Date:         Sat, 16 Sep 2006 16:22:26 -0400
Reply-To:     greentabe-vanagon@YAHOO.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tabe Johnson <greentabe-vanagon@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Motive power bleeder
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

It is easy to make a homemade power bleeder.  Get a
truck valve stem from a tire place.  They are metal
and threaded all the way, with a nut and some
rubber washers to keep the air in.  Get a spare
brake fluid reservoir cap from a junkyard or the
dealer if you're desparate.  Drill a hole the
right size in the cap for the valve stem and put
the valve stem on. Put the cap on the reservoir
and pressurize a pump or two.  Go bleed.  Get
out and pump the pump a couple of pushes.  Watch
for the fluid reservoir to  flex.  When it starts to,
don't pump any more!  Use your judgement.

The store-bought reservoirs with the huge reservoirs
are a waste of time because you have to refill the
brake fluid all the time anyway.

I may have written about this at some point -- I
should do a more detailed writeup, if I haven't.
You could search the archives  :)  It would have
been in 2004 or 2005, if I did.

You can also build a version with a pressure reservoir
without too much more work.  As always, it depends if
you have lots of time or lots of money.

tabe johnson/87 westy