The Official 356Talk Forum

I still won't, Harlan; I wouldn't "push" brake fluid w/air into the reservoir
and I don't get into the car back and forth, either--except refilling the M/C
Plus: I just need a bottle to catch the exiting fluid till it's clear.

OR--have a second person to actuate the pedal.

Well, Dick,
I was in the same boat as you for decades. Until my son demonstrated that German hand pump pressure bleeder to me. The cost was equivalent to a couple of tanks of gas today. And as I was facing filling a completely empty system on the current restoration, I gave in. Glad I did. BTW Chuck F orge ued an empty beer can (Coors) wedging the hose into the pop top opening. Cheaper than a bottle yet!

Make that "yesterday"

Harlan,

Unless you use a bottle (mine is plastic) to catch the fluid right next to each wheel while
pressurizing w/the pedal like I do, you just described your process using a pressure pump
at the M/C and not at each wheel bleed (again) like I do. I don't use a vacuum system, either.
Only one or 2-times I need to check the reservoir vs many times at the wheels and the M/C.

Nuff said; Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving

No matter what method one uses to bleed bakes there's only one acceptable outcome: a hard pedal. Some methods take more time tham others, some require more up and down in and out. Some require more equipment. Some run more risk of spilling paint stripping brake fluid. I've used most of them and I put forward the pressure bleeder as the cleanest, and easiest. But that's no reason for anyone else to abandon a system he is comfortable with.

Harlan,

I'm with you 100% on the pressure bleeder, mine being the Motive brand. Rennlist I believe it was where I first heard of it and I first used it on getting my 944 back on the road after 10 years of slumber, fastest and easiest bleed I had ever done. I've only used it on the 944 and 356 which have threaded reservoir caps for the power bleeder cap to screw onto the reservoir. It won't be s easy on my Toyota FJ40 as those reservoir caps are not threaded. I've also used the MityVac (on the Toyota) and the old fashioned wife pumper and they work but the power bleed is much better for my taste.

I just bled my 356 yesterday after complete rebuild at each corner and will road test today but I think Ive got a pretty good pedal in the garage. The question you might be able to help me with (as a result of reading your posts) is doing a complete system flush using the power bleeder. I didn't bleed the whole system yesterday, just a total of maybe half a quart from 8 bleeder valves but the fluid I captured looked a little cloudy compared to clear fresh fluid so I think there is still some old fluid left in the lines which I would like to remove with a complete flush. How should I go about this? Should I pressure up my bleeder with new fluid in it and then discharge a given volume, say a cup or so, at each wheel, 1/2 from each bleeder on the wheel? My basic question is how do I know when I've gotten all the old fluid out of all the lines?

Thanks,
Pete

When the fluid coming out is clear.

I may already be there as when I was bleeding yesterday the fluid looked pretty clear coming out of the clear hose. It was only after I finished that I thought what was in my "clear" plastic catch bottle looked a little cloudy. Maybe it was the plastic the bottle was made of that was cloudy? I think I'll pour it from the plastic catch bottle into a glass jar and see how it looks. But your point is one I should have realized - if clear fluid comes out of the bleeder there wouldn't be any old fluid left in the lines behind it would there? Duh!

Thanks,
Pete

Sad they banned Ate blue. It was nice doing changes because it was so easy to tell when you had all the old fluid out.

Not sure how safe this is, but I add a drop of red food coloring to a quart of clear brake fluid when I pressure bleed my race car. The next bleed I use clear fluid and pressure bleed until the slight red tint is gone. Probably five ways illegal on a street machine, but then again....

That's interesting Chuck.Can't believe a little bit of red food coloring would have any significant effect on the properties of the brake fluid, other than color of course....

I poured mine from the plastic bottle into a clear glass jar and it looks like a very light grey. I'm going to drive it like it is for now and maybe flush it this fall when it goes to bed for the winter.

Pete

Kevin Wills wrote: ↑Wed Jun 29, 2022 2:33 pm Sad they banned Ate blue. It was nice doing changes because it was so easy to tell when you had all the old fluid out.

I must have missed that. When and why did they ban Ate blue?

Probably because imbeciles thought it was windshield washer fluid or blue Kool-aid.

I heard that different colored fluids mean different things to Emergency Response personnel that they should be aware of when approaching an auto accident.

I think OE antifreeze now exists in quite a few different colors. I wonder if it is all legal.

So on my dual master cylinder system, I pressurized the reservoir and bled back brakes then front. I got a 'good' pedal but not really hard...so enlisted the help of my 'spousal pedal pusher' and combined both pumping the pedal (and hold !) and having pressure coming from the reservoir. Got a much firmer pedal- maybe air traces in the master cylinder that weren't been flushed first time around?? I using DOT 5 as I am terrified of being a near new paint - people have told me repeatedly you cant get a hard pedal with DOT 5 - but this technique sure makes mine OK.