.....

 

I have something like a power bleeder w/o the power.
It clips on the bleeder screw head, the drops into a catch bowl with a one way wet valve and one way dry valve. Then I just push the pedal and it cleanly pumps the lines and great for flushing/changing the fluid.

 

Also using the motive pressure bleeder, however I do not put any break fluid into the motive pressure bleeder: instead I fill up the car reservoir to the max.

Pro: absolutely no spills when connecting or unhooking.
Con: there is only enough in the car reservoir when filled upto the max to do - maybe - two lines. Maybe, because I have never tried it as I do not want to introduce any air. So you have to refill it up several times.

Despite the con, I am very happy doing it this way.

 

I just did mine yesterday for the first time with a Motive bleeder. I'll never go back to anything else--that was sweet. My only beef: it needs a swivel on the line that goes to the reservoir cap. Not sure how you finished the job (ref "pucker factor when trying to unhook it without getting brake fluid all over the place.") I followed Dwayne's recommendation--no problem. http://www.dwaynesgarage.norcal928.o...FluidFlush.htm

Super Blue yesterday, gold in 2 years. I do wonder why Castrol and other companies don't make a dye that you could add to the liter of brake fluid everytime you do this; orange, red, purple, what ever. Another great mystery of life I guess...

 

I have had good luck with all my vehicles including the Porsche with just a piece of tubing and a drain container.

Crack the bleeder and push the pedal down a few times. When the air is out it takes longer for the brake fluid to be squeezed through. Fill the reservoir as necessary. Do that with all four then dispose of fluid and done.

Any remaining air will go into solution under pressure and then released in the reservoir.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry%27s_law

Pros: One person can do it with no more tools than a wrench, hose and a container.
Cons: The pedal may be down an inch farther than normal until the brakes have been used several times like putting extra pressure on the pedal at a stop light.

It's just a matter of the air going into solution under pressure and then being released in the reservoir when the pressure is released. A Law of Physics.

 

Any caveats to bleeding the brakes with the Motive power bleeder if you have a clutch? I seem to remember hearing something about too much pressure blowing off the hose to the slave? I do NOT want to have to go down the road of bleeding the clutch.

 

Yes too much pressure with the motive power bleeder will force the blue hose off or leak around the barb fittings.

 

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of.
Is 15psi too much then?

 

When I bought my S4 I had an independent specialist change the fluid
and I haven't touched them since so no direct experience on Porsches.
In the past I have fitted Speedbleeder valves to several cars and they
have worked perfectly. The fact that you can do the job solo is a big bonus.
http://www.speedbleeder.com/

 

I forget how much is too much probably depends on the condition of the blue hose, I ended up disconnecting the blue hose at the brake reservoir attached a short section of hose with a clamp to the brake reservoir and blocked off the end of the hose, then flushed the brakes with the motive power bleeder. Once the brakes were done I hooked the blue hose back up and reverse bled the clutch.

I figured if your flushing the brakes might as well do the clutch as well since they are sharing the reservoir.

 

I don't have the Motiv but made a DIY pressure bleeder similar, before the Motive was an available option.

-- To avoid pulling the cap off the reservoir with fluid under pressure, I depressurize the bleeder before pulling the fitting at the cap. Since mine is based on a small garden sprayer, I can just loosen the pump from the body and let the pressure out.

-- It doesn't take much pressure to get the system flushed. The fluid will gravity-drain given time with no pressure, so I add enough to get the fluid up to the master cylinder plus a little more. I don't have a gauge on the tank, but guess it's no more than maybe 5 PSI at the master cylinder.

-- Part of the protocol includes a large plastic trash bag taped over the fender and cowl area, down around the MC. I pack the MC area with a couple shop towels too. So if there is any fluid spilled, it's safely separated from the paint. I'd do this step no matter what flush and bleed method is used. Ditto on the floor under the wheel you are working on. Spilled fluid is very slippery, and if you have a painted floor it will cause problems. Some epoxies claim to be able to stand brake fluid spills, but why test them?


I think I may have an air bubble in the ABS pump. I'm brainstorming a way to draw a hard vacuum on the ABS to get it out. Can't pull much vacuum on the master cylinder reservoir without sucking air in through the back cups, so I may try pulling the fluid lines at the MC, and pulling vacuum through the little MitiVac catch reservoir installed. It should make the air bubble big, and at the low pressure the air should move back. I'll put some fluid in the catch reservoir so only fluid might go back, no air. I'll let you all know how well that works.

 

I did mine at the recommended 10 PSI with the motive instrutions and had some dripping from the blue hose.... It's been about 10 years since I did the auto to manual conversion so I guess I should replace the blue hose and bleed again...

 

for whatever reason, I have yet to have success with the motive power bleeder. I always end up having my wife pump the brake and bleed the old fashioned way. This has been true while bleeding the brakes on all of my cars. It seems like it should be pretty simple, it just doesn't seem to work for me.

 

That's right. And don't get tempted to put a clamp on the blue hose. This hose is silicone under the woven cloth sheath, and a clamp will split the silicone over time causing a bigger leak. Under normal conditions this is zero pressure, gravity fed with no clamp. Just don't get too aggressive with the Motiv pressure and it should be fine. If the hose leaks at teh reservoir only under pressure, that doesn't indicate a need to replace it. Pull it off and examine the end. It's probably OK. If there is a small split area on the end, trim it off. I see people replacing the hose because the woven cover gets a bit ratty at the end, which is essentially just a cosmetic issue.

 

I also am old school. Bleeder valve via a hose into a container and someone push the pedal. Have not had a need yet to go to another method (plus I get to involve my son into mechanics - many kids today have no interest/idea on mechanics).
Upgrade for me would be different color brake fluids. Probably easier than looking for the slight color change of old to new.

Cheers
Glenn