| Inexpensive One Man Brake & Clutch Bleeder
Here's an excellent and inexpensive (probably no cost) clutch and brake bleeder. After having tried the old "pump the pedal", the "Mity-Vac" and the "blow into the reservior" methods all to no avail, I used this system to bleed my hydraulic clutch and it worked so well that I thought I would post it here for everyone. It took about one or two minutes of pump time to actually bleed the clutch system. At some future time I will use it to bleed my brakes as well.
Three items are needed-you probably already have them lying around:
1. An inexpensive electric tire inflator pump such as the Black & Decker "Air Station" or one of those small air compressors used with an air brush. Actually you can probably use your shop compressor if you set the presesure way down low - maybe 10 PSI. And if you don't have an electric pump you can use the manual bicycle tire pump from your old ten speed.
2. An old inner tube from a children's bicycle with a diameter slightly smaller than the filler neck on your master cylinder reservior - the one I used has a diameter of approx. 1 1/4 inch. Note - You may be able to substitute for the inner tube and hose clamp if you have a spare reservior cap and drill a hole in it to fit a tubeless tire valve stem.
3. A radiator hose clamp of the right size to permit a snug fit over the reservior neck.
Procedure:
1. First top off the reservior with brake fluid. Be careful not to spill any fluid on your paint because it will ruin it.
2. Cut right through the inner tube and slip one open end over the filler neck of the master cylinder reservior and snug up the hose clamp making sure it is attached well enough so that it won't blow off when the air pressure is applied.
3. Seal the other end of the tube. I rolled it up and put a C clamp over the roll, but I am sure there are lots of other ways to get a good seal. The seal doesn't need to be absolutely air tight as a little bleed off is OK and actually may be helpful as a saftey precaution.
4. Put a clear hose over the bleeder valve and run it into a catch can.
5. Attach the air pump to the valve stem of the inner tube.
6. To bleed, turn the pump on and open the bleeder valve. Keep an eye on the inner tube to make sure you don't put too much presssure into the system as too much pressure may cause seal damage or an inner tube blow out. Close the bleeder valve and stop the pump after maybe 15-30 seconds and check the fluid level in the reservior. If it gets below its "low" marking, re-fill the reservior and repeat. When you don't see any more bubbles emerging from the bleeder valve through the clear hose, you are probably finished. It might be a good idea at this time to completely flush the system with new fluid and this may take a bit longer.
Hope this will be as helpful to others as it was to me. Best regards, Orin Meyer
[ February 27, 2003: Message edited by: Blue Oval Blood ] | 
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