Pittsburgh Brake Bleeder and Vacuum Pump Kit

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 3, 2005
Messages
40,288
Location
NY
I bought one of the Harbor Freight [Pittsburgh Automotive - Item#69328] Brake Bleeder and Vacuum Pump Kits for $20 and I'm very happy with it. I did a transmission fluid and filter change, and line exchange on my 08 Liberty which doesn't have a dipstick. Long story short there are several sites showing the wrong chart for checking the transmission fluid level in that vehicle. Several are showing the NAG1 chart for the 42RLE and the charts aren't labeled. The NAG1 chat will create on overfill condition in the 42RLE, which is what I had. Not really a big deal since I realized it about 10 miles later when I spoke with my son's friend about the job. I needed to extract about a little more than half a quart of fluid. So instead of using my Miti-Vac I thought I'd try one of these. I wanted it to bleed brakes and this was the perfect excuse to buy one. It was well worth the $20 investment, and a tool which will get a quite a bit of use in the next few months.

I'm going to get some new clear tubing and see if it can pull warm oil from the dipstick tube with it. That would make it a good tool for someone interested in getting a UOA sample halfway through an OCI vs. buying a dedicated tool for that.
 
Hey Demarpaint.

Just a stupid question. Why there is vacuum gauge? Do you need to stay at "safe" vacuum pressure zone while bleeding the brake?
 
I've had one of those for about 5 years now. Works great but the black seal on the top of the bottle will tend to leak after a while. Be on the lookout for a larger screw cap type of bottle.
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I've had one of those for about 5 years now. Works great but the black seal on the top of the bottle will tend to leak after a while. Be on the lookout for a larger screw cap type of bottle.


Hi Shoz, Do you really need the vacuum gauge for bleeding a brake? I ask this question because I'm building a vacuum kit myself by recycling things around me.
 
Last edited:
It works best when you pump it up to about 15"Hg and then let it pull the fluid out. You don't need a gauge but.....
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
how did you remove the fluid without the long tube then?


I used clear 1/4" tubing, which I had. I cut it long enough to fit down the fill tube. That will be for ATF only. If I was going to use it to try and take an oil sample before changing the oil I'd use tubing dedicated to oil only. Hope that clears things up.
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I've had one of those for about 5 years now. Works great but the black seal on the top of the bottle will tend to leak after a while. Be on the lookout for a larger screw cap type of bottle.


That was the first thing I noticed, there isn't much of a seal at all, but mine hasn't leaked a drop. I was going to fool around with seeing if I could rig the pump to a screw on top peanut butter jar and use that. A mason jar would work too, but I'd rather not use glass.
 
Originally Posted By: ST2008
Hey Demarpaint.

Just a stupid question. Why there is vacuum gauge? Do you need to stay at "safe" vacuum pressure zone while bleeding the brake?


Its also a diagnostic tool without the bottle, the gauge will tell you if a part being tested eg brake booster is holding vacuum.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
You say you own a Mighty Vac , doesn`t this doe the same job?


I needed to extract a small amount of ATF, and didn't want to spend the time cleaning the Miti-Vac and its hoses. I also wanted this tool for its other abilities.
 
I'm using a MityVac bottle. At 15"Hg it starts to collapse so you need one with some stiff sidewalls. A heavy duty lab vacuum bottle would work.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
You say you own a Mighty Vac , doesn`t this doe the same job?

I needed to extract a small amount of ATF, and didn't want to spend the time cleaning the Miti-Vac and its hoses. I also wanted this tool for its other abilities.

I had the same question last night but I didn't ask, because I didn't know how to post my question without offending you.

If I need to extract small amount of fluid from power steering reservoir or brake fluid reservoir or coolant reservoir ... I use the pump from the big shampoo bottle. I use Mityvac 7201 for everything else.
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I'm using a MityVac bottle. At 15"Hg it starts to collapse so you need one with some stiff sidewalls. A heavy duty lab vacuum bottle would work.


I recycled a damaged bottle from the Blackstone oil kit. I glued two brass inserts (watts, A-8 96760-PT,1/4" OD) in to the bottle cap with epoxy. Now I can extract oil directly into a new bottle without draining my oil. The other good thing about this bottle cap is it also fits with many 1 quart oil bottles.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
You say you own a Mighty Vac , doesn`t this doe the same job?

I needed to extract a small amount of ATF, and didn't want to spend the time cleaning the Miti-Vac and its hoses. I also wanted this tool for its other abilities.

I had the same question last night but I didn't ask, because I didn't know how to post my question without offending you.

If I need to extract small amount of fluid from power steering reservoir or brake fluid reservoir or coolant reservoir ... I use the pump from the big shampoo bottle. I use Mityvac 7201 for everything else.


From you there'd be no offense taken. For tasks like extracting small amounts of ATF, it works like a champ. For brake bleeding, and certain diagnostic chores I thought it would be a good tool to have, especially for only $20. The Miti-Vac gets it's fair share of uses like draining the transmission pan before a pan drop. I used it to drain coolant because I didn't want to remove a lower radiator hose or mess with the petcock on a few older cars I helped friends with. It was also nice to use to fill a transfer case, and the M5OD transmission on my van. It is also a good tool worth having.

Originally Posted By: ST2008
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
I'm using a MityVac bottle. At 15"Hg it starts to collapse so you need one with some stiff sidewalls. A heavy duty lab vacuum bottle would work.


I recycled a damaged bottle from the Blackstone oil kit. I glued two brass inserts (watts, A-8 96760-PT,1/4" OD) in to the bottle cap with epoxy. Now I can extract oil directly into a new bottle without draining my oil. The other good thing about this bottle cap is it also fits with many 1 quart oil bottles.


Good idea!
 
I thought this might be interesting, it is just one test you can do with this tool. I picked this up of the web a while ago, thanks to whoever wrote it.

Vacuum Brake Booster Testing and Diagnosis
This procedure will require the use of a hand operated vacuum pump with a vacuum gauge.
If you do not own one it can often be rented or borrowed from most “big box” parts stores. (Note:
18”HG is the minimum engine vacuum at idle in gear to effectively operate a vacuum booster

1) Remove vacuum hose from check valve on booster. Place hose from vacuum pump onto
check valve and draw booster to 20” of vacuum.

2) Let booster sit with vacuum applied for 5 minutes. If vacuum does not stay steady at 20” it is
faulty and needs to be replaced. If vacuum does hold steady at 20” proceed to step 3.

3) With 20” of vacuum in booster depress brake pedal once and release it. The booster should
transfer some but not the entire vacuum in reserve. Depending on how hard the pedal is
depressed it is normal to see 5-10” of vacuum depleted from reserve. The most important
thing is to ensure the booster does transfer vacuum but does NOT transfer the entire vacuum
in its reserve. If vacuum remains at 20” OR goes to zero the booster is bad and will need to be
replaced. If vacuum transfer is within the above parameter proceed to step 4.

4) Once again draw booster down to 20” of vacuum. Go inside car and depress brake pedal and
hold down for 30 seconds. You should see the gauge drop slightly and then hold steady.
Vacuum should stay steady as long as you are holding the pedal down. If vacuum drops while
pedal is being held down the booster is faulty and will need to be replaced.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
You say you own a Mighty Vac , doesn`t this doe the same job?


I needed to extract a small amount of ATF, and didn't want to spend the time cleaning the Miti-Vac and its hoses. I also wanted this tool for its other abilities.

Ok , I get it and I totally agree with you.I don`t think I get my Mighty vac cleaned up real good.
 
I own the "real" one. It is made by MightyVac and is called Silverline. This is the tool on which HFT is based upon. HFT is metal one too, so it must be good too. Lately, MightVac sells cheap plastic ones.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I own the "real" one. It is made by MightyVac and is called Silverline. This is the tool on which HFT is based upon. HFT is metal one too, so it must be good too. Lately, MightVac sells cheap plastic ones.


It appears to be well made.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top