The right tools sure help... (Page 1 of 3)

Tom: Ditto and Amen! Thanks to your recommendation some time ago I bought one of the Motive bleeders and couldn't be happier. And my wife is sooo much happier.....Now she doesn't have to come out to the garage late Sunday evening to help me with the brakes!

And with respect to the TM tool, well, let's just say that I no longer dread having to remove the rear drums or the gland nut on the flywheel.

Yep, the right tools definitely answer the call.

Clancy

The original was from Kymko, but the best deal is one of the clones:
http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp … C10%2D7036

I finally bought a Torquemeister, Tom, after reading about it on this forom.  Can't wait to try it, but my beetle is in such good shape, I haven't got anything to do to it.  This weekend I was so bored I took the little plastic caps out of the door hinges and oiled them.

They should market the Tourqemeister and Motive brake bleeder tools under the category "Keep Your Wife Happy". :-) I know mine sure like the lack of needing to help (plus the lack of colorful vocabulary getting the rear nut loose and retorqued properly). - David

The differences between models are the fittings that screw or clamp on the master cylinder reservoir. You can get extra adapter fittings that come with a length of tubing and a brass coupler so that you can change fittings on the unit for different cars. I bought the model for modern watercooled VWs and the adapter for aircooled as well. Then you cut the plastic tubing on the unit in the middle and put in the brass coupling (which has adapters for both the new ond old "ends").

First (to change brake fluid) you siphon out as much fluid from the reservoir as you can, then attach the fitting from the Bleeder to the reservoir in place of the normal cap. You add a liter of brake fluid to the tank and pump up pressure in the tank, having tested for leaks "dry" to be sure you aren't blowing fluid out before the master cylinder. They recommend no more than 20 psi in the tank, and I've found that adequate. The air pressure in the bleeder tank forces fluid into the cylinder to keep it nearly full while bleeding. You go to each wheel in sequence and bleed until you get clean fluid with no air. Check the level and pressure in the bleeder tank now and then and pump up as needed. Once the system is bled you turn the bleeder tank so it then blows air into the reservoir instead of fluid, and bleed a wheel until the level in the reservoir drops to the normal "max" level. then turn the Bleeder tank upright and loosen the "pump" cap to let the pressure off. Unscrew the adapter from the reservoir and attach the normal cap.
Easier to do than describe!

Good thinking, but by removing the old fluid first there is less to bleed through the system, and there is less "blending" of the new with old in the reservoir.
Although the reservoir starts out almost empty, as you pump air pressure into the bleeder tank it forces fluid into the reservoir before you start bleeding (if it starts empty, it will be over 1/2 full at 20 psig as the fluid coming into the reservoir compresses the air in it already). Some of the remaining air does work its way back up the tubing to the bleeder tank during pauses as you move from wheel to wheel, so in my experience the reservoir does always end up above the "max" point when you are through.
If you are worried the reservoir has too much air at the start, after adding pressure you can slightly loosen the bleeder adapter on the reservoir to let a bit of air out. Just be quick so you don't spill fluid.
On this last brake work I did, I didn't empty the reservoir first, since I had changed the brake fluid not long before. The reservoir was well overfilled after beeding the one wheel. (I had the axle high, so air didn't get deep into the system and I only had to bleed a small amount.) I had to do as I described above to bleed enough fluid out to disconnect the bleeder without getting fluid into the trunk.

Nick: In answer to you earlier question, I purchased the unit specified as the "air-cooled" version, and the tool's cap fits the opening of my 65 Bug's reservoir.  In use, I have not exceeded 15 psi, primarily because I don't trust the line between the reservoir and the master cylinder. Since it is just a "push-on" fit I worried about it 'blowing'.  15 psi seems to be more than enough pressure. The benefit of using some fluid in the Motive tank is that you don't have to worry about topping off the reservoir like you might when only using air pressure to pump up the system. Someone over on the Samba recently noted that a plastic cap from a Coke bottle fits the reservoir and fabricated a simple pressurizing connection to a Coke cap. I tried one and found that the soda bottle cap is not a precise of a fit as I would like, but maybe it would work.  Anyway, the Motive product works and in my opinion seems to be worth the price (around $60 including shipping.) If the thing ever fails, I can always beg my wife to come back out to the garage for "just a minute"!

Clancy