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YACT: Are the cheap one-man brake bleeder kits any good?

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No Lifer
Pic I guess it's got a spring in there so that when you let off on the brake the spring ensures that no air gets back into the line. Do these work as advertised, or do they suck? Autozone also, for $30, sells a vaccum kit, so that you don't even need to bother with the brake, though I thought that professional shop setups like that cost tons more than $30!

EDIT: Bought one, used it today. Worked great!
 
I wouldn't risk it, they may work but i have never tried em, i prefer to have somebody help me so things can be double check, when it comes to brakes you don't want to half arse things!
 
Originally posted by: Stumps
I wouldn't risk it, they may work but i have never tried em, i prefer to have somebody help me so things can be double check, when it comes to brakes you don't want to half arse things!
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True - any idea where to get a bunch of different tubes, so that I can find a best fit? 🙂
 
I don't know about the US, if you have places like REPCO or SUPERCHEAP AUTO they are the best. maybe the auto section of Kmart?
 
Neither of those stores here 🙂 The ones are autozone and advanceautoparts, and I guess also NAPA, though it's less popular.
 
I've used them and found them to be mostly useless.

As for finding a tube... Just grab some vacuum line from an auto parts store. If you aren't sure of the size, get a couple different sizes. It's not like 10" of vacuum line would be expensive.

Supercharged, bleeding the brakes is (generally) only necessary when you open the system. (i.e. replace a component or have a faulty part.)
 
Originally posted by: Supercharged
Why is bleeding the brakes necessary?
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If there is air in the system for any reason (like you replaced a part), or if your brake fluid is crap and needs changed.
 
Actually I have one of these in my set of tools I must admit. Only cost like $5 or so at autozone and works VERY WELL. I needed soemthing like this when I had my shop I did not always have someone to help me with the bleeding so this did the job and never had any problems with air.
 
When I took my car in to have the brake pads replaced they suggested I have my brake fluid flushed. So I guess I made the right decision in telling them no?
 
Originally posted by: Supercharged
When I took my car in to have the brake pads replaced they suggested I have my brake fluid flushed. So I guess I made the right decision in telling them no?
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Meh...I've never flushed mine (bought at 113k..have almost 159k now)..but I've probably bled enough fluid out when I've done brakes that it's all fairly fresh anyway.. 😛
 
Re: Why to do it some say it's not necessary unless you've opened the system, as mentioned above. Others recommend it as long-interval maintenance. In my case I'm doing it because of the latter reason. The fluid involved costs only a few bucks, and so I'm just doing it on both cars "for the hell of it". I recently did the power steering fluid for the same reason (less than three bucks in that case).

So we've got two who liked the kits and one who doesn't, so far.
 
Originally posted by: CadetLee
Originally posted by: Supercharged
When I took my car in to have the brake pads replaced they suggested I have my brake fluid flushed. So I guess I made the right decision in telling them no?
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Meh...I've never flushed mine (bought at 113k..have almost 159k now)..but I've probably bled enough fluid out when I've done brakes that it's all fairly fresh anyway.. 😛
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Heh, they also told me I needed my rotors resurfaced and I told them no on that too. What's the point? The OEM pads lasted 95k miles. Even if the pads wear out faster I doubt my car will still be running by the time they need replacing again. 😛
 
I just bought a car with 'speed-bleeders', I think he called them..anyway, they seemed to be alright for the previous owner. Unfortunately, this car is in NH..I'm in FL..and can't get up there until May. 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Supercharged
Originally posted by: CadetLee
Originally posted by: Supercharged
When I took my car in to have the brake pads replaced they suggested I have my brake fluid flushed. So I guess I made the right decision in telling them no?
Click to expand...

Meh...I've never flushed mine (bought at 113k..have almost 159k now)..but I've probably bled enough fluid out when I've done brakes that it's all fairly fresh anyway.. 😛
Click to expand...

Heh, they also told me I needed my rotors resurfaced and I told them no on that too. What's the point? The OEM pads lasted 95k miles. Even if the pads wear out faster I doubt my car will still be running by the time they need replacing again. 😛
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If your brakes are working fine and not vibrating there would be absolutely no need to resurface the rotors, since I presume that's what they meant.

 
works awesome.. took me 10 minutes to flush 2 fluid systems on my bike. The biggest hassle for me was not watching the reservior while bleeding.

mine was 19 at a motorcycle place. Works for cars too.

mine was the type that you put on the nipple and it has a spring system.. so you push your brake lever, it bleeds and closes when you release.

Its similar to the speed bleeders, which work in teh same manner. Execpt you dont have to replace the nipple like you do on a speed bleeder.
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Originally posted by: Supercharged
Originally posted by: CadetLee
Originally posted by: Supercharged
When I took my car in to have the brake pads replaced they suggested I have my brake fluid flushed. So I guess I made the right decision in telling them no?
Click to expand...

Meh...I've never flushed mine (bought at 113k..have almost 159k now)..but I've probably bled enough fluid out when I've done brakes that it's all fairly fresh anyway.. 😛
Click to expand...

Heh, they also told me I needed my rotors resurfaced and I told them no on that too. What's the point? The OEM pads lasted 95k miles. Even if the pads wear out faster I doubt my car will still be running by the time they need replacing again. 😛
Click to expand...
If your brakes are working fine and not vibrating there would be absolutely no need to resurface the rotors, since I presume that's what they meant.
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Yep. They told me my car would brake rough and the pads would wear out faster if I didn't have the work done. I just said whatever. :roll:

 
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