My Homemade Pressure Bleeder

[Eddie 70]

Well I finally got around to making my homemade pressure bleeder for brakes. I bought all of the parts over a few weeks time at different places. I bought the sprayer at Home Depot. Bought the gauge and its fittings at Lowe. I bought the tygon tubing and the brass T fittings at ACE hardware in town. I wound up sealing the threads on the gauge fittings to the with some black silicone. I had to cut a gasket(not pictured) for the plexiglass so it would seal to the top of the master cylinder. To use it just put some brake fluid into the pressure sprayer. Then place the plexiglass cover over the master cylinder and clamp it in place with a c-clamp. Pump up the pressure sprayer to about 10-15 PSI and then bleed the calipers at each wheel. This should push all of the air out of the calipers. I am going to use it tomorrow on a buddies vette and we will see how well it works.

 

[GaryS]

Please report back on the operation of this unit. It looks easy to construct and operate. The other question I have is how the plastic components stand up to the brake fluid. Please post the results of your work as well as the aftermath. Any plastic meltdown?
Gary

 

[Bill75]

Nice job Eddie, very resourceful!!

Be really careful about the seal at the master cyl. I made a similar setup using an aluminium plate and a gasket which I clamped to the master cyl with a large "C" clamp. The seal popped out and sprayed brake fluid all over the place, I made a mad dash to wipe it off the fenders and avoided damage but my air cleaner and a few other things under the hood need refinishing. 15 psi is allot of pressure.

 

[JohnZ]

I'd also add a screw clamp to every hose connection - those barbs aren't going to hold 15 psi of brake fluid. You could also add a 3/8"-long pipe extension to each of the two fittings in the adapter plate; when you're done bleeding and have released the pressure in the bottle, apply a vacuum to the fill line (with a Mityvac fluid transfer bottle), and it would draw down the fluid level in the master cylinder to the correct level before you remove the adapter plate to minimize the fluid drippage when you un-clamp and remove the adapter . This is particularly important with some power brake master cylinders that are mounted at an angle.