chowderhead

Honda Civic '99 EX Sedan
So I'm trying to bleed or flush my old brake fluid by myself. I'm using bottle method from Chris Fix and other youtube videos.
I can't seem to get that much fluid to leave. I've pumped the brakes about 20-30 times and some fluid leaves maybe enough to fill about 3 Inches of the drain tube. As soon as I release the brake pedal the fluid drops back into the brake caliper.

The reservoir fluid level barely moves.
How many times do I need to pump the brakes? Is this a sign that my master cylinder is dying?

TomCat39

If you don't have a 1 way valve on your bleeder tube it will just suck the fluid back into the system.

In all honesty, even with the proper 1 person bleeder tubes, it's still best to do a two person bleed. Even then, push the pedal slowly so as to not break up the air bubbles into micro bubbles.

Those one man bleeder setups tend to leave a little air in the system. Every mechanic friend I have told me it's best to do the two person bleed.