brake fluid change

[wrx paul]

Guys, I need help with a simple question. How do I change my brake fluid without any fancy tools? I've done brake jobs before but haven't completely changed my fluid and I think it is time. Do I just bleed all the old fluid out through each caliper?

[Emission]

Pull as much of the old fluid out of the reservoir with a turkey baster (don't tell the wife - just buy her a new one). Pour the new stuff in the reservoir (a little at a time) and bleed it through the whole system until the fluid is clear.

[David]

It sounds like you don't want to buy any new tools, but the Motive power bleeder is probably the best fancy tool you can buy. It works so well you'll be offering to bleed your friend's brakes for a 6 pack.

[vash]

he isnt joking, the motive power bleeder (you can make your own version if you are handy, do a search) makes the job a breeze. best $45 i have ever spent on the car. i am about to send mine out "on tour" with some other car buddies.

[bkrygier]

Here is the way I have always bled my brakes.
Get a clear container with some brake fluid in it so your bleeder tube will be submerged in the fluid.
Then remove your bleeder screws and coat the threads with a bit of grease, this will keep any air from going back into the calipers.
Hook up your bleeder hose to your caliper and slowly pump away until all bubbles are gone. With the hose submerged in the brake fluid no air can get sucked back in the lines.
When you have no more air bubbles shut your bleeder screw and go to the next one. Just make sure you don’t pump all the fluid out of your reservoir.
bk

[VaSteve]

Originally posted by unfixed
he isnt joking, the motive power bleeder (you can make your own version if you are handy, do a search) makes the job a breeze. best $45 i have ever spent on the car. i am about to send mine out "on tour" with some other car buddies.

I had never ever done this before this weekend. Chris (jazzbass) had one of those Motive power bleeders. Oh my, if I knew what I was doing I could have done it myself!!! That thing is great. It would almost make me look forward to doing it again

BTW: the bleed valves on the driver's side loosen towards the back of the car. I conveniently rounded one off by not knowing that

[goat]

This is the season to do the brake bleeding it seems.
I too am doing mine this weekend. have always done it with a second person pressing the brake pedal. the Motive power bleeder gets rave reviews by all.
Unfixed... If you happen to have that bleeder on tour up to the wine country (sonoma county)
let me know

[Randy Webb]

Brake fluid is muy bad. Dispose of as hazardous waste (many auto stores will take it). Keep it way far away from your paint and eyeballs.

Mark "BRAKE" on that turkey baster (and keep it away from kids that want to help cook).

A garden sprayer is a lot cheaper than the Motive. You can also flush it out and then use it put sealer on your cedar fence.

[vash]

i bought a garden sprayer for my weeds. it was more expensive than my motive. and huge! i think there is a small sprayer right? but i like the pressure gauge feature.

[Randy Webb]

huh - they are 17 bucks here. You could use an inline pressure guage

or if time & trouble too much, get the Motive. Nothing wrong with it.

[wrx paul]

thanks guys. I've done the bottle and pipe method before so I guess I can get the wife in the car and do the rest. Or I might have to pick up one of those bleeders 40 bucks might be worth the trouble.

[304065]

Paul, do a search under "Gravity Bleeding." You will be surprised that all you need is a piece of hose, a wrench, and a bottle of fluid.

[911pcars]

I changed the brake fluid last week using these bleeder bottles from HF (about $4). They're a little easier to keep fluid contained, away from paint. I have 4 of them so I can drain and gravity bleed all corners at once. It's a slower, more methodical way of bleeding. However, you can see if there are bubbles trapped in the system as air and debris float through the supplied pvc hose, and since the open bleeder screw now has fluid on both sides of it, you can work the caliper pistons and/or the brake pedal to increase fluid flow without fear of sucking air into the system.

Another advantage is zero fluid loss. I used exactly 1 pint of Motul for the entire system. If I used more, I would have to open another bottle and waste most of that (BF doesn't do well in an opened bottle). Pressure bleeding is very fast, but I prefer to keep the combination of air pressure and BF away from the car. In addition, gravity bleeding may result in less impact on your wallet if you choose to use the best, Castrol SRF ($70/liter instead of $12).





Sherwood

[RickM]

If doing the pump-the-brake-pedal method be careful not to floor it. Apparently you can score the piston in the master cylinder and ruin it.

My vote is for the Motive pressure bleeder.

Where can I get a small pump sprayer bottle? The one I've seen are all too big.

[911pcars]

Rick,
You can use these little bottles with the Motiv as well. The pressurized fluid has got to go somewhere; the bleeder screw adapter is especially handy (I'd test first to make sure it doesn't pop off under pressure).

Sherwood

[wcballance]

Speed bleeder valves are another way to go. I have them on my car. They're great!

[wrx paul]

wow, I just want to say thanks to everyone who responded. I never thought such a simple question would have so many responses. I'll keep everyone update when I complete it this weekend. Again, thanks.
Paul

[na2ub]

I just did mine. Upon advice in this forum, I bought a $15 1 gallon garden sprayer, and a wire-style automotive hose clamp. The hose from the sprayer fits right on the breather overflow of your resevoir. Make sure your resevoir cap is tight, clamp the sprayer hose on the breather nipple, and pump a few times to build a little pressure. Then just go around, farthest caliper to closest, and let the fluid flow. Worked great for me. Its hard to tell the exact difference it made, but I certainly notice that I often stop a lot shorter than I had anticipated when coming to a light / off-ramp etc.

[RickM]

na2ub....you put fresh brake fluid in the garden sprayer before-hand, right? Don't want to pump air through the system

Be careful not to pressurize past 10#s.

[Bill Verburg]

While I always pressure bleed, there are a lot of proponents of gravity bleed. The older Rennlist readers will no doubt fondly remember the gravity vs pressure vs vacuum bleed wars