I think I have bled my brakes (manually) for the last time.

Does anyone have a good lead on a power bleeder or something that works better than beating the snot out of the brake pedal and my body?

Thanks

Don

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'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I made one from a cheapo garden sprayer, a brake reservoir cap, some rubber hose and a 1/8" barb X 1/8" MIP brass fitting.

Like this: Bleeder

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I use a Motive power bleeder and love it. However, the homemade unit in the link above looks just as good and is only half the price.

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1987 300D Turbo
2000 VW Golf TDI
2008 E320 Bluetec

I use the motive bleeder at work.
The home made one should be destroyed by the fluid in under a year.

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R Leo & Roy:

Thanks for the replies and for the link (as I have most of that material already)

Do you flush the homemade system with fuel or something so that the brake fluid doesn't eat it away?

Don

__________________
DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I have a cap that fits my brake reservoir I put a air fitting on and I connect it to my compressor. I've used it several times by myself and it works great, even it I run it too long and blow air through the line.

I haven't had it very long (4-5 months) so I can't tell what the long term effects will be. But, so far, it seems to be holding up OK.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Thanks for the idea and the link, I looked around at the site a little and will be back.

I tried the Mityvac for bleeding and was never satisfied with it.

Ditto on the Mityvac not working well. I seemed to get air coming into the system past the threads at the bleed nipple. It's hard to tell when you have all the air out of the brake system because of this.

whunter - I don't think Randy's home-made rig will corrode. He's just using it to pressurize the reservoir and it shouldn't come into contact with fluid (if I'm reading it right).

I kind of like the compressor with a line to a fluid reservoir cap although I would cut the pressure regulator back to about 5 lbs or so. I vaguely remember seeing somewhere a brake bleeder that runs a line to one of the tires to obtain air pressure.

Wes

There's definitely fluid in it!

I dump a quart of fluid into the bleeder, screw the replacement reservoir cap onto the master cylinder and pump it all up. Basically, it recharges the reservoir as you go 'round and bleed the cylinders. Damn! It works great too!
The only thing I can imagine being ever becoming a problem is the funky plastic tubing that runs from the tank to the cap. Everything else is poly. Of course, my contraption has been out at Greg's for a month or so, there's no telling what's happened to it or, if he can even find it!!

I've gotta retrive it next week coz Scout's 240D needs a master cylinder. I'll report back on whether or not it has held up.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Shoot Randy...I'm betting Gregg has mixed up some high concentration Round Up and has been using it along the road.

Wonder how good Round Up works in place of brake fluid?

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Mike Tangas
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Non illegitemae carborundum.

I believe the product you are referring to is either EeziBleed or Speedi-Bleed. The former has a smaller bottle, and no pressure regulator, while Speedi-Bleed quality and price-wise is probably more suited for professional repair shop use, though they do have small specialty kits on their website. I have the Speedi-Bleed Euro kit which cost me $109, I know you can purchase other pressure brake bleeder products for less, but with a very nice quality pressure regulator, quick release coupling, aluminum adapter, tool case, and free shipping, for my money while not being the lowest price, it was the best value. Plus the tool just works fantastic. I found the Speedi-Bleed brake bleeder at http://www.speedibleed.com

Warning: Over-stroking the master cylinder may cause it to fail.

This can happen to even the most experienced mechanic, "Especially" on a high mileage car.
The old school manual brake pedal "down" - "up" - "down" - "up" bleed method risks over-stroking the master cylinder.
The master cylinder piston seals can get scored if they're pushed into a normally unused - corroded, region of the master cylinder's bore.
If this happens, you'll have little or no brake pedal, and will need a new master cylinder.
I strongly recommend using a pressure bleeder to avoid the issue.

I have an "Easy Bleed" pressure bleeder which gets its pressure from a tire. Works exultant

With any pressure bleeder the two little caps on the b/f reservoir need to be inspected for cracks or you might get a b/f shower

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

Then you have a low tire afterwards?

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