Recommendation for Motive Products Brake Bleeder

thehackmechanic

thehackmechanic

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I'll write about this in Roundel sometime, but I want to give a hearty (and completely uncompensated) recommendation to the Motive Products brake bleeder

http://www.amazon.com/Motive-Produc...M5L0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323640902&sr=8-1

You pour up to two quarts of brake fluid into it, screw its cap in place of the brake fluid reservoir cap, pump it up, and walk around from wheel to wheel and bleed, occasionally returning to the Motive to pump it back up. This is much easier than the Gunison EZ Bleed I've used for nearly 20 years, as 1) it ran off pressure from a tire, and 2) you'd have to unscrew it to add fluid to the reservoir.

The $53 red label model has a plastic cap with a non-swiveling hose, requiring you to pre-twist the hose before threading the cap onto the reservoir. For about $20 more you can buy the black label model that comes with a nice knurled aluminum cap that has a swivel fitting in the middle, eliminating the pre-twisting ritual.

I've had to do some serial brake work on a recently-purchased 3.0CS requiring iterative bleeding, and it's been great.

The one downside is that some care has to be taken depressurizing and disconnecting so as not to get brake fluid everywhere. I found that unscrewing the cap on the bleeder tank to release the pressure, bending the hose so only a small amount of fluid will gravity-feed into the reservoir, then cracking open a bleed valve and gravity-bleeding the brakes for a minute drew the level down enough.

With Christmas coming, drop some hints on this to your spouse.

--Rob
 
I agree. I've used the Bavauto version for 7-8 years and it works great. Best brake bleeding tool I've ever used. Be carefull not to use to much pressure. I did over pressurize the tank once causing the 40 year old braded lines that lead from the reservoir to the master cylinders to " weep" brake fluid. I ended up having to replace them and all is well.

John
 
+1 on a pressure bleeder, I also have the bav auto version and have used it with great success for years. That reminds me it's time to bleed the brakes again.
 
I've avoided the 'leaking fluid' when removing the bleeder cap from the reservoir by never putting fluid in the Pressure Bleeder. I fill the reservoir, then pump the bleeder up to the pressure I want. I check frequently and disconnect the cap when the reservoir is about 1/4 full. repeat this several times, of course, while you bleed all four corners (8 nipples on the CS).

Confirming 'Hack's' comments on the next page, DO NOT RUN THE Reservoir dry!. I do one rear brake caliper, then refill the reservoir, etc. until all are done. I like the fact that the pressure vessel has never seen either hygroscopic brake fluid, OR water to clean it out. Don't want any 'new' brake fluid to contact a surface that has moisture already present. This is a procedure I like, but - as the automobile and gasoline companies used to say "your mileage may vary"

Been using this technique for about 10 years on all of my previous cars. Used it today on the '74 I bought last spring, after replacing a frozen Rt rear caliper, and rebuilding all the other three.
 
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I've been meaning to buy one of these for 15 years, but keep bleeding the old fashion way. If you are feeling thrifty, You can build them out of a pest prayer, some rubber tube, a brass barb, and an OEM MC cap.
 
HB Chris said:
Marcos,

I did that and couldn't keep the cap from leaking, the Motive one doesn't leak.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Do you use the rubber plate instead of the universal cap? I wonder if they leak out of the threads. Anyway I'll need to buy one, even though I have a plethora of sprayers...
 
Hey if we're all about uncompensated recommendations...

I want to give a hearty (and completely uncompensated) recommendation to...

Craftsman for their combination wrenches. I've been using them for dog's years, and never broken one yet, which I can't say about several 1/2" breaker bars of theirs. Those combo wrenches fit right, they are "two tools in one" and they're far and away less expensive than S***-O*, M**, P****, H**** plus several other chromey brands from various trucks and big-box outfits. Remember the old saw about buying Craftsman: "You only buy it once!"

I think product recommendations are okay, but they ought to have their own place as would flames of product that's not found to perform as expected. In H*** perhaps.

Keepin' it clean,
 
Here is a comment from an amazon reviewer that picks up on thoughts from Rob and Gary:
.............
-Do not fill the tank with brake fluid, that is just asking for dirt and contamination. Instead just use the tank for air pressure.
-Install an air hose quick coupler in the line. The quick coupler allows you to connect and disconnect the bleeder tank to the brake fluid reservoir without losing pressure. This makes it much faster when you have to disconnect the bleeder to add more fluid to the brake fluid reservoir because you don't have to re-pressurize the tank each time. Make sure you keep a good eye on it and dont run it dry.
 
I like the idea of the air-line quick disconnect. Not so much for the disconnection part, as for the easy 'swivel' part, keeping from having to twist the hose counter-clockwise before screwing the reservoir cap on in a clockwise rotation!

THANKS for forwarding that. I'll pick up a Male and Female disconnect next time I'm at Harbor Freight.
 
I disagree that you shouldn't use the tank for brake fluid. That's what it's designed for. If I wanted to only push pressure, I'd use my old Gunison's EZ Bleed which gets its pressure through a valve screwed onto the left front tire. I've used the Gunison's and not stopped, disconnected, and refilled the reservoir in time. You want to quadruple the bleeding time? Accidentally run your reservoir dry and push air all the way through the system. That's what happens if you run the reservoir dry.

The advantage of the Motive is that you can add a quart of brake fluid and do all four wheels without worrying that you'll run out of fluid.
 
Motive Bleeder

I used to not fill the tank on my Motive bleeder but eventually switched over to filling the tank with brake fluid. I just make sure that I have lots of denatured alcohol to clean it all up when I'm done.
 
Pretty old thread but, when I originally read it, I went ahead and bought this Motive bleeder. But for some reason, I never had the need to use it until now. I have the basic "red" version (plastic cap and non swivel connector. Here are my notes upon using it for the first time:

  • All of the hoopla about needing a swivel joint of some sort seems overblown to me. There are only two or three thread turns to secure the cap on to the reservoir so you can simply reverse twist the hose a few times and it all works out fine
  • Be sure to insert the supplied rubber gasket in the cap before screwing it on. Otherwise it will leak
  • As shown in the instruction video from the company it is very helpful to hook it all up and do a leak test by pumping pressure without any fluid at first. Make sure it can hold 10 to 12 psi for a few minutes without any problem. This will show if you have a good leak proof connection or not
  • Use some Teflon tape to connect the adapter hose to the tank hose otherwise it will leak
  • The supplied piece of hose to attach to the caliper was only about 8" which is way too short to be useful. I tried an old piece of windshield washer fluid hose which is the right size but it doesn't work well because you need a hose that is completely transparent so you can see if there are any bubbles coming through. So we would need that same size hose but at least 18 or 20 inches and fully clear. And then some sort of reservoir, like an old water bottle of course. To solve both issues at once you can simply buy the company's matching catch bottle and tube. Search for "Motive Products 1810 Single Catch Bottle Kit, 500ml" on Amazon. $17
  • I did add brake fluid to the bottle as suggested by the manufacturer. I don't se the point of risking to run the reservoir too low and getting air into the system. Sure you end up having to dispose of some brake fluid left in the tank but I'd rather deal with that than having to re-bleed the entire circuit
  • The bleeders use a closed end 7 mm wrench
  • The bleed order on the front calipers are: the inner one first, then the lower outside one and finally the upper outside one
  • Use a brand new bottle of brake fluid. Once they are open, they are only useable for a couple months. I used ATE TYP200 DOT 4.
  • With all that, the system actually worked pretty well
 
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