bleeder tubing size

B

Bernie

Junior Member
1939 Ford The bleeder screw has an end opening of about 1/8 inch diameter. Can I use a 1/8 inch plastic tubing or must I use a tube size that I can put over the end of the bolt? It is an original bolt. Thanks Bernie
 
You want a piece of tubing that will push snugly over the nub, and that will stay in place hands-free while bleeding. DD
 
If you insert the tube into a plastic bottle with a small amount of fluid in it with the end of the tube below the surface ,it will help prevent air from being sucked back into the system and will show when all the air is out of the system.Phil
 
If you want to make your life easier make a pressure bleeder and just use the bleeder screw tubing to direct fluid into a container instead of on the floor. Get a garden sprayer from the big box store, a steel tire valve and a spare master cylinder cap. Drill the cap and install the valve after removing the valve core. Cut the sprayer nozzle from the sprayer hose and clamp it over the valve stem. Put brake fluid in the sprayer but not so much that it gets sucked into the sprayer pump, install the cap/ hose assembly in the master cylinder pump it just enough to slightly pressurize and start with farthest wheel cylinder. If you can't get a spare cap,ok with a couple washers, gasket material and c-clamp can be used in a pinch. I built this rig for ABS brakes and it works well, ok with dot3, beats pumping the pedal and vexing your wife.
 
the one downside is your master cylinder will overflow when you remove the cap. You will want to have plan in place if paint or mess is a concern.
 
SofaKing said:
the one downside is your master cylinder will overflow when you remove the cap. You will want to have plan in place if paint or mess is a concern.
Click to expand...

The main downside with using a "garden sprayer" as a pressure bleeder is pressurizing air, moisture, contaminates etc. into the brake fluid, something you really want to avoid as much as possible. The proper brake pressure bleeder does costs more, but contains the fluid in an air-tight bladder that is pressurized from the outside.
If you don't have the proper equipment, or can't afford it, you're much better off just pedal bleeding a brake system.
JFYI, it really doesn't matter what axle or wheel you start to bleed with on a dual hydraulic system, and in my experience, is better to purge the air closer to the master first. :)
 
Last edited:
My son lent me his Motive Speed pressure bleeder for my DD, which is hard to bleed, and having used it, I never would use it for anything I didn't have to. Same with the MityVac vacuum tool, a lot of mess for not much gain over just cracking them with a hose into a bottle.
 
The original bleeder screws center hole is tapped 10-32 for a short screw and lock washer. It would be good if you could find a small nipple and thread it so it fits in the hole, for bleeding.
 
The concern regarding introducing air, moisture and contamination from using the garden sprayer pressure bleeder is somewhat overstated. Air will not be introduced to the brake system provided you don't run the bleeder out of fluid. This is easily avoided because you can see the fluid level. Contamination is easily avoided by rinsing the sprayer prior to use and pouring from a clean container. Unlike the master cylinder, you will open and fill the sprayer only one time. Once closed the container is free from dust and dirt except when pumping to pressurize, assuming you are not in a dust storm, sawmill or quarry, this is negligible. Moisture is not an issue provided you don't store brake fluid in this container, you are only going to pressurize a couple psi, not enough to condense the moisture out of the air. What you will see in the old brake fluid as it is forced out is exponentially worse than anything you can pump in using this tool. I discard the unused fluid and clean the container after each use to prevent cross contamination.

I absolutely agree with the poster stating the hand vacuum pump is ineffective. Once you loosen the bleeder nipple enough to function you have an air leak through the threads rendering vacuum inefficient.

This suggestion was made for anyone that is working alone or is tired of pumping the pedal. If you are purging the system or filling it the first time you will be very pleased to see the fluid flowing into the jar without the pumping, opening and closing of the nipple, yelling to your pedal-pumping slave and wondering if the air bubbles in your overflow jar are from the brake line when you and your assistant got out of sync or the air leak where you connected the hose to the nipple.
 
if you are planning on playing with old cars for a while , it would be worth your money to buy a snap-on or cornwall presure pot, no mess and very easy to use.
 
I use a purpose made (in the UK) pressure bleeding system. (Gunson's eezibleed) and make an adaptor to suit each master cylinder. The adaptor can be as simple as a flat plate held inn place by a g clamp. I used a piece cut from an inner tube as an improvised seal. it has done the trick on all my early fords and more lately my 57 T Bird. It has worked where no matter how much pedal bleeding was applied that didn't work.

Mart.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top