Tried a cheap brake bleeder kit from Harbor Freight and almost ran my master cylinder dry

Picked up their $15 vacuum bleeder last weekend thinking it'd save me time bleeding the brakes on my F-150. Hooked it up wrong and sucked air past the threads instead of through the bleeder screw. Took me 2 hours and a full quart of DOT 3 to figure out I had the check valve in backwards. Anyone else had these things fight you instead of actually working?

2 comments

2 Comments

grayt467d ago

@kevin_roberts41 actually the two person method works better if you have someone pump the pedal a few times first, then hold pressure while you crack the bleeder. That little extra pressure helps push air out way more than just slowly pushing it down.

kevin_roberts417d ago

Man, I feel your pain. I had the same frustration with one of those cheap kits until I switched to a two-person method with a helper. Just having someone push the pedal slowly while I cracked the bleeder screws worked way better and didn't waste half a bottle of fluid.