Car Brake Bleeder Kit

[Clive B 1Participant @cliveb1]

Hi Guys

Can someone out there help me either suggesting the correct fittings I need or making something up for me which I will pay for including postage.

I’ve tried asking sellers on ebay but they only seem to be flogging the stuff so not much help to me, so thought  I’d try on this forum even though it’s not model engineering.

I’m in Stafford by the way.

 

Ok what I’m trying to do,

I’ve just bought a Sealey VS820 car brake bleeder which I knew before buying it, the brake master cylinder cap which comes with it will not fit my car and looking on Amazon at the reviews of the universal cap fitting Sealey are offering its cr*p.

From what I’ve read the cap part of it is plastic and flexes when clamping it on to the master cylinder, so once the brake fluid system is pressurised by pumping the plunger on the bleeder, brake fluid proceeds to spray out everywhere all over the engine bay including oneself, it’s not fussy.

Right, I have a piece of 5mm thick mild steel plate, some chain and J bolts.

I’m not into pneumatic or hydraulic fittings, although the bleeder only operates on a very low pressure so I don’t think it will much matter what type of fittings I use.

My problem is I need something which will fit through the 5mm steel plate allowing me to get a nut and sealing washer on either side of it thus forming a leak proof seal, at the same time I need to fit a piece of plastic tube onto what goes through the plate, securing it with a jubilee clip, see my sketch.

On the other end of the tube, I need to fit a male bayonet type fitting so I can push it into the quick release female fitting which is already on the Sealey Bleeder.

I have read they are not always compatible and can leak, so I may have to cut the female part off and buy a matching pair.

Anyone have ideas on something which wont leak when pushed together, I don’t want to go too expensive but at the same time I don’t want a connection which is more than useless.

I’ve included some photos and a rough sketch hopefully making it a bit more understandable to anyone reading this.

 

Thanks again for any help or advice anyone can offer.

 

Clive

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JuddyParticipant @juddy]

Just put a thread in the steel plate and screw your fitting into it with a lock nut on top if you really think it needs it

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

It’s bound to be some numb thread for which you can’t get a tap

[Keith LongParticipant @keithlong89920]

At that od and on a pipe fitting I’d guess most likely 1/4inch bsp!

 

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

Been bleeding brakes commercially for over 50 years and never had a piece of kit like that

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Pull a (tubeless) Schrader valve through a bit of thinner plate..

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

It’s not entirely clear, but it looks to work on the same principle as the old Gunson Eezibleed. Never seemed very successful, but…

To save a bit of messing about with steel plate and chains, could you possibly obtain a spare cap for your make/model of car – do they still have scrapyards? – and drill a hole in that? Any breather holes would need to be blocked of course.

Rob

[Neil AParticipant @neila]

The coupling you are showing looks like a Euro Style air line connector. the thread for these is 1/4 BSP Taper. It does not look like a standard PCL connector.

 

[Graham TitmanParticipant @grahamtitman81812]

The connector looks like a standard air gun fitting 1/4 bsp and good for 4500psi

[john halfpennyParticipant @johnhalfpenny52803]

A vacuum bleeder might be an easier solution – not expensive.

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Bear in mind that the reservoir cap isn’t designed to be pressurised! One look at the threads on just about any plastic reservoir(even Minis have used those for decades) will tell you that, and it’s not unusual to find a push-on cap. I’ve used several different pressure bleeders, and they all have two things in common: they don’t use much pressure(<1.5 bar for an Eezibleed) and they invariably leak from the cap.

I would acquire another factory cap, drill a hole in the top for a custom barb to match the tool’s hose, and epoxy it in place. That’s probably more work than bleeding the brakes without the tool….

[RyddaParticipant @rydda]

@Clive

I know this is not really an answer to your question, but if the pressure-method fails, try the reverse. Use one of these oil extractors where you pump up a vacuum in a plastic container. Connect the extractor tube to the brake nipple and suck the brake fluid out.

This is also perfect when you replace the fluid. Suck the fluid from the reservoir, top up with new fluid and suck the remaining old fluid from each brake nipple.

I have been using this method for many years, and it is very pleasant to use. No problems with pressurized master cylinder reservoirs.

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

I have always had total success with the Gunson Easibleed system, just to put the other side of the coin.

[Maurice TaylorParticipant @mauricetaylor82093]

Hi, I know I’m not answering your question , sorry.

Why not do it with another person pumping the brake pedal.

Maurice

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Others have beat me to it the thread looks like BSPT 1/4″ a very common thread and the connectors look like standard air line but not PCL. Bled brakes for 60 years and didn’t need this sort of kit, sucking or blowing the fluid through or very often just gravity. thread the plate and put a bonded seal under the fitting. Noel.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

It’s a standard Euro fitting by the looks of it, which comes with most of the cheap Lidl/Aldi air tools.
They seem to come with two different threads ¼”BSP and also a fine metric; most, but not all, of the metric ones I have are parallel thread with a small O ring.
Personally I’ve used a Gunsons Easybleed for years as the best method for the Landrover brakes, but I only use a low pressure; rather than the oft recommended tyre, I just use an inflated inner tube.

Maybe look to pick up a spare cap, new or from a scrapyard.
I’ve just had a heater leak on the Disco and wanted to pressure test the cooling system.
I used a spare cap for the header tank, a few brass fittings, a pressure gauge off an old footpump, a spare Schrader valve from an inner tube, with the rubber cut off and soldered to a bit of brass, and pressurised with a bicycle hand pump.

For modern cars with anti-lock brakes, I’d check that pressure bleeding is OK.
Some even need a laptop to tell the ABS to open internal valves.

An alternative is some sort of self bleeding nipples; I have some of the old two piece ones with a plunger and loose spring, but it looks like this is a modern alternative.
https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/p/goodridge-speed-bleeder-bleed-nipple-g-bn

Bill

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Do yourself a favour and buy a cheap hand-operated vacuum bleeder kit. You hook the plastic tube up to the bleed nipple and squeeze the handle to suck the fluid through. 15 Quid online.

If you do persevere with your pressure bleeder, then if you are getting brake fluid spraying all over the engine bay and yourself as you say, it sounds like you are using way too much air pressure. Five or 10 PSI should do the job, just enough to push the fluid gently down the lines and out the bleed nipple when it is cracked. The brake fluid is in the bottom of the reservoir, the pressure bleeder cap is on the top. The twain should never meet.

If the supplied plastic cap/plate is leaking, it is mostly likely a combination of too much air pressure and over-tightening the hold-down nuts, causing the plate to bow and thus not seal.

If using the nuts more gently does not cure it, you could cut a piece of steel plate or 1″ x 1/8″ flat bar to put over top of the existing plastic cap/plate and thus stiffen it up. Just drill holes in it for the two nuts and the air fitting in the middle. Much easier than making a whole new contraption.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Just reread your OP and it looks like you dont actually have the universal cap/plate in your pic?

So if persevering with making your own from flat plate, just take that fitting you already have,drill a hole in the plate and glue the fitting in with epoxy glue. It only needs to withstand low air pressure. No big deal.

[Gary YeadonParticipant @garyyeadon51936]

Years ago my wife got fed up of pumping the foot brake so I bought a unt that worked off the spare tyre pressure I think it was from troy.

[John Doe 2Participant @johndoe2]

Vacuum bleeding is a cleaner and less risky method, BUT, pressure bleeders also supply new fresh fluid into the brake reservoir, so it will not run dry while you are bleeding the brakes.

As some have said you don’t need a lot of pressure, and in fact brakes can slowly  gravity bleed to a certain extent, just by opening the bleed and letting it drip into a container – although this might not move all the air bubbles out if they are trapped further up the system.

It is also a lot more convenient and much easier to be able to bleed each brake yourself, rather than having to have someone in the car pumping the pedal – “down”…….”up”……..”down”…… etc., for all four corners, especially if you are completely changing the fluid as well.

I am sure that you will be able to reinforce or remake your pressure fitting lid.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

If you need a longer 1/4″ BSP thread then ask for a bulkhead fitting. DO remember that brake fluid is HIGHLY INFLAMMABLE and will flash up if in contact with a hot surface – been there, done that ! Noel.

[John Doe 2]

On John Doe 2 Said:

Vacuum bleeding is a cleaner and less risky method, BUT, pressure bleeders also supply new fresh fluid into the brake reservoir, so it will not run dry while you are bleeding the brakes.

I thought this one consisted only of air pressure supplied to a lid that goes on the existing reservoir containing the brake fluid?

Pumping pressurised  brake fluid into the reservoir through a dodgy seal on a universal lid sounds like a recipe for disaster.

The standard reservoir on most cars contains enough to bleed two calipers in most cases without needing fresh fluid. Then top it up and do the other two. I just did a total flush on my Toyota Corolla 4-cyl hatchback — with a vacuum hand-pump — and used less than a 500ml container of new fluid. The reservoir holds probably 200 or 250ml. I use a turkey baster to suck the old fluid out of the reservoir before starting so all the bleeding is done with fresh fluid.

Living in a wet tropical environment with 8 feet of rain a year and 85 to 100 per cent humidity year-round, I have  become a bit of a dab hand at the brake bleeding thing. All my bikes and the car need a total brake fluid change every 12 months according to the test meter. Failure to do so, in my painful experience, results in rotted out calipers and master cylinders.

The solution on non-ABS bikes for me has been to convert them to DOT5 silicon brake fluid. Non-hygroscopic so it does not suck in the moisture through the pores of the hoses etc. As used by the US military and Harley Davidson since the 1970s so it is tried and true. But not compatible with ABS unfortunately, due to its thicker viscosity.

[John Doe 2Participant @johndoe2]

Yes it does, but vacuum bleeding was mentioned further up the thread, and I was agreeing that it can be better in that there is no risk of bursts or sprays of corrosive fluid onto the paintwork, which is a danger since the brake fluid reservoir is never designed to be pressurised in use but remains at atmospheric pressure.

 

Interesting what you say about DOT 5 silicone fluid. I used it once on a Rover V8 rebuild and the brake performance was worse. Now I probably know why ! 🙂

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Yes DOT5 is very viscous and so does not respond well to the pulses of ABS. It also entrains air bubbles very badly that take a long time to float up through the thick soup and form into larger bubbles that can be bled out.

Plus, if converting from DOT4 to DOT5, you have to clean the whole system very thoroughly by complete strip down and flush with methylated spirits because if any residual DOT4 mixes with the new DOT5 it can form a sludge that does no good at all.

[John Doe 2Participant @johndoe2]

Oh don’t worry. The system was all new components and pipes, and/or fully flushed out as you suggest. And that car had no ABS.

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