HomeMade brake bleeder idea?

Cheropair · Sep 17, 2004

OK, see here's the deal - got a couple of Cherokees that need to have their brake system flushed - easiest way to do it is with a power brake bleeder, which I don't own, and I don't want to pay someone to do it (AKA I'm cheap!).

Cleaning out the attic, I found an old pump-up sprayer that I used to use for spraying bugs/weeds. Worked great, all plastic, held about 3 quarts. Couldn't find a new gun/wand after the original was crushed by a careless floor-jack operator (yea, I know NOW that I should have picked it up), but could this be used to "power" a brake bleeder?

Thought is to put a hose barb in the top of an extra M/C cover, then hose clamp the hose to connect the sprayer to the M/C. Give it a few pumps to pressurize, then crack open the wheel cylinders and watch the juice fly! I suspect that the M/C cover would hold a few pounds of pressure, can someone confirm? Also, the '96 has a screw-on cap (spotted one in the HELP section that could be drilled/ hose barbed), will the plastic tank hold a few pounds of pressure? Sprayer tank is translucent, so running out of brake fluid would be just stupid, and brake fluid is relatively expendable.......

Any suggestions?

Digger87xj · Sep 17, 2004

watch that the brake fluid is compatible witht the type of plastic and rubber used in the sprayer, otherwise you are going to have a pile of mush

RichP · Sep 17, 2004

Several companies make the exact same thing, the covers are available seperately already setup for the vehicle. Tke compete kit including the pressure bottle that you have are around $60. I was looking at them a few months ago.

rws · Sep 17, 2004

Good idea that many people have already done. Do an internet search and you will be amazed at what people have come up with to make one-man brake bleeders. My favorite is a mity-vac vacum pump, works great on my other vehicles with anti lock brakes as well has many other uses.

dyna · Sep 17, 2004

Get yourself a Migty vac for $30.

Darkmage · Sep 18, 2004

Cheropair said:
Thought is to put a hose barb in the top of an extra M/C cover, then hose clamp the hose to connect the sprayer to the M/C. Give it a few pumps to pressurize, then crack open the wheel cylinders and watch the juice fly! I suspect that the M/C cover would hold a few pounds of pressure, can someone confirm? Also, the '96 has a screw-on cap (spotted one in the HELP section that could be drilled/ hose barbed), will the plastic tank hold a few pounds of pressure? Sprayer tank is translucent, so running out of brake fluid would be just stupid, and brake fluid is relatively expendable.......

Any suggestions?

One problem i see with this is there is nothing seperating the air and the brake fluid... also with the way most chemical sprayers work the air being pumped in will enter the sprayer at the bottom of the pump airating the brake fluid....... will it work? more than likely but what a pain if you end up injecting a bunch of air into your brake system.

I 2nd the mityvac.... takes awhile but it works....... what about gravity bleeding?

Cheropair · Sep 18, 2004

Looks like I'll try it, worst case - I'm back to square one.

As far as the aerating, the air will quickly rise to the top, about like water, so I don't think that will be a problem. All of the parts are hard plastic, except for the o-rings - a little swelling won't hurt. Will probably relube the pump with silicone grease just to make sure there are no problems......

dallas xjs · Sep 18, 2004

why not just gravity bleed the brakes if you cant find some one to help out in the garage..this is how i always bleed my brakes for years..||charles||

RichP · Sep 18, 2004

How exactly do you gravity bleed ?? Yea, I know it is probably self explanatory but I've never tried it and can you do all 4 at the same time ?? or is that not a good idea ?

dallas xjs · Sep 22, 2004

open up the cap on brake bottle..crack open 1 zerk at a time let drip for about 10 min..go to the next and so on..slow drip..i always do mine like this...brakes great..||charles||

Matthew Currie · Sep 22, 2004

Pressure bleeding works fine, except that you have to be careful to monitor the level in the tank or you'll fill the system with air. The same is true of vacuum bleeding, though.

It doesn't take a lot of pressure to do the job. Long ago I had a Saab with a difficult-to-bleed clutch system, and found that the threads on the reservoir were close enough to hose threads, so I just attached a short length of garden hose to it and huffed and puffed. It worked great, and I've often wondered why more vehicles don't have reservoirs that are handy to pressurize.

You should be able to do this job without actually pumping fluid with your sprayer. Just put a little head of air in the reservoir and keep a close eye on the fluid level. You might have to refill and repump a couple of times to do the whole system.

Bronco · Sep 25, 2004

Guy 1 at the wheel bleeder. Guy 2 behind the wheel. 2 pumps up the peddle then 1 opens the bleeder (good to have a tube going to a bottle). Fluid comes screaming out with all the air. 1 closes the bleeder. Repeat as needed staring at the wheel farthest from the MC, finishing at the wheel closes to the MC. Done in 15 minutes. No bastardized Power sprayer needed.

eace:

Matthew Currie · Sep 25, 2004

Bronco said:
Guy 1 at the wheel bleeder. Guy 2 behind the wheel. 2 pumps up the peddle then 1 opens the bleeder (good to have a tube going to a bottle). Fluid comes screaming out with all the air. 1 closes the bleeder. Repeat as needed staring at the wheel farthest from the MC, finishing at the wheel closes to the MC. Done in 15 minutes. No bastardized Power sprayer needed.eace:

But guy 1 + guy 2 does not = "one man brake bleeder." If you're doing the job at midnight or deep in the woods and no wife or neighbor to push the pedal, other options are handy. I like the vacuum pump for major bleeds, and a gas-filled tailgate strut placed between steering wheel and pedal for quick bleeding of a single line, but the bastardized sprayer seems like a neat idea if it works.

Sarge · Sep 25, 2004

Bronco said:
Guy 1 at the wheel bleeder. Guy 2 behind the wheel. 2 pumps up the peddle then 1 opens the bleeder (good to have a tube going to a bottle). Fluid comes screaming out with all the air. 1 closes the bleeder. Repeat as needed staring at the wheel farthest from the MC, finishing at the wheel closes to the MC. Done in 15 minutes. No bastardized Power sprayer needed.eace:

If he's wanting to flush the system then your method should be three dudes at least. You'll want one at the master cylinder to ensure you don't start sucking air. And will take well over 15 minutes.

Sarge

HossHoffer · Sep 26, 2004

I love to fabricate tools as much as the next guy but in this case the right tool for the job is a vacuum bleeder. I bought mine for about $25 with the bleeder kit. It's just one of those things that you use once and wonder how the heck you ever worked on brakes without it. Essentially it's a vacuum pump that you would use for troubleshooting the vacuum system with a plastic bottle to suck the fluid into. It works great and can make bleeding the brakes a one man job if you're careful. Go with the Mighty Vac. Good luck.

Bronco · Oct 23, 2004

Cheropair said:
Looks like I'll try it, worst case - I'm back to square one.

As far as the aerating, the air will quickly rise to the top, about like water, so I don't think that will be a problem. All of the parts are hard plastic, except for the o-rings - a little swelling won't hurt. Will probably relube the pump with silicone grease just to make sure there are no problems......

Did you ever get it to work?

Cheropair · Oct 23, 2004

Yes, it worked, - BUT - 3 of 4 bleeders were frozen shut and broke off - no other reason to replace so those didn't get done. RR was the only one that came open, so at least some of the system got flushed.

Word to the wise, if you pressurize the master cylinder, be CERTAIN to release the pressure before you remove the cover - brake fluid makes a mess...and it's hard to get off eyeglasses and windshields.

Muad'Dib · Aug 4, 2009

Bringing an oldie back to life!!

Im in the process of doing this myself. I have everything working except for the cap.

What did you do in that department? I got a cap and MC gasket from the local "Help!" section, and tied it into my pressure bleeder... but since the cap is just one of those twist 1/2 turn and its on kind of deals (meaning its not fully threaded) when i start to pressurise it, air escapes from the bottom of the cap. What did you do to remedy this?

Here is the gasket:

And the cap:

Thanks!

EDIT

I guess i should have looked at the aftermarket ones they make a little closer:

Looks like i need to just make a bracket that extends out the sides of the cap, and do something similar to the picture above.

Or buy one of these for 50+

http://www.etoolcart.com/chrysler-master-cylinder-adapter-ba01.aspx

GrimmJeeper · Aug 4, 2009

speed bleeders, nice and simple.

http://www.speedbleeder.com/

any auto parts store should carry em, at my store they are in the "Help!" section.

Muad'Dib · Aug 4, 2009

I personally wasnt looking for an alternative to a pressure bleeder.. but thanks.

HomeMade brake bleeder idea?

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Member #996

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Member #760

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Member #760

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

Similar threads