View Full Version : Brake Bleeders


trackhaus
Dec 5th, 04, 05:47 PM
I just posted this on the other Team site and thought it was relevent here as well:

Thanks for mentioning the link to our page. I’m not trying to sell anything here but brake bleeding is a subject that I am fairly knowledgeable about so I thought I’d pipe in and give my practical experiences with you. We started selling the Motive Products Power Bleeders because I go to the track and needed a tool that could do the job quickly and affordably without assistance.

I didn’t want to spend $500+ on a professional brake bleeding system but I required something that did the job well and was affordable. I bought several kits before buying the Power Bleeder and they just didn’t do the job as well. Every system has its strengths and weaknesses and none are perfect.

I have created a web page http://www.trackhaus.com/index-exec/view/bleeder_types which compares some of the brake bleeding systems commonly available.

While TrackHaus sells almost every type of brake bleeding system, my personal favorites are the pressure bleeding systems. Because they do the job so effectively I use one myself and even though each application is different, I generally recommend pressure bleeding systems.

There are many pressure systems available but the Motive Products Power Bleeder units work and they are very affordable. Power Bleeders start at $45 which is considerably less expensive than other pressure bleeding systems which can cost hundreds of dollars. It is simply a good buy.

Since there were several complaints in this thread about adapter seal I thought I’d provide some tips on how to improve that. The Motive Products Adapters work very well. One of their adapters is tricky to install however. The one I refer to is the 1101 adapter which is the large round universal adapter which fits many Asian and North American vehicles. Here are some tips to make the process easier:

1. You are generally only going to need 10 – 20 psi of pressure to bleed your brakes using this system. You could very will put your finger over the adapter and hold that much pressure. We aren’t talking a lot of pressure. Therefore the adapter does not need to be excessively torqued down. If you tighten it too much you will bow the adapter and therefore you will lose pressure.
2. If you do not tighten the adapter enough you will not achieve pressure. Do a dry run (no fluid in bottle) and use light finger pressure until you have a seal. Once you have experienced accomplishing a seal it will be easier to duplicate at the next bleeding.
3. The gasket material works best dry. If you have brake fluid on the adapter, use a clean rag and Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol) to clean the gasket. Use a dry portion of the rag to clean the top of the master cylinder reservoir opening before you replace the adapter.

I hope this helps. Any questions, please let me know.

Joe Harrison
Dec 5th, 04, 05:52 PM
do you have one that you recomend that us Chevy guys (and gals) should use for our cars? I am thinking that on this site you will find the majority are first gen Camaro people. What do you recomend for us from the selection at the web site above?

Thanks
Joe

trackhaus
Dec 29th, 04, 06:06 AM
Hi Joe,

There are several kits. It really depends on what vehicles you're using them on. A lot of muscle cars have the rectangular cast iron master cylinder reservoir. In that case you'll need adapter 1105. It will work with plastic rectangular reservoirs as well.

If it is round you'll want the 1101. Please see the notes in my previous post about tips on using this adapter.

If you want just the 1105 adapter the MP-0105 kit is for you. Here is the link:
http://www.trackhaus.com/product-exec/product_id/22
The adapter in the photo has been changed and it is now a heavy plastic unit that works very well.

If you want the 1101 adapter the MP-0101 kit is for you.
http://www.trackhaus.com/product-exec/product_id/20

If you want both the best option to go with is the Pro model which includes the 1105, 1101 and the 1100 (fits almost all European cars).
http://www.trackhaus.com/product-exec/product_id/19

You can also go with the Magnum kits which include all three adapters but have a one gallon (vs 1/2 gallon on the other kits) tank and quick-release swivel connectors which make installing the adapters easier.

There are three versions:

Magnum (three adapters) http://www.trackhaus.com/product-exec/product_id/26

Magnum Ford (three adapters plus two current model Ford adapters - probably not a popular kit in this forum ;) but I thought I'd mention it just in case you have a tow vehicle
http://www.trackhaus.com/product-exec/product_id/73

Magnum Ultimate (three adapters plus two Ford adapters plus air cooled VW adapter - all the currently available adapters - plus the waste fluid collection bottle.
http://www.trackhaus.com/product-exec/product_id/50

I mention them all because if you're like me I always find out after the purchase that there was a better kit that I didn't know about. ;)

I hope this helps. Sorry for the long delay. My wife and I just had a baby (a future kart racer?) and he's kept us busy.

Best Wishes & Happy New Year.

-Greg

JohnZ
Dec 29th, 04, 03:31 PM
Here's the newer plastic adapter; you've never had bleeding problems until you've done '65-'82 Corvette 4-wheel 4-piston systems, which are the WORST to deal with. The Motive Products bleeder makes them a one-person piece of cake. Note that if you have a disc/drum Camaro with the round metering valve below the master cylinder, you'll need to compress the button at the rear of the valve while using the pressure bleeder; the metering valve won't pass fluid to the front calipers until it sees 30-40 psi, and you only use 10-15 psi in the bleeder bottle (Corvette disc/disc systems don't use a metering valve) graemlins/thumbsup.gif

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-2/13522/PwrBleeder650.jpg
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