Honda Car Forum

I did a brake flush yesterday, by myself for the second
time, on my 91 Civic LX (176k miles). I use the Mity-Vac
system ( a hand-held vacuum pump, connecting to a small
container to collect fluid, tubing, and adapters). It went
much more quickly. One concern I have is that, while the kit
has a well-fitting adapter for the front bleeder bolts, it
does not have a good one for the rears. The front setup
holds a vacuum really well as I bleed fluid. By contrast, on
the rears, massive air bubbling occurs, and I have to
continuously pump to maintain vacuum.

I think it's because the rear adapters fit so loosely that,
when I draw a vacuum with the pump, it sucks air in at the
adapters.

I am thinking of buying a set of those one-way (that is,
check) bleeder valves that Pep Boys, for one, sells, to (1)
maybe get a better fit from adapter to valve; and (2)
minimize air introduction into the rear brake system.

Can anyone make other suggestions?

I want to stick with the Mity-Vac approach, as opposed to
getting a friend to push the brake pedal while I bleed at
each wheel. The Mity Vac system works really well on the
front. I am optimistic that some brainiac here can help me
getting the rears working better, or I'll stumble onto an
improvement for the rears.

A few comments for the archives:
-- I used a 32 oz ( = two pints) container of Valvoline
"exceeds DOT 3 and 4 requirements" brake fluid for the
flush. I had a second container ready, in case I found a lot
of dirt etc. in the fluid I bled. I did not. It seemed
pretty dirt free.

-- About 1.8 years and 22k miles have elapsed since the last
flush. The Owner's Manual recommended interval is 2 years
and 30k miles. I see a lot of folks here do a brake system
flush once a year. I was thinking of switching to a one-year
interval, but think I'll stick with two years using the more
expensive, supposedly more moisture resistant Valvoline
brake fluid. I live in a low humidity part of the country,
to boot.

-- The brake pedal travel before and after the flush still
seems a little large. I'm thinking it's because in fact I am
not getting all the air out of the system, and if any part
is to blame, its the rear bleeder bolt/adapter set-up I'm
using. Or possibly it's the fact that yesterday just before
the flush I disassembled, cleaned, lubed, and inspected,
then re-installed the rear brake shoe assemblies, and so
they weren't quite seated right.

-- I do not see symptoms of a leaky master cylinder (e.g.
the brake pedal does not keep going down after I first hit
what seems "bottom").

Elle wrote:
>
> I did a brake flush yesterday, by myself for the second
> time, on my 91 Civic LX (176k miles). I use the Mity-Vac
> system ( a hand-held vacuum pump, connecting to a small
> container to collect fluid, tubing, and adapters). It went
> much more quickly. One concern I have is that, while the kit
> has a well-fitting adapter for the front bleeder bolts, it
> does not have a good one for the rears. The front setup
> holds a vacuum really well as I bleed fluid. By contrast, on
> the rears, massive air bubbling occurs, and I have to
> continuously pump to maintain vacuum.
>
> I think it's because the rear adapters fit so loosely that,
> when I draw a vacuum with the pump, it sucks air in at the
> adapters.
>
> I am thinking of buying a set of those one-way (that is,
> check) bleeder valves that Pep Boys, for one, sells, to (1)
> maybe get a better fit from adapter to valve; and (2)
> minimize air introduction into the rear brake system.
>
> Can anyone make other suggestions?

--------------------------------------

Pressure bleeding is the way to go if you don't have a good helper. You
build a rig that attaches to the reservoir cap and away you go. I'm
going to use the 'insecticide sprayer' style when i get around to it.
Google it. Gets out air. Vacuum method is confusing because, as you
mention, lots of 'local' air confuses whether you're really getting out
the 'internal' air. A well-trained helper is even better, if you can get
one. :-)

If you yell at her, you won't get supper.

'Curly'

I second the pressure bleeding method... I bought one of the bug
sprayer models a few years ago and it seriously could not be easier. No
helper necessary. Besides, I've read in several posts that the helper
pumping method can sometimes ruin the seals on your master cylinder if
there's corrosion on the plunger.

One caution if you get the bug sprayer bleeder ... be sure to release
the pressure in the bottle before you undo the fitting on your master
cylinder resevoir or you'll get a nasty mess. Brake fluid will spray
EVERYWHERE.

Elle wrote:
> Can anyone make other suggestions?

i took off the bleeder screws and wrapped the threads with teflon tape.

home depot/lowes should have some vinyl hose that will tightly slip on
the nipple.

otherwise, i know there are rubber 90 degree bleeder arms that would
work, and that should have come with your mityvac set.

"Bruce" <andrew.bruce@regions.com> wrote in
news:1146083076.777984.140290@i39g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com:

> I second the pressure bleeding method... I bought one of the bug
> sprayer models a few years ago and it seriously could not be easier. No
> helper necessary. Besides, I've read in several posts that the helper
> pumping method can sometimes ruin the seals on your master cylinder if
> there's corrosion on the plunger.

If there's corrosion on the master cylinder plunger or MC bore,the MC
already needs replacing or rebuilding.


>
> One caution if you get the bug sprayer bleeder ... be sure to release
> the pressure in the bottle before you undo the fitting on your master
> cylinder resevoir or you'll get a nasty mess. Brake fluid will spray
> EVERYWHERE.
>
>

Does the "bug sprayer" keep the reservoir filled so air does not enter the
MC?

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

Jim Yanik wrote:
> "Bruce" <andrew.bruce@regions.com> wrote in
> news:1146083076.777984.140290@i39g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com:
>
>
>>I second the pressure bleeding method... I bought one of the bug
>>sprayer models a few years ago and it seriously could not be easier. No
>>helper necessary. Besides, I've read in several posts that the helper
>>pumping method can sometimes ruin the seals on your master cylinder if
>>there's corrosion on the plunger.
>
>
> If there's corrosion on the master cylinder plunger or MC bore,the MC
> already needs replacing or rebuilding.

damned right!!! fear of not using the full cylinder stroke in case of
encountering this problem blows my mind. this is the #1 safety
component of the vehicle. better make sure it's 100%.

>
>
>
>>One caution if you get the bug sprayer bleeder ... be sure to release
>>the pressure in the bottle before you undo the fitting on your master
>>cylinder resevoir or you'll get a nasty mess. Brake fluid will spray
>>EVERYWHERE.
>>
>>
>
>
> Does the "bug sprayer" keep the reservoir filled so air does not enter the
> MC?
>

"SoCalMike" <Mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote
> Elle wrote:
>> Can anyone make other suggestions?
>
> i took off the bleeder screws and wrapped the threads with
> teflon tape.
>
> home depot/lowes should have some vinyl hose that will
> tightly slip on the nipple.
>
> otherwise, i know there are rubber 90 degree bleeder arms
> that would work, and that should have come with your
> mityvac set.

Yes, there are several 90-degree nipples, but none that fit
the rears. I am using one of the cone-shaped ones, and it's
a poor fit into the bleeder bolt.

I like the HD/Lowes idea. I'll go looking for a good fit
soon and use some of the adapters to go from small tube
diameter to the larger diameter hose that came with the
Mity-Vac kit.

To the others: I want to stick with the Mity-Vac approach a
bit longer.

Elle wrote:
> "SoCalMike" <Mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote
>> Elle wrote:
>>> Can anyone make other suggestions?
>> i took off the bleeder screws and wrapped the threads with
>> teflon tape.
>>
>> home depot/lowes should have some vinyl hose that will
>> tightly slip on the nipple.
>>
>> otherwise, i know there are rubber 90 degree bleeder arms
>> that would work, and that should have come with your
>> mityvac set.
>
> Yes, there are several 90-degree nipples, but none that fit
> the rears. I am using one of the cone-shaped ones, and it's
> a poor fit into the bleeder bolt.
>
> I like the HD/Lowes idea. I'll go looking for a good fit
> soon and use some of the adapters to go from small tube
> diameter to the larger diameter hose that came with the
> Mity-Vac kit.

who knows? the small tube might "interference fit" inside the mityvac
tubing.

>
> To the others: I want to stick with the Mity-Vac approach a
> bit longer.

i like my mityvac. unscrew the bleeder, pump it a couple times, eye on
the brake fluid reservoir. once it starts coming out "straw colored", im
done.

"SoCalMike" <Mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote
> who knows? the small tube might "interference fit" inside
> the mityvac tubing.

Maybe so.

>> To the others: I want to stick with the Mity-Vac approach
>> a bit longer.
>
> i like my mityvac. unscrew the bleeder, pump it a couple
> times, eye on the brake fluid reservoir. once it starts
> coming out "straw colored", im done.

It sure seemed easy this second time around. Though I have a
new floor jack and now four jack stands, and that helped.

About how much brake fluid do you tend to end up using on a
flush?

Elle wrote:
> ...I did a brake flush yesterday, by myself for the second
> time, on my 91 Civic LX (176k miles). I use the Mity-Vac
> system ( a hand-held vacuum pump, connecting to a small
> container to collect fluid, tubing, and adapters).

Hi Elle. No answers, but a few ? Where is a good source to
buy the Mity-Vac?

>
> I am thinking of buying a set of those one-way (that is,
> check) bleeder valves that Pep Boys, for one, sells, to (1)
> maybe get a better fit from adapter to valve; and (2)
> minimize air introduction into the rear brake system.

I'm getting ready to do a flush. Any trouble getting the
bleeders off? I don't know when mine were last touched,
& hope they don't cause trouble.


..... I used a 32 oz ( = two pints) container of Valvoline
> "exceeds DOT 3 and 4 requirements" brake fluid for the
> flush.

I plan on using Motul Dot 5.1 fluid. Anyone have any
comments on this?

Mike