and pressure. It requires good coordination though, and can trash your brake master cylinder if you push it into a travel range where crud or bore damage is (happened to me once).

It's not a gravity bleed. After the tubing is connected, you are actively pumping the brake pedal and topping off the fluid every 8-10 pumps. As for not pushing the pedal down too far, I just put a piece of 2x4 on the floor of the car.

I didn't see any bubbles in the line at all after each corner was bled. Because there is some fluid in the bottle and the tubing is submerged, air cannot get into the tube when you release the pedal after each pump.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Sounds much more complicated than the mityvac. I just put the refill bottle on top of master cylinder. It keeps it topped off and then I get to bleeder valves and suck all the old fluid out while the refill bottle keeps it topped off. All four corners in very little time.

 

[996GT2]

Sounds much more complicated than the mityvac. I just put the refill bottle on top of master cylinder. It keeps it topped off and then I get to bleeder valves and suck all the old fluid out while the refill bottle keeps it topped off. All four corners in very little time.

How do you get it to not leak that way? Most of the videos I've seen say to top off the master cylinder reservoir and to refill it every 8-10 pumps of the brake pedal.

Sounds much more complicated than the mityvac.

I didn't feel like it was too bad. Once the wheels were off, the actual bleeding process only took 15 minutes. It's essentially the same as the Mityvac method, but instead of pumping the Mityvac by hand you're pumping the brake pedal. Everything else (such as connecting the tubing to the bleed nipples) is essentially the same. One benefit of doing this method over the Mityvac is that you can use a larger (20+ oz) bottle and don't have to empty out the fluid several times like you would with the small reservoir in the Mityvac.

 

[Raizinman]

I would not use this method with ABS (Anti Lock Brakes) which is about every vehicle manufactured in the last 10 or more years.

 

[996GT2]

I would not use this method with ABS (Anti Lock Brakes) which is about every vehicle manufactured in the last 10 or more years.

Honda would disagree with you.

The method described in the Honda factory service manual is the 2-person pump method. The 1-person pump method works based on the same principles.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

How do you get it to not leak that way? Most of the videos I've seen say to top off the master cylinder reservoir and to refill it every 8-10 pumps of the brake pedal.



I didn't feel like it was too bad. Once the wheels were off, the actual bleeding process only took 15 minutes. It's essentially the same as the Mityvac method, but instead of pumping the Mityvac by hand you're pumping the brake pedal. Everything else (such as connecting the tubing to the bleed nipples) is essentially the same. One benefit of doing this method over the Mityvac is that you can use a larger (20+ oz) bottle and don't have to empty out the fluid several times like you would with the small reservoir in the Mityvac.

My mityvac holds like half a gallon. I could flush 5 cars before needing to empty it.

The refill bottle thing somehow senses fluid level and once it gets to a point it releases more fluid into the master cylinder. It came with my mityvac. I bought a nice mityvac not the small cheap one.

 

[razel]

For those who do have have a 2nd person around, you can still do it with one. Pump the brakes yourself. On the last pedal push use a sturdy cardboard box or anything to wedge between the seat and the brake while you push the seat forward. Then tighten it up. Been doing this myself nearly 15 years. Nearly 30 years when I was younger watching and helping my father. No air issues at all.

 

[JCH13]

It's not a gravity bleed. After the tubing is connected, you are actively pumping the brake pedal and topping off the fluid every 8-10 pumps. As for not pushing the pedal down too far, I just put a piece of 2x4 on the floor of the car.

I didn't see any bubbles in the line at all after each corner was bled. Because there is some fluid in the bottle and the tubing is submerged, air cannot get into the tube when you release the pedal after each pump.

Ah, I missed that, my apologies.

How well do you think it would work if there were significant air bubbles in the system, or whole lines/components were dry?

 

[996GT2]

Ah, I missed that, my apologies.

How well do you think it would work if there were significant air bubbles in the system, or whole lines/components were dry?

I'd think that it would work as well as the 2-person method for getting air out of the system, but when I bled the brakes yesterday it was primarily to flush out the old brake fluid (there was no air in the system to start with).

 

[Midwayman]

I have a pressure bleeder. Can't imagine doing it any other way after doing it that way. Pour fluid into the bottle, screw onto the master cylinder and pump it up. Then put open each brake valve and it automatically keeps the master topped up. No running around, no pumping brakes. Its great.