Motive Power Bleeder

[Leland Pate]

This is one of those posts that can be attributed to a combination of beer and super-rocket science.

Last night, as I was BSing with my roomtates in the garage... I started staring at my Motive Power bleeder which sat quietly on the shelf. I gazed at the thing, remembering how it made my life so much easier -allowing me to bleed my brakes all by myself- and how there is still a blue tint of ATE Super Blue in the jug and clear plastic lines..... "Wait a minute... Brake fluid is Hypergolic.... you don't WANT old Brake fluid sitting in those lines do you????"

How does everyone clean their brake bleeders before they use them again?

[nhromyak]

I used water...

I filled mine with water, and pressurized it up, and bled it out.

Then I pretty much washed the lid of all the fluid.

Be careful where you drain the water.

Let it air dry, when it is all apart.

[Chris Bunker]

Brake Cleaner, what else? :-)

Works everytime, and I've had no issues with it damaging any rubber bits. Of course that is with my homegrown pressure bleeder, not sure about the Motive unit, although I can't imagine the materials being very different.

[jpachard]

Leland, I don't put any fluid in the jug so I don't have this problem. When I bleed my brakes I just fill the resovoir up and bleed one caliper at a time. While this is a bit slower it avoids the problem you are describing and anyone can use your brake bleeder. I run AP600 fluid so it's even more critical for me since this fluid is hydroscopic and I would not want it sitting in the bleeder collecting water.

CHeers, James

[cstreit]

I just pour it back into the fluid bottle and seal it up... Then again I throw away brake fluid that's been opened and more than 3-4 weeks old...

Never had a boiling problem with this, but then I use about 6-8 pints a year...

[Doug Zielke]

I cleaned mine out by rinsing the tank and hoses with Methyl Alcohol.

[89911]

How does a pressure bleeder that forces air into the brake reservoir get brake fluid in it. Am I missing something here? Mine is as clean as the day I bought it.

[Jim Sims]

One puts the brake fluid in the Motive Pressure Bleeder bottle. This typically allows the entire job to be done without adding additional fluid. The Motive Pressure Bleeder has a hand pump (like the old style weed sprayers) complete with a pressure gage built into the top which is used to pressurize the bleeder; a source of compressed air is not required. Jim

[89911]

Yes I know how one works, I've had one for years. I don't recall the directions mentioning adding the fluid to the bleeder its self. Simply emptying the reservoirs as much as possible, adding new fluid, appliying the bleeder and then bleeding. Sure, you may have to top off the reservoir once, but it is far easier them all the cleaning the other posts mentioned.

[Jim Sims]

On the Motive Products Power Bleder instruction label on the back; step 5: "If no leaks are found, unscrew pump cap and add up to 2 quarts of new hydraulic fluid from a sealed container." Later in final step 13: "Never store hydraulic fluid in Power Bleeder. Always dispose of excess fluid properly." Jim

[ChrisBennet]

Brake fluid is hygroscopic.

[Decolliber]

If you use the Motive bleeder as directed, there is always going to be some residue left over in the bottle, and especially in the lines. I just leave it there. Then the next time I use the thing, I buy a small bottle of the cheapest brake fluid I can find ($1 for a bottle of DOT3), put it in the reservoir, swish it around and pump it through into a waste container. This cleans out the bottle and the lines. Then I pour in my expensive ATE Blue/Gold.
The main problem I have with the Motive bleeder is that it does not seem to work well on my A6. I think it is because the ABS limits the bleeder's ability to put pressure through the lines. Any solution to this problem?

[surflvr911sc]

Just don't do what I did! Power Bleeder Woes