For those wondering about the air: This system is a vacuum bleeder. Air is connected to the collector tank creating a vacuum to avoid a mess. The air visible in the hose is bypassing the bleeder screw threads and the loose fit around the flange. The purpose is to flush old fluid out of the system quickly while simultaneously introducing new fluid. This keeps air out of the system. It is not designed to bleed air from the hydraulic system. That is done using a pressure bleeder or a manual bleeder (a friend's leg).
it is sucking up more outside air through the threads of the bleeder nipple than it is sucking up brake fluid. I don't like this because you can't really tell if you bled the brakes fully or not, since you get bubbles all the time regardless. I much prefer the other system where you actually apply pressure to the reservoir while feeding it with fresh fluid, and crack the nipple open. Same idea just done with opposite pressure.
Sure beats using the hand pump Mity Vac. That air powered bleeder is super fast! And that extra reservoir means not having to keep running to the master cylinder to add fresh fluid. Very nice!
I got it, would not recommend. A friend pumping the brake, with the filler gadget, is better and quieter imo. I liked that gadget. If you get it, wrap teflon tape around the brake fitting, put your wrench in place, wrap around without blocking hole, the fitting attachment marked 6mm, could not stay snug enough imo without the tape. With the filler and a plastic hose that stays snug on the brake fitting with the end of hose in jar that won't fall over, would be cheaper and quicker imo. I used a long wire wrapper from the mityvac packaging to tie the hose up to the coil spring to keep it in place.
I've been using Speed Bleeders which are absolutely GREAT. The benefit of this setup is the ability to bleed the clutch master cylinder which is a huge plus!
I got the same type of bleeder. No problem at all. The air in the video is from leakage between bleeder screw and caliper and/or bleeder screw and rubber seal at the hose. My concern when I change brake fluid is how much old fluid that remains in the calipers. I press back the pistons while bleeding and pushing them out, a few times. Overkill or not, it feels good 😸
I have a vacuum pump connected to my oil evacuator, which works like the MityVac. The pump is not needed as the evacuator's hand pump provides enough vacuum to do the job. I also use a turkey baster to remove most of the old fluid so I don't have to pull it through the system. I wish I had that feeder reservoir, I have to keep a close eye on the master cylinder as the vacuum pump can really pull the fluid through fast.
Thanks Mr Subaru - interesting video - just done the SJ Brake fluid this past weekend using the 2 person method. Used the Gunson Eezibleed on other makes (uses air pressure from the spare wheel), but no correct cap for the master cylinder for Subaru in the kit - so went old school and spent "quality time" with my better half on the driveway :) Just done the egr valve clean and replaced the PCV valve too - thanks for all the videos!
I prefer a pressure bleeder, and some vehicles’ repair manuals call for this instead of a vacuum bleeder. I had a vacuum bleeder for a while, and it was very noisy with a small compressor and slowed the job down compared to a pressure bleeder.
Two comments about your procedure, I would remove the old fluid from the reservoir first. Clean it up best one can and fill with fresh fluid before pulling through the calipers. Second was about the ABS pump, some techs ignore the small amount of old oil in there but you might cover how some of your recommended tools activate the pump to flush. I mean go through the trouble then might as well do it best can be done! Made me wonder if any steps were not mentioned in the clutch fluid flush?
Excellent video, and ordered from your link. Question: you edit out the part between the copious air bubbles, and the “See there, free and clear” - the analog to the mathematician’s proof with the block “miracle occurs here”. So from where do the air bubbles come ? Is that just part of the process, and when you see the color of the liquid change, you “rest” and that’s when it shows “the end” to close the bleeder screw ? And a different topic: I really liked the idea of your liquid pressure can, and I bought one. Alas, as you use yours, there is an extension for the spout, with a relatively narrow spray nozzle. Mine, as received from the order, has the nozzle right on the pressure vessel, and the spray is a wide fan. Where to obtain those extra parts, please ?
Air bubbles can come from air leaks around the nipple on the hose or the threads around the bleeder screw. Pull vacuum. Pull fluid and air. Cut vacuum and it’ll clear up.
Brake fluid will do a number on your asphalt driveway too. Got to get one of those and the one for servicing the CVT also. Great videos. Looks like the nit pickers are out in force. Mr. Subaru works on these cars everyday, and you arm chair critics got to second guess him. Get a helmet, life's going to be a rough ride for some of you.
I've found that these are OK when you want to push a lot of fluid through the lines. But they often suck in air from where they contact the bleeder's nipple, and from around the threads of the bleeder. This makes it hard to tell where the air is coming from. I prefer the pressure type or the good old-fashioned two-man method.
I felt the same way and have gone back to the two-man method. Still, after reading the 1st comment it's reminded me this is a quicker way to flush the system and you still need to do the pressure method to insure all the air is out. Now I need to decide if I want to spend $220 bucks as I wasn't a big fan of the single person hand pump.
I tried hand vacuum pump on our Honda Odyssey 2011, all I did was get bubbles, presumably due to 'boiling' the brake fluid with negative pressure. So I went with the old gatoraid bottle, just pumped the pedal myself, and it's just dark fluid and no bubbles, until clear. It didn't even seem to suck the fluid back in when letting off the pedal. Idk if I was doing something wrong with an ABS setting or what, I didn't make any adjustments or unplug anything there. But yeah I could tell with the vacuum pump, the fluid wasn't moving and all these little bubbles kept streaming....maybe the seal wasn't tight idk
I have a question about timing a brand new ej255 engine. Can'm the Crank pulley be off by 360 degrees or as long as the mark lines up with is it good to go???
I got the holt industries vaccumm bleeder kit from hf. It works good but im not sure if it needs fluid in the lines first in order to prime and go. I installed a complete new brake system on my civic and ive been bleeding it for 2 days. Started from the passenger rear worked my way around the car about 3 times and then started attacking just the passenger rear until i get at least mostly fluid. Any tips anyone? Edit: the bmc was not bench bled cause i freshly painted my engine bay and didnt want and brake fluid to drip in the bay during installation. I knew it would take a lot longer to bleed it without doing that but damn 2 days? Getting mostly air with just a bit of fluid still.
My experience with vacuum bleeders is they have a lot "turbulence". I always turn off vacuum, and let things gravity bleed. Vacuum just accelerates the fluid movement
Even though you see bubbles in the line, the system is bled properly. It sucks in air around the bleeder screw and around the nipple. I usually open the bleeder up quite a bit, then when fluid is moving, close it almost completely to reduce the amount of air being sucked in the threads. The Mity Vac works great on hard to bleed motorcycle brakes and clutches.
I would think this device is very dependent on how far your bleeder screw is open because of the vacuum...a little bit of loosening lets out fluid, a little more and you're getting air sucked in around the bleeder screw. This looked like outside air being sucked in, otherwise the previous owner inflated their brakes with air instead of fluid lol