Are Motive Power Brake Bleeders pretty decent?

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Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
Originally Posted By: bruno
Only caution I've heard about them is to keep pressure below 10 psig .

Brake fluid reservoirs aren't made to take pressure !


Thanks for the tip! I believe they are gauged at 0-30 psig, so I'll definitely keep her in the lower 1/3 of the scale.

Thanks!
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I have one and I use on my SL2. Make sure you get both the universal adapter and the GM specific adapter. The universal adapter is a pain to use, but it's necessary for Toyotas, Hondas and a few other cars. On your Saturn, just use the GM specific adapter-- it'll screw right onto the master cylinder.

I disagree with keeping the pressure below 10 psi. You need to pump it up to 15-20 psi. This will ensure a proper bleed. With the Motive unit, I can pressure bleed all 4 corners in under 10 minutes.

Before you start bleeding, be sure to pump the pedal between 5-10 time until it's stiff. Also, during the bleed, lightly tap the calipers or wheel cylinders with a rubber mallet to dislodge the loose air bubbles.


What's the theory behind pumping the brakes a few times Mike? Is it to get the pistons pushed all the way out in the calipers before you begin bleeding? If so, why is that helpful?
 
One of the best method of brake bleeding is gravity bleed; unfortunately it takes a L O N G time! But it does work on zero PSI; so you should not need high pressure to bleed the system using Motive power bleeder.

Can you tell us the exact part that is threaded to the sprayer tank? Is it possible to make this even better by threading a shrader valve to that tank; then using either bicycle pump or 12V compressor to pressure the tank?

I have been to few hardware store looking for threaded sharder valve but have come empty :-(

- Vikas
 
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I used a tire valve to which I attached an air pressure gauge. Just drill a hole wherever you want. If the installation is awkward, just remove the valve core and use a length of string to fish it into position.

I was thinking of adding another tire valve so that I could pressurize with an air compressor. I suspect as you do that the HD pumping mechanism could introduce bubbles into the fluid.

I tied into the hose coming off the factory sprayer. It has a thick plast tube inside the pressure vessel to insure that fluid is drawn from the bottom of the vessel.
 
Originally Posted By: bruno
The unit relies on air pressure .


Is there some kind of membrane between the air and fluid to keep both separated?
 
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Originally Posted By: Jim 5
What's the theory behind pumping the brakes a few times Mike? Is it to get the pistons pushed all the way out in the calipers before you begin bleeding? If so, why is that helpful?


To be honest, I'm not sure. It is just something that I have always done since someone told me to. It probably isn't necessary.
 
I tried the Eezibleed because it was cheap and uses pressure from a tire that I can pump up with a compressor. The Eezibleed doesn't have the right caps for my American cars so I bought the Motive bleeder. It's the caps that make the difference. The generic caps don't work well. I use a one man brake bleeder Harbor Freight 37201 to catch the fluid and monitor the color.

Gravity bleeding won't clear every kind of air pocket. All to often it ends with an empty master cylinder which is great for fluid changes but not much else.

Neither Eezibleed nor Motive have membranes. The pumped air goes against the fluid. I looked at adapting a garden sprayer but the cost was too great once you count the gauge and caps. Making your own caps can be more expensive than buying them.

The Motive pump air comes out the bottom which is suspended about 1 inch above the bottom of the container. More than 1 inch of fluid and the fill air will bubble through the fluid. This isn't a problem since the Motive bleeder is large not because you are going to fill it with fluid but because you need some air volume to pressurize.

The brakes are pumped for the same reason you hammer on the caliper. The vibration and high speed fluid knocks bubbles off the side so they move up to join the other air. It's just like tapping a soda bottle to get the bubbles to rise.

As I read pressure bleeders do not work on all cars and on some cars the pedal must be pumped even with the pressure bleeder.
 
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
Wondering if anyone has anything good to say about the Motive power blake bleeder. I want to get into the habit of changing brake fluid every year or two in my vehicles and this thing looks pretty slick.



I have a Motive fluid extractor that I use to bleed brakes...works great and has paid for itself 100x easily. The power bleeders are excellent as well just pump to 5-10 range only. I like the fluid extractor because it is so versatile. I change engine & trans oil on my boat, PS fluid in my cars, Trans fluid in cars, bleed brakes, coolant drain fill, small engine oil drain etc etc.
 
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I picked up a discarded shrader valve from mechanics junk pile. Took an empty gallon container of Purple Power and drilled a 7/16 hole on the side of it. Fished the shrader valve from the top to the side of the container and hooked it up to 12V compressor. Got that container really hard! The cap on those containers are not really that air tight though. The shrader valve and the drilled hole does not seem to be leaking though.

At least the idea worked! Now I am thinking of putting the shrader valve on the hand operated chemical sprayer. The sprayer has built-in relief valve so I won't have to worry about blowing up the sprayer.

- Vikas
 
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Are Motive Power Brake Bleeders pretty decent?
With the universal cap, mine leaked profusely on Honda, Nissan and Chrysler. Basically did not work. Wish I could get a refund.
 
Question for Doitmyself.

Does brake fluid swell the rubber parts used in the ACE hardware spray bottle you use?
 
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