Motive Bleeder Satisfaction?

[Bull]

Do you guys like your Motive bleeders? I intend to pull the trigger on one this weekend so I can get my GTO bled BUT reviews on Amazon have me second-guessing. A number of people mention that it is very difficult to get a good seal between the adapter plate and master cylinder reservoir. One fellow also mentioned that when you are finished and take the adapter plate off, brake fluid spills out of the master and all over the engine bay. If these are true then they are big minuses, but I have read on here before that people do like them.

It's hard to do research these days. Often the best item and the worst item for a job is the exact same item reviewed by two different people.

 

[excavator]

I bought one about 10 years ago and the complaints are true about getting a good seal. However once it seals the thing works great!! And yes it does spill fluid all over unless you loosen the top and relieve the pressure. I still use it when I do bleeding on most jobs

 

[Fueler]

I have one. Get along fine with it and just ordered another adapter.
Put the wife out of the "pump it up and hold" job.
Well, almost.

I bought the cheaper DIY set as I only mess with my own stuff. I used some Milton parts to make the hoses QR but I see the Pro version has aluminum caps and QR as part of the package.

First time I used it, yeah I was a bit messy until I got it all figured out. The no mess trick is to have a little cup handy and disconnect the hose and let it run into the cup before removing the adapter. You can go a step further. After the hose is in the cup, press the brake pedal just a little to push some fluid back out of the MC. Not so messy that way.

Some rags under the MC won't hurt either.

1 last edit. Like most of you I have tried this old school pumping, with vacuum, gravity, etc and the pressure method is the only sure fire way to get the old out and the new in with no bubbles in a very short time.

 

[Stephenw]

I like mine. The quality of the seal depends on the design of the master cylinder and the adapter that is used. If using a universal adapter on a master cylinder with a plastic reservoir, you are more likely to have a leak. A master cylinder with a cast iron reservoir is an easy job.

If there are no leaks, the reservoir will not end up overfilled.

 

[Stephenw]

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[bimmerZ5]

i have one and have used it for years many many times. i've never had problems with sealing against master cylinder, but that might be because i use it on BMWs and BMWs have a threaded cap and the bleeder just screws on.

those who "spill" fluid after disconnecting, which I've done, are basically filling the brake fluid reservoir too much. don't top it off, just connect and apply pressure. and when you disconnect, go very slowly if there's still a lot of pressure left.. it's going to depressurize and you should anticipate what's going to happen if that happens too quickly. i keep the motive bottle at about the same level as the master cylinder, this helps prevent brake fluid from filling the master cylinder reservoir completely and avoids spills.

my version is older, and one of the hassles is that the connector doesn't have a swivel connection, so i have to "pre-twist" CCW to counter the "twist" I get when I screw it on. The newer versions have a swivel connection so that's no longer an issue.

 

[u118224]

I love mine, I've never had a problem with a seal or spilling fluid. Just use common sense.

 

[Dan Jacobs]

I've got several they work great

 

[Vvmvbb]

No problems with sealing or routine spills for me. A lot of the porsche guys use it dry - don't fill its tank and just keep topping off the master cylinder resevoir and be careful not to run it dry and introduce air. Saves on clean up and reduces the risk of a split hose making a huge mess. I do fill the tank so I don't have to worry about the reservoir level and it works really well. But, I did experience a split hose last time - caught it quick so no disaster - but I view this underrated hose as a pretty big wart on the product. I spliced out the split section and continued to use it. I'll upgrade the hose at some point. Overall still highly recommended.

 

[MikeF2316]

No problems with sealing or routine spills for me. A lot of the porsche guys use it dry - don't fill its tank and just keep topping off the master cylinder resevoir and be careful not to run it dry and introduce air. Saves on clean up and reduces the risk of a split hose making a huge mess. I do fill the tank so I don't have to worry about the reservoir level and it works really well. But, I did experience a split hose last time - caught it quick so no disaster - but I view this underrated hose as a pretty big wart on the product. I spliced out the split section and continued to use it. I'll upgrade the hose at some point. Overall still highly recommended.

I use mine dry too. I'm always amazed at just how fast you can bleed brakes this way, I'm always surprised when I'm done. I also have a European car that uses the screw on cap adapter that comes with it. I've successfully used the hooks and chain cap on the master cylinder on my bike, but that's a lot more hassle, I need to unbolt the master cylinder from the handle bar for clearance.

 

[Bull]

Thanks to your assurances, I put in a bid on a NIB Motive bleeder for older American cars, kit 0105 I believe. I won it for a shipped price about $20 less than I could get it for on Amazon, about $50 and change. I'm stoked. I've almost always found brake bleeding to be frustrating, and my current attempt to do it on my old Goat is no exception. I left the master cylinder cap off and the farthest bleeder screw OUT for around six hours yesterday and in all that time not a drop came out of the bleeder bore. I want to say "goodbye" to that ****!

 

[Coach James]

I love mine, I've never had a problem with a seal or spilling fluid. Just use common sense.

Serious question. What do you mean by "Just use common sense"?

Coach

 

[dkroth]

I've almost always found brake bleeding to be frustrating, and my current attempt to do it on my old Goat is no exception. I left the master cylinder cap off and the farthest bleeder screw OUT for around six hours yesterday and in all that time not a drop came out of the bleeder bore. I want to say "goodbye" to that ****!

Bull, you've got some clogs in the system somewhere if the fluid won't drain faster than that. The 10-20psi generated by the Motive may not be able to help you with that. Pump the pedal a couple times the conventional way to blow out the crud. Then use the Motive to completely flush.

The system should be flushed at least every two years to keep everything clean and fresh. And if things are REALLY gunked up cylinder/caliper rebuilds may be in order to get a clean start.

 

[Bull]

Bull, you've got some clogs in the system somewhere if the fluid won't drain faster than that. The 10-20psi generated by the Motive may not be able to help you with that. Pump the pedal a couple times the conventional way to blow out the crud. Then use the Motive to completely flush.

The system should be flushed at least every two years to keep everything clean and fresh. And if things are REALLY gunked up cylinder/caliper rebuilds may be in order to get a clean start.

It would be my luck to have additional problems, certainly. As of now, the car has a new master, new flex hoses in front and rear, new metering valve (little jobber that mounts just below the master), new rear hard lines and a new front-to-rear hard line. Calipers, junction block, rear cylinders are all older.

 

[JJThrasher]

I have a MityVac pneumatic bleeder and I like it. Looks like it does the same thing, just at the other end of the system.

 

[jteck75]

Just got mine in this week and used it on my 2001 Z71. Without a doubt,the best brake tool I've ever bought! Wished I'd bought one a long time ago!

 

[gpalmer77]

I have a Bavarian Auto pressure bleeder, but the pump crapped out on it..... I still use it with a regulated compressed air supply for my Bimmers. I just bought a Motive with a Ford 3 tab adapter because it was not much more than buying just the adapter and fitting it to my existing bleeder. Worked great..... no problems getting a good seal, just made sure to snug it down all the way before attempting to turn it onto the tabs to lock.

The one thing the Motive is missing is a pressure release fitting on the vessel..... the Bav Auto had one and it works great. Yes, on the Motive, unscrew the pump fitting and it'll relieve pressure, this also breaks siphon in the hose and you can drain the fluid from the hose into the reservoir by gravity, before disconnecting.

 

[u118224]

Serious question. What do you mean by "Just use common sense"?

Coach

As others have mentioned, don't fill the master cylinfer before bleeding and don't unscrew the bleeder from the master cylinder until pressure has been relieved.

 

[Jagmandave]

I have one as well, and use it on my MINI and BMWS, it also fits other European cars (they must have a standard for the caps?) including my old Jag and '04 Audi. I wish it had the swivel fitting at the cap end as I also have to pre-twist the hose to get it on the master cylinder, and that's a PITA.

But for completely flushing your brake system nothing works better or easier, especially for a one guy shop like mine!

I found that having the bottle lower than the M/C allows fluid to drain back out of the hose after you release the pressue in the bottle. I still have to take a baster and remove a little more out of the reservoir, but that only takes a second.

The last thing I need is something to screw into the cap on the bleeder to seal it up in between uses - that is uses in a day, if I'm done for the day I empty the remaining fluid out of the bleeder and wash and dry it out.

 

[trackwelder]

I have one and love it. The adaptor for your master cylinder is a pain to get sealed sometimes. I rarely use that adapter, maybe a few times a year. I found that snugging it down evenly helps.

 

[RKA]

I've been using one for over 10 years. Generally I love it, but (there's always a but)...

1. If you're using it on an old car, pressurize it dry first and make sure it holds pressure. Old res. tanks have a tendency to crack. If that happens while you have the tank loaded with fresh fluid you'll have a mess on your hands.

2. In the odd instance where I have accidentally introduced air in the system (my mistake), I've found the motive will get some of the air out, but I always have to resort to the 2nd helper at the brake pedal to get all the air out (and I'll usually burn through 1-2L of fluid to do this). If there is no air in the lines and you're just flushing the fluid, the motive works just fine.

 

[Bull]

I have one and love it. The adaptor for your master cylinder is a pain to get sealed sometimes. I rarely use that adapter, maybe a few times a year. I found that snugging it down evenly helps.

What adapter do you use, then?

 

[sberry]

Have never used one, wouldn't know how. Never needed it.

 

[91bronc300]

Yeah, the universal adapter for the old American master cylinders is a pain to get sealed. I've had better luck ignoring the chains and wing nuts that come with it and using clamps instead.

 

[Ign]

Used mine on my '90 Bronco with success. Overall, like it. Kind of a pain to store IMO, but that's just me. When possible I have the wife help me instead because it's faster, less setup, less fluid required. If you absolutely have no helper, this thing is nice.

 

[DHCrocks]

For the problem of getting a good seal, what I do stick my finger in the brake fluid and wipe the rubber adapter where it will make contact with the reservoir. This does the trick every time. I used to spend a long time fiddling with it trying to get a good seal but this trick works the first time, every time. I pump it up empty to 15psi and let it hold for a few minutes to test before I pour in the fluid and have not had a spill since.

When I'm done I always unscrew the pump handle to release pressure before I take off the adapter plate and this has resolved any issues with spillage.

 

[6PTsocket]

i have one and have used it for years many many times. i've never had problems with sealing against master cylinder, but that might be because i use it on BMWs and BMWs have a threaded cap and the bleeder just screws on.

those who "spill" fluid after disconnecting, which I've done, are basically filling the brake fluid reservoir too much. don't top it off, just connect and apply pressure. and when you disconnect, go very slowly if there's still a lot of pressure left.. it's going to depressurize and you should anticipate what's going to happen if that happens too quickly. i keep the motive bottle at about the same level as the master cylinder, this helps prevent brake fluid from filling the master cylinder reservoir completely and avoids spills.

my version is older, and one of the hassles is that the connector doesn't have a swivel connection, so i have to "pre-twist" CCW to counter the "twist" I get when I screw it on. The newer versions have a swivel connection so that's no longer an issue.

Mine is brand new and doesn't have a swivel connection either, with the better aluminum cap. I asked Motive about this and they said only screw on MC caps get the swivel . Mine only twists a few degrees so the feel it doesn't need it. I also asked them why it had no pressure release like other brands and they told me it is because they gum up and leak. Later I discovered that it is a slightly modified Gilmour 1 gallon Professional garden sprayer. The Motive pressure gauge is mounted in the recess where Gilmour normally puts the relief valve.
I had pump pressure problems too. A little silicone grease on the check valve and piston cup and cap O ring helps a lot.