apintofmild
Members
I've not had my car long, and don't really know if and when the brake fluid was last changed. To that end I went out and bought the DIYers friend, the Gunson Eezibleed as it "…fits most vehicles..." and promised "perfect brake bleeding in moments".
The ***ortment of caps supplied weren't even close!
I squashed it back in its box, returned it to the shop, and got my £20 quid back
Undeterred, I fashioned a suitable device from bits and pieces lying around the garage. The sort of bits and pieces my wife dismisses as junk
The brake fluid reservoir cap is a piece of 4mm fibreglass sheet, drilled to accept some M3 threaded rods that have been drilled & tapped into two scraps of aluminium bar. A circular piece of soft white rubbery gasket material forms an air tight seal with the top of the reservoir. A threaded bulkhead tube connector sits in the middle, sealed with an o-ring. The wing nuts are courtesy of eBay.
This connects via a length of PVC tube to 2.5 litre bottle. The tube is sealed into the cap, and extends to the bottom of the bottle, weighed down with a stainless washer (cable tied on).
A second hole in the bottle cap has a length of blue tube sealed into it. This extends only half an inch or so into the bottle, so as not to touch the brake fluid.
The other end of the blue tube attached to a Y-piece. One part going to a bicycle pump, the other to a pressure gauge I happened to have. The blue tube is about 3m long, and so can be taken to each wheel in turn and pressure applied whilst watching the fluid bled form the wheel. The advantage here is that if anything goes wrong pressure can be released instantly!
Aside from the fact it actually fits, the real advantage of my design is it allows sufficient clean brake fluid to be on tap to complete the whole exchange without having to refill.
The rest of the procedure is more or less the same as any pressure bleeder, and is detailed below should anyone else wish to adapt it for their device.
First use a small brush to clean any dust and debris from the body and cap of the brake fluid reservoir. This will minimise the chances of any foreign material finding its way into the system.
Fit your reservoir cap and ***emble all the bleed components, minus any fluid.
Pressurise and check for leaks. My 2.5 litre bottle is in no way a pressure vessel, and so to minimise the risk of a (messy!) burst I kept the pressure at about 7PSI. This made for a slow, but controlled exchange.
Once happy it's all sealed, add clean fluid to the pressure bottle -in my case 2 litres. Re-seal the lid and pump up to 7 PSI (or connect to a partially deflated spare wheel, the Gunson way).
Go to each wheel in turn. I already had the front of the car jacked up on axle stands, so both front wheel nipples were accessible on full lock with the wheels still on. If the nipples haven't received much attention in a while, a squirt of WD40 will aid their opening.
Remove the rubber dust cover. Fit a ring spanner over the nipple (9mm front, 10mm rear) then push a piece of tight fitting PVC tube onto the nipple.
The end of the tube should extend into a suitable jar. Ideally fill the jar with 1/2" of fluid, and keep the tube end below the surface. Although unlikely, if for any reason the pressure reverses (e.g. by a leak at the reservoir end), only fluid will be drawn back into the system, not air.
Crack the nipple with the spanner and watch as old fluid is pushed down the pipe into the jar. Only undo the nipple enough to release the fluid. Quarter of a turn should do it.
When the fluid flows clean tighten the nipple, remove the tube and replace the dust cap.
Whilst bleeding, keep an eye on the reservoir end: The tube between the new clean fluid bottle and improvised pressure cap should contain only clean fluid and no air. The fluid level in the car's reservoir should remain constant. Any air bubbles or change in level indicates a leak somewhere. It is crucial the level in the reservoir stay above the minimum fill mark. If not you risk pushing air into the system -exactly what you don't want! Similarly, make sure the clean fluid bottle doesn't run dry.
The rear wheels are bled in the same way, though they will take longer to run clear as they are further from the master cylinder. The rear nipples are larger, and you may need bigger bore bleed tube to fit on.
The passenger side rear wheel can be left on at a pinch, but the drivers side rear has the exhaust behind it and access is impossible unless the wheel is first removed.
Once all wheels have been completed slowly release the pressure in the system and tidy up. Take care not to splash any fluid around.
Check the peddle feel, and if normal take the car for a test drive. Check the fluid level upon your return, and keep an eye on it for a few days in case you've introduced a leak.
To my surprise I found a marked improvement in peddle after changing the fluid. I think I may have inherited a gob of air from the previous owner that I manage to bled out.
The ***ortment of caps supplied weren't even close!
I squashed it back in its box, returned it to the shop, and got my £20 quid back
Undeterred, I fashioned a suitable device from bits and pieces lying around the garage. The sort of bits and pieces my wife dismisses as junk
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The brake fluid reservoir cap is a piece of 4mm fibreglass sheet, drilled to accept some M3 threaded rods that have been drilled & tapped into two scraps of aluminium bar. A circular piece of soft white rubbery gasket material forms an air tight seal with the top of the reservoir. A threaded bulkhead tube connector sits in the middle, sealed with an o-ring. The wing nuts are courtesy of eBay.
This connects via a length of PVC tube to 2.5 litre bottle. The tube is sealed into the cap, and extends to the bottom of the bottle, weighed down with a stainless washer (cable tied on).
A second hole in the bottle cap has a length of blue tube sealed into it. This extends only half an inch or so into the bottle, so as not to touch the brake fluid.
The other end of the blue tube attached to a Y-piece. One part going to a bicycle pump, the other to a pressure gauge I happened to have. The blue tube is about 3m long, and so can be taken to each wheel in turn and pressure applied whilst watching the fluid bled form the wheel. The advantage here is that if anything goes wrong pressure can be released instantly!
Aside from the fact it actually fits, the real advantage of my design is it allows sufficient clean brake fluid to be on tap to complete the whole exchange without having to refill.
The rest of the procedure is more or less the same as any pressure bleeder, and is detailed below should anyone else wish to adapt it for their device.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
First use a small brush to clean any dust and debris from the body and cap of the brake fluid reservoir. This will minimise the chances of any foreign material finding its way into the system.
Fit your reservoir cap and ***emble all the bleed components, minus any fluid.
Pressurise and check for leaks. My 2.5 litre bottle is in no way a pressure vessel, and so to minimise the risk of a (messy!) burst I kept the pressure at about 7PSI. This made for a slow, but controlled exchange.
Once happy it's all sealed, add clean fluid to the pressure bottle -in my case 2 litres. Re-seal the lid and pump up to 7 PSI (or connect to a partially deflated spare wheel, the Gunson way).
Go to each wheel in turn. I already had the front of the car jacked up on axle stands, so both front wheel nipples were accessible on full lock with the wheels still on. If the nipples haven't received much attention in a while, a squirt of WD40 will aid their opening.
Remove the rubber dust cover. Fit a ring spanner over the nipple (9mm front, 10mm rear) then push a piece of tight fitting PVC tube onto the nipple.
The end of the tube should extend into a suitable jar. Ideally fill the jar with 1/2" of fluid, and keep the tube end below the surface. Although unlikely, if for any reason the pressure reverses (e.g. by a leak at the reservoir end), only fluid will be drawn back into the system, not air.
Crack the nipple with the spanner and watch as old fluid is pushed down the pipe into the jar. Only undo the nipple enough to release the fluid. Quarter of a turn should do it.
When the fluid flows clean tighten the nipple, remove the tube and replace the dust cap.
Whilst bleeding, keep an eye on the reservoir end: The tube between the new clean fluid bottle and improvised pressure cap should contain only clean fluid and no air. The fluid level in the car's reservoir should remain constant. Any air bubbles or change in level indicates a leak somewhere. It is crucial the level in the reservoir stay above the minimum fill mark. If not you risk pushing air into the system -exactly what you don't want! Similarly, make sure the clean fluid bottle doesn't run dry.
The rear wheels are bled in the same way, though they will take longer to run clear as they are further from the master cylinder. The rear nipples are larger, and you may need bigger bore bleed tube to fit on.
The passenger side rear wheel can be left on at a pinch, but the drivers side rear has the exhaust behind it and access is impossible unless the wheel is first removed.
Once all wheels have been completed slowly release the pressure in the system and tidy up. Take care not to splash any fluid around.
Check the peddle feel, and if normal take the car for a test drive. Check the fluid level upon your return, and keep an eye on it for a few days in case you've introduced a leak.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To my surprise I found a marked improvement in peddle after changing the fluid. I think I may have inherited a gob of air from the previous owner that I manage to bled out.
