speed bleeders, great or gimick?

I'm going to be replacing the brake lines on my XJ11 with Chacal's SS braid lines. I saw "Speed Bleeders" advertised for bleeding brake lines. I know what a SOB it was when I replaced the brake lines on my 650, it took sooooo long to get the brake fluid to get through the new lines. I'd love to be able to speed it up.

I was even thinking about sucking on a tube attached to the bleeder to try to suck the fluid through the lines from the master cylinder. No idea if that would work but I have to work alone so I need to give myself a hand.

I did buy the one man bleeder kit from Auto Zone but perhaps the "speed bleeders" are better & maybe just trying to suck the brake fluid through would work better yet, I dunno. I vaguely remember some kind of automatic brake flushing machine at Sears back in the 70's...

Speed bleeders? use the one man bleeder kit? Suck? cough...

Idears?

Thanks!

 

I too replaced the front brake lines on my 750J with stainless lines. In fact, I did a complete overhaul on the thing -- master cylinder, brake pads, the whole nine yards. You bet I used the Mity-Vac one-man fluid-sucking bleeder kit.

As for the speed bleeders, from what Len was saying, they work great if there is already fluid in the lines; unfortunately, they don't work for diddly squat if they're empty. Reason being is that instead of the fluid pushing air out of the lines, it's compressing the air instead, and there just isn't enough pressure to open the valve on the speed bleeders.

Get the Mity-Vac bleeder doohickey. You won't regret it.

 

This is what I have, is this what you mean?

http://tinyurl.com/34jekcf

Looks like Mity-Vac has a lot of different items

 

No, I'm more thinking of this thing.

Chacal stocks them, although the version he has lacks the vacuum gauge; HCP5908 is the part number he has listed.

 

I'm intrigued. So it does suck the fluid from the master cylinder? Sounds like a really good idea.

I have a peristaltic pump used for some homebrewing tasks & I can pretty easily make an adapter to connect that to a bleeder. If that's the way this works (making a suction) by squeezing the trigger, I can use the peristaltic to do the same.

I've never seen this device you've pointed out. Thanks!

 

Use the might vac to purge the lines of air after you replace the lines and then use the speed bleeders to change the brake fluid going forward.

I have ABS brakes front and rear on one of my bikes. A new ABS unit is $2370.00 so an annual fluid change is a MUST. They work great. Very fast and very simple to use. Like any zerk fitting they will show some small bubbles in the output as they leak a little air around the threads when you loosen them up. No biggie, it's just a little air coming in at the threads.

BTW You can get the Harbor Freight equivalent on sale at times and if not on sale when you need it you can always opt to put on sale yourself with a 20% off coupon.
Loren

 

It does indeed. One tube goes from the trigger handle thing to the canister, and a second from the canister to the bleeder screw. Top off the master cylinder with fluid, give the handle a few squeezes to create a vacuum, and open the bleeder screw. It promptly sucks the air out of the system, pulling fluid down through the lines. When you see a solid flow of fluid coming out of the tube, close the bleeder screw. Top off the master cylinder again and redo for the remaining caliper(s).

My writeup on replacing the brake lines has a picture of the box for the unit that Chacal has.

 

Back to the original question, which was in regard to "speed bleeders" and their effectiveness.

Yes, they do work, HOWEVER: They only work on a nice full system. They will not work on an empty system, so as far as them being a solution for the problem of refilling an empty system, they're not.

Mity-Vac all the way; followed by a session of old-school hand-bleeding.

 

I'll stick with my recommendation for using speed bleeders instead of the old fashioned squeeze and release method for replacing (changing) the fluid on an annual basis. I haven't been able to teach the dog to squeeze the lever and hold and lord knows the momma ain't gonna do it!

Loren

 

OK guys,
Get some Hospital Oxygen line, a jelly jar, some RTV or other glue, and an idling Dodge Ram, (or your car).

(Vac port > line > jar > line > brake bleed fitting)

You now have a continuous vacuum source.
Same devise can suck the last bit of gas or water from a tank,
or start a siphon, without using your mouth,
or completely deflate a tire for your annual air change.

 

Only required on BMW's right?

 

I'll step in for TtR on this one. Of course BMW's require an annual air change for both front and rear tires! The dealer only charges $369.00 for this service........

Just kidding folks! Although....... we shouldn't give them any ideas!

Merry Christmas Fitz! Thank you a ton and a half for freely dispensing your wisdom on this site. You and your experience make this site a better place to be. You are appreciated.

Loren

 

"Speed Bleeder", ... "One-Man Bleeder"!

When you cross-out the hype, marketing, sales puffery and price.

What's the difference?

 

The Earl's solo bleeds are the best.
The Russel brand requires the threads to seal to work and look more fragile.
The Earl's are around $15 a pair @ Summit Racing BUT you have to know the diameter ,length , and thread pitch.
I sell them 100 to 1 over the Russel brand.

 

Reviving this old post, So it seems like I can use the speed bleeders in the future and seeing as I have to do it all by myself (ie: no extra hands to count on to help out), would anyone know the bleeder diameter, length & thread pitch for both the XJ650J & the XJ1100J?
I'd guess the XJ1100 would be the same fore & aft.

 

For about $3.50 each, you can replace all your Caliper Bleeders with 8.0 X 1.25 Stainless Steel Bleed Screws.

Add a layer or two of Teflon Wrap.

Buy a "One Man Bleeder" Kit to enable you to Bleed and Flush the System "Old School"

-Or-

Splurge for the Vacuum Assisted "Pump-Type" Bleeder Kit and add some speed to the process.

Either way, ... it's better than One-way Bleed Nipples which are more gimmick than function.

 

Hi Rick,

I tried the local shops and nobody has the stainless bleeders. Looks like I'll need three of them. unless there's some elsewhere on the XJ1100 that they're being used like grease fittings. Any suggestions where I might could find them on line?

I did follow the suggestions & know where I can borrow a MityVac pump & will use that to deal with the brake line issues.

 

Even with the Vacuum Pump Tool, ... you should have an assistant "Work" the Brake Lever to push Brake Fluid out of the Master Cylinder and down the Lines toward the Caliper and Vacuum Lines.

They should have the Bottle of Brake Fluid at hand to replenish the level in the MC; because the Vacuum Pump can "Move" quite a large amount of Fluid in a short period of time.

If the Vacuum drains the MC, ... you're back to Square One.

 

Sadly, there's nobody at the house to help out. I'm caretaking my folks and they are not competent to be of help. Nope, I'm a one man show when it comes to working on this bike so though it'll take longer alone, that's what I must do. My girlfriend would help but she's in Boston & her car isn't working.

Things are what they are...