Easiest 1 Man Brake Fluid Change

So you are a fan of the famous "double breasted" method, which was not a voting choice. Me too. It's the only way to go.

 

I spent 10 years working as a service manager/service writer for a dealership: Cad/Olds/Fiat/Buick/PontiacGMC/Subaru. I was never a professional mechanic - and i have a lot of respect for those guys that do. I worked on various auto cross porsches and did all of my own mechanical work.
I was often called on to be the pedal guy for brake bleeding our customers cars. We had a primitive pressure bleeder but the guys didn't like it, so i got to push the pedal a lot and ask, how's the fluid level in the master cylinder????
So, that's the way i bled brakes fron there on.
When i got the ferrari and put F50 brakes on the front and 360's on the rear, i was a little concerned about getting all of the air out. I was/am working in a tiny one car garage, with no car guys about, so i tried the Minivac and on the first try, i had a firm pedal - I was frankly, amazed.

So, as nice as it is to have a shop with air, (for the power bleeders), or a fabulously georgous double breasted pedal pusher-- if you gotta do it alone, my vote is with the minivac.

Still would like the assistant ;-)

chris

 

Thanks Brian.
I won a $100 Motul gift certificate at a raffle, any suggestions on what to get?
MT660, transaxle oil, etc?

 

Without a clear understanding of your situation it is hard to advise. I think for thoroughness it would help if you provided pictures of these women

Also I use the Motive Vacuum bleeder. Just put some grease around the nipple threads and that seals up the air leaks

 

Meant to say SELL. Darn typos anyway

 

Are you talking about the women, or brakes?

 

Motul RBF-600 brake fludid. Good for street or track.

 

LOL didnt even catch that when I typed it last night, suppose it would work for both

 

+1

and what about antilock systems, do they need special attention, esp (as one in my shop) ran dry?

 

Could you elaborate? I have used ATE Blue in several of my cars, which I track regularly, including my race cars. I change it after every race weekend (thanks to the pressure bleeders - easy job) and once a year on the street cars, never had any issues... I am opened to suggestions but at first glance putting $45/liter for Motul in a street car is overkill unless you planning to run Le Mans... I have tried AP600 and Castrol SRF ($80/liter) in the race car, they felt marginally different but didn't result in any performance gain.

 

The Motul fluid runs around $30/qt. It has a dry boiling point of around 600F and a wet boiling point of around 420 or so.

You don't have to use it, it's just a superior brake fluid used by many ferrari owners who enjoy tracking their cars on occasion.

I will tell you that with other so-called "high" performance fluids I;ve used on the track, none held up as well as the Motul under the extreme braking conditions of Laguna Seca. And for 30 bucks, it's worth the price when you're coming into the corkscrew.

 

Mine are in the Dino section
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222647

 

The pressure bleeders are a better way to bleed the brakes (and, frankly, drain and re-fill the whole system) over the old school open-the-screw-pump-the-pedal approach. Why? Because pumping the pedal to the bottom of the stroke forces the piston seals past an area of the cylinder which is rarely/never travelled and in a non-new master cylinder this area of the cylinder stroke often has corrosion and surface irregularities that will eat the seal with just a few strokes. How will you know this has happened? About 50 miles down the road you'll notice that your brake fluid level is low. You'll then notice that your floor mats have had brake fluid dripping on them....

 

Get a pair of bleeder bottles from longacre or pegasus. Simple to use and most importantly WORK. Just put some fluid in the bottle to cover the hose put the other hose on the bleeder and open it, then pump the pedel (slowly, with your hand). I put one on the front and one on the rear and do them together so my bias bar stays equal. Every racer in the paddock uses them that has got to mean something.

 

This is the first time I heard of this trick. Can you please elaborate? For instance, what is a squirt can? Are you saying that the shop towel absorbs the brake fluid and it sucked right up through the bleeder hole?
Personally I use the Motive Power Bleeder which works fine if done properly. I have used the pump the pedal method, it sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't. The worst part about pumping the pedal is that you not only need two people but sometimes you can do some damage if you push the pedal all the way (mostly on older cars).
I dread this part of the maintenance like the plague because I always manage to make a mess, even with the power bleeder. Oh, brake fluid needs to be cleaned off the car ASAP.

 

Uro, Uro, Uro,

You should have used the search function. The Motive is the way to go:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171570&highlight=brake+bleeding+dummies

Dom

 

An oil squirt can, actually we used a very good one with a T handle plunger you pumped up and down, simular to the type you use with model aircraft fuel. But I have since used a plain hardware store version and had good results. Just make sure its spotless clean.

The shop cloth is placed over the bleeder hole (bleeder removed) and is used as a seal. You put the squirt can tight against the cloth covered bleeder hole and slowly pump. And you just keep pumping until fluid starts rising in the reservoir.

If you go slowly and dont make bubbles, all the air will go uphill into the reservoir. Quickly screw in the bleeder, have an assistant give the pedal a pump to clear any residual air that may be hanging in the caliper and your done.

The first time I watched it I was stunned, I didnt think it could ever be that simple. But air wants to go uphill, why should we fight it?

I was young, not driving yet, and I remember this guy was bleeding brakes and had a pressure pot bleeder. It looked like an antique pressure cooker and it held about a gallon or so of fluid. He had it hooked up and pressurised to maybe 20 psi or something, and the fitting blew off the master cylinder. That thing blew brake fluid all over the car and the shop and everybody standing around, it was a mess. And the cars paint looked like hell even after they washed it. I swore that day I would never use one.

 

I know what you mean, I blew what I think were two pressure thingies on top of my reservoir on my Mercedes while applying pressure with the power bleeder. I never had that problem with my other cars other than a leak at the neck where the bleeder interface fits with the reservoir.

 

This is a great product. Able to change brake fluid in 20-30 minutes...no fuss no muss!

 

Another +1 for Motive. Used it last evening on Mrs. JRR's car, and it works great.