Pressure brake bleeder
Discussion
Hi all,
I've replaced a lot of the brake system on my Civic EK, rebuilt all 4 callipers, changed master cylinder, remade hard lines, changed the prop valve and replaced the flexi's with braided lines.
Bled the brakes and the pedal feels spongey still.
I want to pressure bleed the system so I can check for leaks and rule out my bleeding technique as to the pedal feeling soft, can anyone recommend a pressure bleeder?
The gunson eezibleed seems to come up a lot but there is no cap that will fit my car, I do have a spare cap somewhere which I could drill to fit but wanted to see if there was any recommendations first.
Cheers!
I've replaced a lot of the brake system on my Civic EK, rebuilt all 4 callipers, changed master cylinder, remade hard lines, changed the prop valve and replaced the flexi's with braided lines.
Bled the brakes and the pedal feels spongey still.
I want to pressure bleed the system so I can check for leaks and rule out my bleeding technique as to the pedal feeling soft, can anyone recommend a pressure bleeder?
The gunson eezibleed seems to come up a lot but there is no cap that will fit my car, I do have a spare cap somewhere which I could drill to fit but wanted to see if there was any recommendations first.
Cheers!
TooMany2cvs said:
Clamp the flexis up, and see if it's a general problem, or just one corner.
Not a good idea; clamping aeroquip style hosing will damage it.OP, you can try vacuum bleeding using e.g. a Mityvac style system or even an oil exactor lie a Pela. Another possibility for difficult systems is reverse bleeding, using a syringe to inject brake fluid into the bleed nipple, though this may not be possible with some ABS systems.
Edited by Mr2Mike on Wednesday 21st February 11:30
If you have drained the system completely, look for places where air pockets can be trapped .e.g. above the bleed nipple in calipers, above the outlet port in bias valve and ABD units. Sometimes you may need to unmount the hardware and physically turn over to chase the air out. A vacuum bleeder achieves a similar thing, usually removes most of the trapped air (some traces may remain) and is much easier than unmounting stuff.
I don't know what technique you're using to bleed it, but a technique that works for me is to connect a long clear hose to the bleed nipple and route it back up to the level of the reservoir so I can watch what is coming out while I pump the pedal. On stubborn systems where the fluid is coming out clean and clear but there seems to be trapped air, I will route that back into the reservoir so I can pump as much fluid as necessary to clear it. This is much more productive than traditional two man bleeding techniques that involve opening and closing the bleed nipple at each stroke.
I don't know what technique you're using to bleed it, but a technique that works for me is to connect a long clear hose to the bleed nipple and route it back up to the level of the reservoir so I can watch what is coming out while I pump the pedal. On stubborn systems where the fluid is coming out clean and clear but there seems to be trapped air, I will route that back into the reservoir so I can pump as much fluid as necessary to clear it. This is much more productive than traditional two man bleeding techniques that involve opening and closing the bleed nipple at each stroke.
Edited by GreenV8S on Wednesday 21st February 11:53
Yeah I don't really want to be clamping the braided lines.
Forgot I should of mention ABS has been deleted which is why I have changed prop valve too.
Ideally id like to be able to check for air coming out of the lines at the nipple so was after something I can pressurise from the master cylinder.
Forgot I should of mention ABS has been deleted which is why I have changed prop valve too.
Ideally id like to be able to check for air coming out of the lines at the nipple so was after something I can pressurise from the master cylinder.
Was the master cylinder a new unit or second hand?
Pump the pedal a few times and then press and hold to see if the master cylinder creeps, if so the fluid is passing the seals.
Check all the unions and joints for slight drips, but you probably have already.
As for pressure bleeding the universal style caps are really the only choice unless you can get hold of an Alba Alb560 and cap set, I'm fairly certain one from that kit was made for Honda m/c
Pump the pedal a few times and then press and hold to see if the master cylinder creeps, if so the fluid is passing the seals.
Check all the unions and joints for slight drips, but you probably have already.
As for pressure bleeding the universal style caps are really the only choice unless you can get hold of an Alba Alb560 and cap set, I'm fairly certain one from that kit was made for Honda m/c
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