1-man brake bleeding with Mityvac

[Jason280]

I hope to have the Ford 8.8 I'm building finished in the Jeep tonight, which means I will have to bleed the brakes. Considering I will be doing this after midnight, it means I won't have my 8yr old assistant to pump the brake pedal....so, I will finally be using my Mityvac vacuum pump.

How effective are these 1-man kits, and what can I expect? Any tips or suggestions?

 

[mishkaya]

I haven't used a Mityvac to bleed brakes for many years now. As long as you remember to keep the reservoir full of fluid you should be just fine.
I would also highly recommend a motive power bleeder if you bleed brakes much at all...

 

[In The Doghouse]

My experience with the MV has been less than steller. You may have to finish it off with your 8 year old assistant.

 

[shockwave]

Look at mityvac pressure bleeder easy and 1 man operation aswell

 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I plan on buying the pneumatic brake bleeder from harbor freight, I hear it works great if you have a decent compressor.

 

[CJM8515]

My experience with the MV has been less than steller. You may have to finish it off with your 8 year old assistant.

Yep. been there done that.

Try this. Get a bottle, fill with fluid and stick the hose from the mityvac in it from the bleeder. Then go inside and pump the brakes. Top off the master every so often. That or build a pressure bleeder.

 

[Jason280]

My experience with the MV has been less than steller. You may have to finish it off with your 8 year old assistant.

What problems have you encountered with the Mityvac?

 

[928'er]

Use a Motiv pressure bleeder instead.

I've had no luck with the Mityvac. You never know whether you're sucking air out, or just sucking air in around the bleed ******.

 

[M6erfan]

Used mityvac many years ago with less than stellar results. Got a pressure bleeder and never looked back

 

[torqueman2002]

I have used 2 styles of Mytivac and the challenge is knowing if the air is being drawn from the system or around the bleed ****** as already mentioned.

Next job I will use a small tie wrap on the hose, just to snug it up on the ****** and keep the air from being pulled around it.

I do find the Mityvac 6830 Brake Bleeder, speeds up the job.

But I still need an assistant to get the last bit of air from the system, using this style of bottle.

 

[MDK22]

I have done it with my mityvac no problem. Problems usually stem from user error tbh. I own both the plastic and the pro kit.

I use the hand operated vacuum one with a reservoir bottle. It normally takes 1-2 hrs by yourself to do a full flush. Make sure you use a hose long enough to set the drain bottle on the ground. Weigh it down with something so it sits flat. ie a couple heavy chrome sockets or rocks. Also make sure you have a long enough hose for the tool to sit on the ground and not pull over the reservoir. Otherwise you have to elevate the tool.

Vacuum down to 30in hg on the furthest from the master and make sure reservior is full. I normally will bleed without someone pushing on the pedal all of them twice just with the vaccuum. As long as you redo the vaccuum after each time and do not let air back in you will be fine.

Then after i have done each of them twice i will depress the pedal inbetween and redo the vacuum. This is why it takes 1-2 hrs because you cant just hop back in the car you have to get in gently and depress the pedal smoothly so you do not cause the car to rock and the hose to fall off the caliper.

1-2hrs is with rusted bleeders, empty lines, and 6 beers so.....

 

[M6erfan]

I do find the Mityvac 6830 Brake Bleeder, speeds up the job.

Ive got the original 'Vacula' version of that. Works well, better than the Mityvac hand pump, but you need a pretty good air compressor to run it efficiently.

 

[CobraRed]

This tool kit has your title in its name

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013WEPTYC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[sweetk30]

simple job . . . .

cut a long rod / wood stick / what ever you got so it pushes the brake pedal and holds it with pressure . other end goes to the lower seat cushion .

then pump 3 times slow and steady / install bar to hold / crack bleader / tighten it / redo till no more air .

I have 1 better does both brakes and throttle. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XSEBEK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[KMdef9]

I used a pop bottle. YouTube it, super easy and cheap.

 

[theoldwizard1]

My experience with the MV has been less than steller. You may have to finish it off with your 8 year old assistant.

Same here.

the "original" one man system, is a bottle filled about 1/4 of the way with fluid. Place the bleeder hose in the bottle BELOW the fluid level and the bottle placed lower than the bleeder screw. Open the bleeder and pump the brakes slowly about 4-6 times. This should get the air out.

Close the bleeder and check for a good pedal. If not, open the bleeder, add more fluid to the master and repeat.

 

[ClintNZ]

I tried to **** fluid into my Landcruiser brakes a while back with an air powered sucker similar to Torqueman's pic. It just sucked air in through the piston seal at the master cylinder. Went back to the cheap brake bleeder bottle with the non-return valve after that.

Cheers
Clint

 

[eddiemeddiem]

I struggled with a Mityvac for a couple evenings until a buddy from work explained to me that you have to leave the bleeder ****** open while you pull a vacuum and **** the fluid/air out. In one of my not-so-bright moments, silly me was pulling a vacuum with the MV pump and then cracking the ****** loose, tightening the ******, then repeat (similar when you have someone who can pump the pedal for you).

It worked great after I figured out the trick...

 

[Finky198]

I used a pop bottle. YouTube it, super easy and cheap.

the "original" one man system, is a bottle filled about 1/4 of the way with fluid. Place the bleeder hose in the bottle BELOW the fluid level and the bottle placed lower than the bleeder screw. Open the bleeder and pump the brakes slowly about 4-6 times. This should get the air out. Close the bleeder and check for a good pedal. If not, open the bleeder, add more fluid to the master and repeat.

I use a mason jar people laugh. I have a mity vac hand pump which can be attached for a one man operation, but nothing beats an assistant and simplicity.

 

[frank001]

I've used the Mityvac for years with no problem. Nothing complicated about it. It just works and much less frustrating than yelling to someone to push/release the brake pedal.
Also no chance of damaging the master cylinder by pushing to far on the pedal.

 

[paulsomlo]

I use the Harbor Freight vacuum bleeder. With any of the vacuum bleeders, you'll want to apply grease/petroleum jelly around the bleeder base to keep air from being drawn in. It works well, even with my undersized Porter Cable pancake compressor, just be prepared for the compressor to be constantly cycling. The nice thing about the vacuum bleeders is that they work on all vehicles, no adapters needed.

 

[redmondjp]

As mentioned above, the primary issue with the vacuum bleeder is air getting in around the bleeder screw threads. You can minimize this by fully removing the bleeder and coating the threads with anti-sieze.

I have been doing gravity flushing/bleeding on all of my cars for years, and recently had a huge bubble of air get into the rear braking system on our Honda minivan (not sure how). It caused the rear brakes to do less than their share of the braking, which resulted in the fronts overheating and warping the rotors. Using the two-person method of bleeding, I finally got that air out.

 

[artbuc]

Ive got the original 'Vacula' version of that. Works well, better than the Mityvac hand pump, but you need a pretty good air compressor to run it efficiently.

I also have the original Vacula and operate mine with a vacuum pump I bought to do AC work. Much quieter and better vacuum compared to air compressor.

 

[ptschram]

Another vote for the Motiv unit.

Life-changing tool.

 

[lazer50]

Most of the jeep systems i have bleed the bleeder was below the line so i gravity bleed.i dont know if yours is like that but if so you can fill mc leave cap off and it will bleed itself.

 

[mhejl]

Another vote for the Motiv unit.

Life-changing tool.

Or, just buy the motive cap that fits, attach an air quick-connect, and dial your air compressor down to 10-15 PSI. I have the full Motive kit with several caps and rarely use the Motive to keep the M/C full and provide pressure - too messy and too much pumping. Just use the caps, air compressor, and watch the fluid level in the M/C.

 

[ptschram]

Or, just buy the motive cap that fits, attach an air quick-connect, and dial your air compressor down to 10-15 PSI. I have the full Motive kit with several caps and rarely use the Motive to keep the M/C full and provide pressure - too messy and too much pumping. Just use the caps, air compressor, and watch the fluid level in the M/C.

I like the self-replenishment of the fluid and I've never had to pump it more than once to bleed an entire vehicle, even when all four calipers have been replaced along with piping.

I have a client who designed the bleeder used by the local GM truck plant. He tells me they use 150 PSI to bleed the brakes and when he watched them use the prototype he was quite uncomfortable as the reservoir expanded significantly! I suspect the higher pressure is part of why it is so difficult to achieve the same pedal feel as the factory.

 

[Showkey]

Another vote for MV........but.........all the one man systems are dependent on the user skills techniques and knowledge.

Not all brake systems or clutch systems respond well to gravity bleeding.

 

[Keyblazer]

Doesn't matter which vacuum bleeder you use, none of them work well unless you pull the bleed ****** and wrap PTFE tape around the threads.

 

[rodster_67]

Another vote for MV........but.........all the one man systems are dependent on the user skills techniques and knowledge.

Not all brake systems or clutch systems respond well to gravity bleeding.

I agree. I know and understand my 'classic' cars but have no desire to crawl under my new drivers. Modern ABS systems may require factory service knowledge which I have little interest in figuring out.

 

[torqueman2002]

I tried to **** fluid into my Landcruiser brakes a while back with an air powered sucker similar to Torqueman's pic. It just sucked air in through the piston seal at the master cylinder. Went back to the cheap brake bleeder bottle with the non-return valve after that.

Cheers
Clint

Ya, I can see how that could happen when the master reservoir runs low, and with the one I posted, it can pull the fluid out fast.

I like it for flushing the brake systems on the 6 family cars I keep running. It is a lot of checking and refilling though.

 

[torqueman2002]

Doesn't matter which vacuum bleeder you use, none of them work well unless you pull the bleed ****** and wrap PTFE tape around the threads.

Hmmm, I just might try that.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Showkey]

Doesn't matter which vacuum bleeder you use, none of them work well unless you pull the bleed ****** and wrap PTFE tape around the threads.[/QUOTE

Or......the air entering around the threads ( which is being sucked directly into the bottle) has nothing to do with the air in the system....

Just disregard the (thread) bubbles or take the extra step and seal the threads.

 

[d4dawg]

Problem with the thread bubbles is that you can't see if air in the system is getting pushed out. I had that problem the last time I was bleeding the brakes, so I ran it long enough to make sure I was flushing all the old fluids and air out. Still, that didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling, because I can't "see" the effects.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Agreeed, vacuum bleeders work better if you seal the threads. Vacuum bleeders are only plan "B" for me, however. I'm not very fond of the manual pumping and I like to gravity bleed each caliper/wheel cylinder after vacuum bleeding, just for luck.

 

[66HertzClone]

I have a Mityvac but is ancient, last time I needed it I found it wouldn't pull any vacuum at all, I'm sure the seals have just dried out. I purchased one of the kits Phoenix has to offer, it worked great, fast and easy. It gets connected at the bleeder screw and pushes the fluid back to the master cylinder.

 

[rlitman]

As mentioned above, the primary issue with the vacuum bleeder is air getting in around the bleeder screw threads. You can minimize this by fully removing the bleeder and coating the threads with anti-sieze...

Doesn't matter which vacuum bleeder you use, none of them work well unless you pull the bleed ****** and wrap PTFE tape around the threads.

I'm not comfortable with teflon tape in the threads, and anti-seize is not a great thread sealant.

What's worked well for me, is coating the bleeder threads with canned paste pipe dope, and then heating the dope with a heat gun until it thickens. Another trick I've used is a pipe dope crayon that goes on thick.

 

[arms1970]

I plan on buying the pneumatic brake bleeder from harbor freight, I hear it works great if you have a decent compressor.

I picked it up, and im glad I did. Replaced a line over the weekend, and used it. Worked great. Best 30 bucks I spent.

 

[dogdog]

Pressure bleeder if you have one or planning to buy one.... or make one from a 1 gal HDX garden sprayer, you can youtube those....... most hardest part is the the adapter to the brake reservoir...

if you are getting the HF one, it needs a little modification at least my 33 gal couldn't keep up.... modded it to adapt to a cheap AC vacuum or a hand held vac... by capping the exhaust end twist off the handle and replace it with a 1/4 NPT to 1/8 barb tube adapter or was it 3/16 tubes.... the inverse reservoir filler is nice.

 

[dogdog]

something like this ,, but I couldn't find a good adapter so bought one instead not that much more...