Do it this way and you'll do it only once and get it right the first time. You can't go wrong. (Plus you won't have to invite a mate round to help with it, which means you get twice as much beer for the Saturday arvo job).

So I've had little success trying to bleed my brakes, so today I gave it one last go. I made up a bleed jar (old man gave me this idea) that would help me.

All you need is;

An old Moccona Coffee Jar either the medium or large jar.

About a Metre of clear tube.

A short length of brake line or fuel line or any small circular hollow section (old aerial?).

1. Separate the plastic seal from the glass lid of the jar, make a hole in the middle of it for the brake line, and make a smaller hole for a vent (other wise the lid will keep popping off). I used a soldering iron to melt holes through.

2. Join the clear tube to the brake line and seal using a zip tie or similar (unless it's a tight enough seal already).

3. Insert the tube and line into the jar.

When you're ready to go, make sure the reservoir on the master is full.

Fill the jar with fluid so it's about a third full (above the little off cut of brake line/pipe), hold the jar up high in the air with one arm and in the other hold the end of the clear pipe downward, cover the end of the clear pipe with your finger-tip but let the fluid run down the line until it gets to the end, essentially removing all the air from the clear tube bleed-line.

Get where you need to work and press the tube over the nipple trying not to let too much air get into the clear bleed-line, it doesn't matter if a tiny one gets in there, just don't leave it too long till you start to pump the pedal.

Go round to the pedal and give it a few pumps, keeping a careful eye on the reservoir. Top up of necessary, keep an ear out for bubbling noises coming from the jar, this'll let you know that it's working and the little air-pockets are getting pushed out. When you've dropped a decent amount of fluid through that line quickly go round and shut the nipple off. Consider it finished and move to the next drum and the next.

I had my brakes finished in about 25 minutes on my own compared to the hours and hours I spent doing it with a second person.

Only problem is that you may loose the third of fluid you put into the jar at the very start, as it was probably dirtied by the flushed fluid. If this concerns you, you are the biggest tight-ass around.

Here are some pictures;

Attach file:

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  Coffee Jar.JPG (97.94 KB)


  Clear Tubing.JPG (87.91 KB)


  150mm Brake Line Off-cut.JPG (88.05 KB)


  Main Hole & Vent Hole.JPG (80.84 KB)


  Together.JPG (105.55 KB)


  In use.JPG (153.10 KB)

Yes, this method works really well. I don't even bother with a jar cover. Just put clear or black tubing in the jar and watch for bubbles. When the bubbles stop, tighten it and go on.

With the driver's door open, I lie on the ground where I can see the jar, and push the pedal with my hand. The clean new fluid in the bottom of the jar prevents air from flowing back up when the pedal returns.

looks like it works better than my $7 one man bleeder. shame i dont drink moconna- its too expensive ;) and la di da.

Well you could have had some coffee and a la-di-da jar brake bleeder with that $7 Mikmik.

Nice work Chris, that should go in the Wiki.

when it comes to instant coffee chris, blend 43 for me, or inernational roast works well as an iced coffee mixer. but yes, good technique here

But what if you don't like coffee . I bought something similar which was a little plastic bottle with an attachment on the top for a magnet(supplied) & some plastic line & a plastic wedge to go in the bleeder nipple. You just have to be careful you don't fill the bleeder bottle. The little wedge is a bit iffy, but you could just remove it & pop the plastic line over the bleed nipple. Much more successful than that air powered bleeder my mate bought that sh!t itself, which relied on vaccum pulling the fluid through the line. pity my mate didn't believe me it was stuffed until after we did our first runs at Oran Park & we both missed the first corner. Sometimes you have to let people fail before they'll listen to you.

if you dont drink coffee, guess you could use a vegemite jar or similar.

a 600ml coke bottle works a treat,
then you won't break it,
if the hose is a little shorter this will help,
if you go upwards from the nipple, and then down to the jar, is a good thing too, as the air will rise away from the wheel cyl's, calipers.. :)

Hi Guys

That is an great idea, i also may carry on later day and see, i got air in My brake Line(One side)so i feel i dont have strong brake until you pedal it once,unfortunately i got so tight nipple that i can't remove it from brake line
that i want to cut down the whole set and fit another tube and nipple on it.

thanks
Regards
sumith