Brake bleeding sequence

If someone made a well-priced pressure bleeding set, with an easy-to-use snap-on cap that sealed well every time, and some way to auto-feed clean fluid into the reservoir, I’d be all over it like white on rice. But the reality is, a lot like that - and there’s no logical reason it should be - will cost you north of $100 for all the parts. If it was more like $60 and had the features I mentioned, it would be a no-brainer for me.

I can have a good vacuum bleed kit for half that and do the job just as fast. Not as efficient, and you need to make sure you’re getting a good seal at the bleeder, but I can do it just as fast as pressure bleed.

 

The motive bleeder was like $50 from summit, I made the adapters, so maybe another $25. Install a ball valve in line above adapter, close valve, then bleed till fluid is below “mess level”. I get that it’s not everyone’s jam, I thought so too, but I seen the light oh brother I seen the light!!!! I completely agree about those store bought adapters sucking,stupid chains garbage .I bought just the jug from motive.

 

I'm probably $50-60 into my bleeder kit. But I did have fittings on hand.

Bought the aluminum bleeder cap ($30-40) and used a 1 gal garden sprayer ($10). A couple feet of clear hose, two npt fittings and a hose disconnect. (Pre insanity/inflation pricing.)

 

Just wanted to touch 1 thing in case someone trips over this thread in the future.

Considering the age of these trucks, you almost definitely need to get under there and adjust that parking brake cable. The parking brake is how you adjust the rear brakes and play a big part in the system performance. With the truck off and driver door open, engage/disengage the parking brake multiple times and you should be able to hear the rear brakes in action. This process is tedious since it only moves the adjuster 1 click so you may have to pump quite a bit. I've gotten into the habit of doing this at every oil change, just sitting there and engaging/disengaging the parking brake until I feel the pedal gets a bit more tension (20-25 times). Over doing it is not an issue, adjuster stops clicking over once pads reach a certain point. If the cable is loose, it no worky.

 

You know, you can get under the truck, go to the diff side of the rear backing plate, and pull on the braided line right where it connects to the bell crank, on each wheel, it'll click once per, and crank down on the adjuster. *IF* the auto-adjust function is working, at least, if your shoes aren't installed correctly, or you're using an aftermarket spring kit or aftermarket shoes, or aftermarket star adjuster, improperly seated star adjuster, some have reported auto-adjust won't work.

This video shows the method quite well starting at 29sec mark, ignore the cancer all over their backing plate, now you know why they replaced the bell crank!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry7PtuQBW4g#t=29s​

 

That poor truck is rusty

 

The Speedibleed is $82 and does all that. https://speedibleed.com/product/k800b-toyota-lexus-brake-bleeder-kit/
What's odd is that it cost me $86 for the same kit when I bought it 3 years ago so they have managed to stay ahead of inflation.

 

I have a Motive pressure bleeder that I bought when I had European cars -- which have screw-on caps so are easy to seal.

I bought this adapter for Toyota and it works great. It seals perfectly and is held on by a very robust/positive connection. I highly recommend.

$26 SMOTIVEPRO 43mm Master Cylinder Bleeder Adapter Compatible with Toyota and Lexus

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SPCSGP9?th=1

 

Now you see my dilemma here. IMHO there's no reason that Speedibleed should be MSRP $125, much less $82. By the time I pay tax and shipping (using downtown zip code for cheapest possible ship), I'm out $100. Almost double. It's bullshit. That thing is not worth $100.

​

 

Strange, I swore I heard a long string of complaints in one of Lunch or WDYD threads about poor fitment of the cap on this one.

 

Oh, and are you saying it will auto-feed fluid? That would be included in "all that".

 

My $23 Amazon reservoir cap, same as link, works and seals fine. I made the hose to pressurize from a $10 amazon tire fill hose, had a cheap $15 HF gage/regulator on hand, I use tire as a pressure source. Just check and refill reservoir, as necessary (by removing cap) after bleeding each bleed point.

To effectively use a vacuum bleeder, you need a decent compressor and you need to drag the vacuum bleeder device and hoses to each bleed point.

I like the pressure bleeder.

 

Vacuum bleeding: Mamba approved

 

Ol skool push the pedal has worked for me every time. I run the drain hose up above the caliper / wheel cylinder and back down to the collection vessel. Makes the first 6” or so of hose fill with fluid, preventing air from getting pulled back into the caliper during bleeding. Pressure is the way, I work in fluid filled circuits for a living. In people. Forcing the fluid through the tubing makes the bubbles move best. No need for any fancy bleeders if it’s just a couple cars every 50k miles or so.

 

shop envy, moderate to severe

 

I was on your mind set, then I had my Chevelle give me fits. No amount, quality or method of pumping would get a safe pedal. Chased for weeks, finally bit the bullet and spent the $. Only then did the system reveal its leaks and failures, so I could replace bad parts. Then after having such a gem I started using it as often as I can, want fluid flush baby? so now I’m just an infomercial for them. I like when folks build them

 

I use this cap:

$26 altivox 42mm Master Cylinder Bleeder Adapter, Brake Bleeder Adapter Compatible with Toyota Series Car Models, Aluminum Alloy Manu-facturing, Rustproof, Corrosion-Resistant Brake Bleeder Cap

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8W9B1DZ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

It's a bit fiddly at first, but one you get the knack of it its easy. Combined with the Motive I'm into this for ~ $70

$49 Motive Products 0090 NPT Power Bleeder 2-Quart Tank with Hose

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O6FZJFG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

 

Mine works great. Pumped the Motive it up to 25psi and let it sit for several minutes -- the needle didn't move off 25.

In my experience, auto feeding fluid is overrated. I've had my Motive for about 25 years. I used it's auto feed feature a couple of times when I first got it -- it ends up making a mess and leaves fluid behind which needs to be cleaned out so it's spotless for the next time I use it... which for me could be a year from now. It was just more hassle than it's worth. I just use the Motive as a pressure vessel and fill directly to the reservoir.

 

25 PSI?! I was told not to exceed 15 PSI...

 

The pressurized container also acts as a fluid reservoir, yes.

I pulled this from the Speedibleed FAQ

 

The S-Motive brand @tvpierce posted was actually cheaper, like $24 or something on scAmazon, and I had $80 in credits from donating blood and platelets these last couple months, so I pulled the trigger on it with my balance.

Ok, I didn't realize the Motive can actually had a auto-feed stem from the feed line down to the bottom of the can. Helpful to know.

 

Oh...I originally bought the smotivepro adapter, but it has some weird metric spec quick disconnect fitting, and I was unable to match it up to the Motive, or any of the dozens of assorted fittings I have laying around. So I returned it and got the altivox, which fit one i already had.

As an update to my bleeding experience, I crawled underneath to bleed again today (4th time). Although each bleeding got me a better pedal I've not been happy with the result. I read that the thing to do is adjust the LSPV all the way before bleeding, so I tried that today. Of course the eye bolt snapped off (probably hasn't been adjusted ever...) so I ziptied the arm up in the air while I wait for the new parts (I could just go to Ace-is-the-Place and adapt some generic HW, but I decided it would just be less time consuming to just replace it with OEM).

The bleeding went much better, releasing a noticeable pocket of air from the LSPV (and lesser amounts from each of the corners). The test drive was great! A nice firm pedal, and much shorter stopping distance. I don't know for sure if this is because I've finally bled all the air out, or that the LSPV is cranked all the way open, or both. I guess I know more when I reinstall the new eyebolt.

I'm still unable to lock the wheels in a panic stop. All my other vehicles will leave a skid mark if I stomp the pedal to the floor. No, the ABS isn't kicking on (at least not that I can tell). But I can live with this if need be, it's the best it's ever been.

 

To that point, @tvpierce what are you using to connect that SMOTIVEPRO to your Motive bleeder, adapter-wise?

 

I think 25 is fine. But I was intentionally going a little high to see if it would hold pressure steady. (it did)

The ID of the Motive tubing fit snuggly on the fitting of the S Motive Pro cap. I just took off my original cap (screw-on Euro cap with a barbed fitting) and slipped the tubing on the new cap and secured it with screw clamp.

 

Well…..too much pressure and you might blow up the brake fluid reservoir……have to admit though, before I realized the lspv needed to be full open, I tried as much as 20 psi.

 

I suppose it's possible. I usually have it between 15 and 20 psi when bleeding brakes. I wonder if those tools that use the tire as a pressure source regulate the pressure. If not, that would be some really high pressure: 50+ psi in some instances.

 

I'd think you'd be blowing seals before you pop the master cylinder housing from pressure. Real bad day if you blow all the seals in your brake system.

 

To your point, it's a hydraulic system, and one directly linked to human safety which is responsible for stopping ton(s) of weight from moving. I'd expect it to be able to sustain 30-40psi without fatigue.

Should someone run that much pressure against it for periods at a time to test that? I wouldn't, not on potentially 25 year old calipers and their equally old piston seals. But if I needed to test something briefly, I guess?

 

I wouldn't worry one bit about anything beyond the MC. The MC reservoir is the only part of the system not designed to withstand 800-2000psi of pressure during braking. The system itself will laugh at a measly 30-45 psi. The MC might have issues though....

 

As to question about regulating pressure when using tire as pressure source…….. I use a HF regulator/gauge, sourced from HF for use with paint spray gun ($15), plumbed in at the connection to the reservoir cap. I posted pictures of the entire setup in the thread about brake upgrades for towing.