Brake fluid change-- Neat way

[Max Hubrich]

Okay Oemy,

I went to Tech Tips on your site.

I bought a 3 liter bottle of root beer and discarded the contents. Bought 3' of 5/16" I.D. clear tubing, drilled a 7/16 hole in the plastic bottle top. Washed the bottle out and dried it. Checked the bleed nut size (11mm) AND the round end of the bleed nut (.306). Since 5/16" is .312 I needed to do something to resize the tubing downward. I cut (or you can notch- with a grinding wheel) the end of the tubing about 1/8" in from the end, in about 3 places and put the shaft of a 19/64 (.296) drill bit in that end. Now get a piece of safety wire and twist it tight in the notches, cut it off, and press it downward so the sharp edges won't bite you. Then, of course, remove the drill bit-- yank on it with pliers , if necessary.

Now I got out my ordinary, everyday turkey baster and evacuated all the old fluid from the Master cylinder reservoir. I had bought a gallon of DOT 3 fluid ($22). I now refilled the master cylinder and crawled under the right rear wheel with my 11mm box/open end wrench, my 3 liter jug with the clear plastic hose stuck in it, and about an inch of new fluid (to keep the tubing submersed in it). Now I opened the bleed port, with the box end of the wrench and the tubing now held firmly in place, And watched and waited-- and waited-- and waited. My helper was up front watching the reservoir all this time.

Then it hit me----- All my life I always pressure bled brakes with a helper and the engine running (since power brakes came in-- before that we just stomped the heck out of them). Why not use the emergency system-- no engine running required

My helper just applied pressure on the bellcrank-- the electric motor was running, I opened the bleeder valve, let it drain until clear, amber fluid came out , closed the valve and hollered for him to stop the bellcrank pressure.

I went around to all four wheels --and did it twice --- clear, amber fluid is now flowing out of all bleeder ports. It took about 2 1/2 qts of fluid.

The original fluid was dark, like Coca Cola. My rig had the brake recall done in Nov '05. It only has 9,000 miles on it since then. All calipers were replaced then, so the fluid was about 3 years old.

If you do it with the emergency electric brake system (pressure bleed them ), you can do it all in about an hour. Gravity feed will take hours

Good luck Guys and Gals,

[Max Hubrich]

Okay Oemy,

I went to Tech Tips on your site.

I bought a 3 liter bottle of root beer and discarded the contents. Bought 3' of 5/16" I.D. clear tubing, drilled a 7/16 hole in the plastic bottle top. Washed the bottle out and dried it. Checked the bleed nut size (11mm) AND the round end of the bleed nut (.306). Since 5/16" is .312 I needed to do something to resize the tubing downward. I cut (or you can notch- with a grinding wheel) the end of the tubing about 1/8" in from the end, in about 3 places and put the shaft of a 19/64 (.296) drill bit in that end. Now get a piece of safety wire and twist it tight in the notches, cut it off, and press it downward so the sharp edges won't bite you. Then, of course, remove the drill bit-- yank on it with pliers , if necessary.

Now I got out my ordinary, everyday turkey baster and evacuated all the old fluid from the Master cylinder reservoir. I had bought a gallon of DOT 3 fluid ($22). I now refilled the master cylinder and crawled under the right rear wheel with my 11mm box/open end wrench, my 3 liter jug with the clear plastic hose stuck in it, and about an inch of new fluid (to keep the tubing submersed in it). Now I opened the bleed port, with the box end of the wrench and the tubing now held firmly in place, And watched and waited-- and waited-- and waited. My helper was up front watching the reservoir all this time.

Then it hit me----- All my life I always pressure bled brakes with a helper and the engine running (since power brakes came in-- before that we just stomped the heck out of them). Why not use the emergency system-- no engine running required

My helper just applied pressure on the bellcrank-- the electric motor was running, I opened the bleeder valve, let it drain until clear, amber fluid came out , closed the valve and hollered for him to stop the bellcrank pressure.

I went around to all four wheels --and did it twice --- clear, amber fluid is now flowing out of all bleeder ports. It took about 2 1/2 qts of fluid.

The original fluid was dark, like Coca Cola. My rig had the brake recall done in Nov '05. It only has 9,000 miles on it since then. All calipers were replaced then, so the fluid was about 3 years old.

If you do it with the emergency electric brake system (pressure bleed them ), you can do it all in about an hour. Gravity feed will take hours

Good luck Guys and Gals,

[troth]

Good write-up Max!!!

I'm saving your post for future reference!




Tom

[FrontRangeRVer]

A couple of questions:

1. Why didn't the "Gravity Method" work?

2. Why is it necessary to have an "inch of new fluid in the bottle" with the drain hose immersed?

[Max Hubrich]

The gravity method is a slow drain. You can barely see it.
Pressure bleeding is so much faster.

The reason you submerge the tube in fluid is so that air doesn't back up into the tube and the caliper when the bleeder is opened.

From Oemys site:
Go to the wheel furthest from the master cylinder. Usually the passenger side rear. Attach the plastic tube to the bleeder screw. Drop the other end in the soda bottle that has about 1" of brake fluid in it (enough to cover the drain tube).


We're really not bleeding the system pre-say, just exchanging the fluid. No air was present in the system before we started the "exchange" of fluid

[FrontRangeRVer]

Thanks Max

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Max Hubrich:
The original fluid was dark, like Coca Cola. My rig had the brake recall done in Nov '05. It only has 9,000 miles on it since then. All calipers were replaced then, so the fluid was about 3 years old. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Max, I think that we have been writing all along about this and you just proved it out as a totally independent source. Your fluid was indeed contaminated and as you noted it didn't take long at all.

My recommendations would be that an owner consider flushing their fluid every 2 years to assure that their fluid remains viable.

I hope that you would agree with this assessment given the results you obtained. Brake fluid is relatively cheap. I had all my brakes changed this year and I believe I am going to consider bleeding my brakes annually.

[Joe Gilbert]

In my opinion there is a easer method to bleed or change brake fluid. I have used "Speed Bleaders" in the past and they make the job easy. These bleeders have a check valve built into them so that they will not suck air into the system when the brake pedal is released.

1: Replace your OEM bleeders with the speed bleeders.

2: Siphon most of the old fluid from the reservoir and refill with new fluid.

3: Bleed brakes well, keeping reservoir full.

One person can quickly bleed out old fluid using these bleeders.


The bleeders cost something like $7.00 each. Check this link. https://www.speedbleeder.com

[FrontRangeRVer]

Joe, which size would fit our chassis? Nothing on that site lists anything for the Workhorse Chassis.

[rgrstndgby]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I have used "Speed Bleaders" in the past </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Joe, that looks like a neat deal, are you using them on your WH..?..rgr...

[Joe Gilbert]

Very good question as to what size our W22's & W24's use. I thought someone would ask so I have sent an e-mail to "speedbleeder" asking that question. So! I hate to admit that after I suggested these I can't answer the question but hopefully we'll find out.

Yes, I have used these but on my previous Ford chassis. They were the cat's meow.

If anyone has the answer jump in. Otherwise I'll let you all know what I find out.

[FrontRangeRVer]

Joe, these look great, and are just what I am looking for. Yes, let us know if you hear the answer! Thanks for responding back!

[oemtech]

I am working with Speedbleeder's to get the correct part #. As soon as I find out I will post the results. Heck I might ever order and carry them.

[FrontRangeRVer]

Dale, you hear back from Speedbleeders? I think this would be a GREAT aftermarket product for our chassis!