I know the speed bleeders are an ultra-convenient way of bleeding brakes, but I was wondering if they are a very effective method of bleeding all air out of the system. With my car I am finding that I have to bleed the brakes very often and there is always some air in the system to be removed. I have used several methods to bleed the brakes, perhaps I am just not doing it perfectly. So I am wondering if these speed bleeders will get all the air out of the system. Any info would be great. thanks.

Joey

 

I bought some from Earl's and installed them when I put on my stainless steel brake lines about 2 years ago. They made bleeding the brakes easy and I've had no problems with them since. Make sure to put a clear tube on the end do the fluid doesn't get on everything. Oh, yeah, you want a jar for the tube to drain in.

 

From what I have heard, they are very reliable. I'll be getting some soon.

 

thanks for the info guys , they sound pretty good. I should look into them.

Joey

 

they are good. i have them.. EAsy , and fast to bleed


tj

 

cool, so they are effective at removing the air in the system, just what I need .
thanks.

Joey

 

Joey,
you do a search on this subject? I posted a similar question a few weks ago and got conflicting opinions. decided to go with a power bleeder from motive products after reading the comments. However, after receiving the product, the cap for the master cylinder is not a screw on, but a flat rubber piece that is just held in place with clamps. haven't tried it on my R yet, but think I'll use it on my 86 mazda truck first to see how it works. good luck. post a review if you get the speed bleeders.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=116714


[Modified by kkim, 8:53 PM 2/9/2002]

 

Whats the part number for the earls speed bleeders? How much do they go for a set?

 

kkim, i used my power bleeder on my ITR this past week and it worked pretty well. at first i was having trouble getting the tank up to pressure because air was leaking between cap and fluid resevoir. i tightened up the cap some more and it sealed. the cap has to be tightened to the resevoir pretty damn tight. the hardest part was getting everything sealed right. after that all you do is add fluid, add pressure to the tank (about 10-15 lbs) and start bleeding, there is no need to keep refilling the resevoir with brake fluid because the tank is doing it for you.

 

Speed bleeders work fairly well, but the spring softens over time and they will need to be replaced.

For bleeding brakes solo, I prefer a Mighty Vac vaccum pump. They cost about $50 and have lots of other uses. They are excellent for flushing the entire system quickly.

Here's one for $39.95
http://www.rapidparts.com/Pages/vwc009v.html

These things are great if you are tuning FI cars or trying to trouble shoot the source of a vaccum leak.

Just make sure you clean everything with rubbing alcohol when you are done!

 

I did a breif write-up about my experiences with the Motive bleeder here. I was really disapointed with the seal on the master cylinder, and I ended up making a mess. Maybe if the rubber cap had 2 more screw down points, or even better, if it had a circular groove cut in it that the lip of the reservoir could slide into.

What would it take to replce the reservoir with one from a German car? I think the cap for that system crews on and you're done!

 

SB's work fine for me.

 

typeR158- thanks for the tip on making the seal tight for the cap. did you follow the instructions where they say to pressurize it first without fluid to check for leaks around the cap? if so, you mean you had to tighten it down further than that? it seems to me that with the 2 point tightening system they have, excessive tightening would cause the cap to warp and make things leak even more.

floyd- I agree with you, a screw on cap would have been the answer to the leak problem. why did the euros get the screwcap and the imports didn't. I was actually thinking of sending mine back after I received it when I saw the attachment method they had "designed". last thing I want is brake fluid leaking in my engine compartment! have to decided to keep it and see if I can make the thing work. maybe, like all tools, you just need to learn to use it properly before it will work to it's full potential. will post my experiances with it after I get to use it.

 

Yeah, i pressurized the tank before adding fluid to check for leaks. the cap needs to be tight but not so tight that it starts to warp. i did have a little fluid leakage between the cap and resevoior when i bled the first caliper and had to tighten the cap down some more to stop it from leaking. make sure you put a rag around the resevoir on top of the master cylinder in case it does start leaking. i was happy with the power bleeder compared to the vacum pump from actron i tried before, but the power bleeder could be a lot better if they used a screw on cap.

 

I think the cap on the honda reservoir can't handle that type of pressure, which is why you have to use their method, where the Euro caps screw on better, and can be pressurized. The design would be better if the downward force was applied to the center of the cap, as oposed to the two flanges that extend out past the cap. I think I may have been flexing the cap and was getting some leakage as a result.

And BTW, directly under the master cylindar is one of the rubber boots for the steering tie-rods. I hope brake fluid doesn't damage that type of rubber...

 

When you order your SB's - also ask for their speed bleeder bag. It's only $6 & it provideds a sealed bleeding deposit instead of a glass jar that can tip or have the end of the tube come out. When you are done - just drain the bag out & reuse.

jmho - had them both for 2 years - no problems at all as long as you tighten them properly.

 

i placed an order for speed bleeders last week. i should receive them shortly and will post pictures of the sb's and install.