Who does their own brakes?

[JCH13]

If you crack the bleed screw, that fluid will come out of the caliper instead of backfeeding through the system.

This if you need to...

I use 'em, every time. I also don't like the idea of compressing the caliper pistons until AFTER I've got good fluid in there, pushing old, dirty fluid up to the ABS unit is not a good idea IMO..

...but you should be flushing your brake system frequently enough (2-3 years?) that this isn't a real concern. When a car is up on jacks for brakes anyway I will usually flush/bleed all of the fluid.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

What are you guys using to flush your brake fluid? Can you get a good flush with the pump and dump method?

 

[JCH13]

What are you guys using to flush your brake fluid? Can you get a good flush with the pump and dump method?

I use a vacuum pump brake bleeder. I know Black2NA made his own positive pressure brake bleeder that worked quite well. I prefer either of these methods over the pump-and-dump method, but particularly the vacuum method.

I like the vacuum bleeder because it makes any trapped air bubbles larger and thus easier to pull out. I also like it because the vacuum bleeder's catch tank is less than the volume of the master cylinder's reservoir, so as long as I top off the master cylinder's reservoir when the catch tank gets close to full I never pull air into the brake line. I can also use it to bleed clutch lines and other reservoirs (brake, clutch, power steering) before flushing their systems with fresh fluid.

Either vac or pressure is better than pumping, especially with an older car, because if the brake master cylinder piston is pushed through a part of the master cylinder's bore that has some contamination or corrosion you can wreck the piston seal and thus trash the master cylinder. Ideally the cylinder is flushed out frequently enough to avoid this. However, you rarely know if the PO(s) flushed the fluid enough to avoid this, or if a little piece of crap accidentally got into the brake fluid reservoir at some point. Ask me how I know...

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

What vacuum bleeder are you using?

 

[JCH13]

What vacuum bleeder are you using?

I got this guy one weekend when it became obvious I needed one. I bet they can be had cheaper elsewhere.

 

[brainhulk]

I use a vacuum pump brake bleeder. I know Black2NA made his own positive pressure brake bleeder that worked quite well. I prefer either of these methods over the pump-and-dump method, but particularly the vacuum method.

I like the vacuum bleeder because it makes any trapped air bubbles larger and thus easier to pull out. I also like it because the vacuum bleeder's catch tank is less than the volume of the master cylinder's reservoir, so as long as I top off the master cylinder's reservoir when the catch tank gets close to full I never pull air into the brake line. I can also use it to bleed clutch lines and other reservoirs (brake, clutch, power steering) before flushing their systems with fresh fluid.

Either vac or pressure is better than pumping, especially with an older car, because if the brake master cylinder piston is pushed through a part of the master cylinder's bore that has some contamination or corrosion you can wreck the piston seal and thus trash the master cylinder. Ideally the cylinder is flushed out frequently enough to avoid this. However, you rarely know if the PO(s) flushed the fluid enough to avoid this, or if a little piece of crap accidentally got into the brake fluid reservoir at some point. Ask me how I know...

i did the pump and dump method last time because i had my brother with me.

Next time will probably have to do it alone and i'm gonna try a vacuum pump with this 1 way valve

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

i'm gonna try to bleed the abs/master cylinder with this too

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Vdubchaos]

I use 'em, every time.

Same here and I think that anyone that doesn't use them shouldn't be working on a car/is a complete idiot.

Heck in VW forums we call the car jacks "widowmakers".....as we have seen # of members die.

 

[jlee]

I got this guy one weekend when it became obvious I needed one. I bet they can be had cheaper elsewhere.

Yep. I have something very similar (brand is Mityvac, IIRC).

 

[BUTCH1]

This if you need to...



...but you should be flushing your brake system frequently enough (2-3 years?) that this isn't a real concern. When a car is up on jacks for brakes anyway I will usually flush/bleed all of the fluid.

Yea, but in 3 years the fluid looked dark and nasty, it's just my preference not to send it up to the ABS unit when I can just do it before the piston gets compressed..

 

[BUTCH1]

Same here and I think that anyone that doesn't use them shouldn't be working on a car/is a complete idiot.

Heck in VW forums we call the car jacks "widowmakers".....as we have seen # of members die.

That happened to a bud from way back in my HS days, his car was on a bumper jack on wet grass, as he rocked the car while trying to remove something it slipped out and it killed him..

 

[Vdubchaos]

That happened to a bud from way back in my HS days, his car was on a bumper jack on wet grass, as he rocked the car while trying to remove something it slipped out and it killed him..

Countless stories like that.

First thing I tell people is, if you are not willing to do it safely or know yourself too well and know that you will skip these steps......DON'T DO IT AT ALL!!!

I like to have 3-4 safety nets before I put ANY part of my body under the car. Even with ramps, I still put jack stands on both sides....just in case......still have someone with me.

 

[SearchMaster]

I know a guy down the street from me who just got out of a wheelchair after 1.5 years because his truck fell on him. I had to put on a spare on the side of the road and even though I chocked the tires as best I could with what I had on hand, the jack still slipped and the car came down. I obviously never had any body parts in danger but fortunately I had not yet removed the blown tire so no damage was done.

 

[JCH13]

Yea, but in 3 years the fluid looked dark and nasty, it's just my preference not to send it up to the ABS unit when I can just do it before the piston gets compressed..

After three years? Really? That doesn't sound healthy. 4 y/o fluid I flushed out of a Civic didn't look very dark.

Though prudence never hurts when it comes to brake systems.

 

[BUTCH1]

After three years? Really? That doesn't sound healthy. 4 y/o fluid I flushed out of a Civic didn't look very dark.

Though prudence never hurts when it comes to brake systems.

Probably due to living in FL, the humidity is very high for much of the year, I don't mind, dot3 fluid is cheap, a $5 can and I can replace all the fluid, definite difference in pedal "feel" when I'm done, much firmer..