does the soda bottle brake bleed really work?

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ive been watching vids on youtibe, how too bleed brakes. a one man thing. I come across using the soda bottle method! clear hose on bleeder, then enough length too coil into bottom of bottle. fill halfway with brake fluid, go in car, pump brakes 5-8times, go back too bleeder, close it. open, repeat, test brake pressure.
The reason i ask,is becasue i am new too this. it seems very easy. ericthecarguy was one terrific vid too watch! but since its the internet...thiers always something either left out, with instructional vids.
well i have a 24oz vitman water bottledrank, empty,andplanon using that. got the clear tubing from home depot, 5/8 linei thnkmay have been 5/16t. took bleeder with me too mak sureit fit over thevlavesnug without coming off.
does this meothod REALLY ork that good? i wasat bank, andfound an empty water bottle garbage, 12 ozs. took it too use. but think the 24ozs s moreturdy and holds more.
 
The clear bottle method works just fine. Get some wire to suspend the bottle at the proper hight or get a helper to hold the bottle or to pump the brake pedal. Don't let the brake pedal bottom out. Also, rap with a rubber mallet repeatedly on the caliper to dislodge any stuck air bubbles.

hotwheels
 
Heh sounds like you're having a good night of youtube and some drinks.

The bottle method works fine, I bought a vacuum pump, but still find the bottle method is good. What I've found (more so for the vacuum pump method), is to just crack the bleeder open just enough for the fluid to flow, no more.
 
thanks1 ive seen chrifixxs vids he roks!
sorry lol, i was typing while layng down. i dont drink:. laptop o my chest, laying down. cant type as well.
 
I saw a vid, of a russian guy doing this, bu he didnt have a cap on the bottle. Im assuming the cap is not necessary?
 
you should have a helper. ideally, the bleeder screw should be tightened when the brake pedal is pressed so you do not pull that contaiminated fluid back in when you release the pedal.
 
The bottle method works just fine. You want to make sure the end of the tube in the bottle is always submerged in brake fluid. That way if anything is sucked back up through the tube when you release the brake peddle it's just more brake fluid and not air. Does that make sense?

You want enough tube to go from the bleeder to the bottom of the bottle, with some extra room to spare, but it's not like you want to have so much extra tubing that you have a bunch of extra coils or anything. Enough so that you have no doubt that it will stay at the bottom of the bottle with no chance of it pulling out above the line of brake fluid you have in the bottle.

I've used the bottle method and it worked just fine. Just make sure you know the brake bleeding order suggested by your car manufacturer. On most vehicles it's passenger rear, driver rear, front passenger, front driver side. But some vehicles will specify a different order (I know some Subarus in the 90's and early 2000's specified something different).
 
Does the bottle need to be
- higher
- lower
than the caliper?

Does the loop prevent air from getting back to the caliper?
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Does the bottle need to be
- higher
- lower
than the caliper?

Does the loop prevent air from getting back to the caliper?


I don't believe the bottle need to be any specific position relative to the caliper. For the most part, the hose needs to be routed slightly upwards, so any air can rise up to the top of the hose, instead of settling right at the valve.

I'm not sure of the loop, but you should put some brake fluid in the bottle before you start, that acts a little like a valve. When you press the brakes, the air gets pushed through the hose through the fluid. When you release the brake pedal, it might suck some fluid back through the bleeded, as long as it's solid fluid moving back and forth, no air comes into the caliper.


One more thing that I've seen that wasn't mentioned is to put a 2x4 under the brake pedal so when you press it, it doesn't push the master cylinder further than it usually moves in daily use. This supposedly prevents the seals from getting damaged.
 
Quote:
One more thing that I've seen that wasn't mentioned is to put a 2x4 under the brake pedal so when you press it, it doesn't push the master cylinder further than it usually moves in daily use. This supposedly prevents the seals from getting damaged.
I agree with it but I do not understand it completely. Is there going to be time in the future where you will have to panic brake and would cause the master cylinder to move in more than usual? I can tell you that in years of using vehicles, I do not ever remember having to stand on the brake pedal. If a situation requires it, I have to stand on the brake pedal, would the seals get damaged and I won't have brakes anymore?
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Quote:
One more thing that I've seen that wasn't mentioned is to put a 2x4 under the brake pedal so when you press it, it doesn't push the master cylinder further than it usually moves in daily use. This supposedly prevents the seals from getting damaged.
I agree with it but I do not understand it completely. Is there going to be time in the future where you will have to panic brake and would cause the master cylinder to move in more than usual? I can tell you that in years of using vehicles, I do not ever remember having to stand on the brake pedal. If a situation requires it, I have to stand on the brake pedal, would the seals get damaged and I won't have brakes anymore?


With the engine running, a vacuum booster-assisted brake retains more pedal resistance than it does without the engine running. Without the engine running, pumping the brake pedal repeatedly will result in ever increasing pedal travel until the pedal eventually bottoms out. With the engine running, the brake pedal will not bottomn out, unless there's a leak in the brake booster system, or unless the brake fluid has air in it, is boiling or missing altogether.

hotwheels
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Does the bottle need to be
- higher
- lower
than the caliper?

Does the loop prevent air from getting back to the caliper?


There are a lot of videos on youtube that will show the process and explain it. Here are two that I found very quickly, there are probably better videos out there, but this first video showed how to make the bleeder bottle, and the second one showed how to bleed the brakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wwq1Vlk4Wg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTmlOZbXgs

A couple of quick things to stress, brake fluid will eat through paint. So be careful with it.

Also, when I bleed my brakes, I don't finish the job by filling the master cylinder to the max line. I fill it to about where it was when I started the process (above the min, but not at the max). The reason for this is if the brakes are worn down, then the pistons are part way out of the calipers. If you fill your brake system to the max, then in the future when you change your brake pads and push the pistons back into the calipers, they'll push up on the brake fluid and will overfill your reservoir. However, if you fill the reservoir to where it was when you started bleeding your brakes, then in theory when you push the pistons back into the calipers, it'll take the brake fluid back to the max level without overfilling the reservoir. Someone might come on here and say that I'm not doing it right by not filling it to the max, but that's how I do it and since it's always above the minimum level I feel comfortable with it.
 
I used to attach a clear tube to the bleeder so I could lead the fluid into a bottle or bucket. Te two times i tried it, my helper lost the pedal. It somehow let air in, so now i just make a mess.
 
Had a leak empty my brake system recently, and (once I'd replaced the leaking rear wheel cylinder) refilled it with an "enema" syringe, from the rear bleed nipple. Expected to have trouble with bubbles, but no.

You can also use a syringe to bleed the system, and (with CLEAN fluid) can cycle the fluid in and out to free any bubbles, but I didn't need to do that.

Using the syringe as a reservoir at the same level as the master cylinder, upward-refilling could be a passive, hands-off operation. Seems to beat all that tedious (and potentially damaging) pedal pumping.

This is an old car (1986) without ABS, which I understand is a major pain if it gets air in it.
 
Last edited:
Just buy a Mity Vac. Online you can find them for about $30-$40. Makes bleeding a BREEZE.
 
Just buy a Mity Vac. Online you can find them for about $30-$40. Makes bleeding a BREEZE.
 
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