OT: A Simple Balloon Valve To Bleed And Flush Your Brakes

I haven't done my own brake job or bled my brakes in perhaps 30 years, but surely you can get such a "check valve" exactly for that purpose at your local Checker... or whatever it's called now... I notice the building signage has changed :-) ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

| 1962 |

Spice is like a sports car... Performance only as good as the person behind the wheel.

Brake fluid is cheap. I just pump and dump lots of it to flush out the air and dirt. It's still less waste than a single engine or transmission oil change.

Is that really any different from just putting the end of the bleed tubing into an elevated jar, filled slightly with say 1 cm deep of fresh brake fluid, as a check valve?

I like the Teflon tape idea. But... how would you remove the Teflon tape from the screw when done changing fluid? That would introduce a whole lot of air into the system. Or do you mean, just leave it there forever??? Won't heat be a problem?

Cross-posted to alt.autos.toyota just for fun.

Michael

I'm thinking more about guaranteeing air-free. ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, CTO                            |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
| Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             |
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     |

                   Spice is like a sports car... 
     Performance only as good as the person behind the wheel.

Or just leave the tube open and pump/flush with plenty of brake fluid while reconnecting. I got most of the air out of my corolla without problems. I use my finger check valve. I would not try to save the fluid and risk sucking dirt back into the system.

All that work just to save on brake fluid?

Or just leave the tube open and pump/flush with plenty of brake fluid while reconnecting. I got most of the air out of my corolla without problems. I use my finger check valve. I would not try to save the fluid and risk sucking dirt back into the system.

All that work just to save on brake fluid?

I use a hand vacuum pump with a bleed tank. Vacuum makes the air bubbles larger and easier to remove.

tm

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: snipped-for-privacy@netfront.net ---

Teflon tape in a brake system? Not me, brother. Little hunks come off and get lodged in vital places.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal
ElectroOptical Innovations
55 Orchard Rd
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

e

ff

Yikes!

Michael

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

The two person method is preferred to eliminate air. I tried, check valves and pressure bleeders, but the best results are with the old lady on the pedal and a 1/4" wrench and me under the vehicle.

Cheers

Just capture the bleed fluid in a cup or something and take it to the local oil recycler place.

Cheers! Rich

The teflon tape is needed to seal the threads and prevent air from leaking back into the brake cylinder. This would defeat the purpose of bleeding the brakes.

Here is a picture showing the conical end of the bleed screw and the bleed hole:

"

"

When you apply the teflon tape and insert the bleed screw into the brake cylinder, the action of the screw is towards the cylinder. Any possible debris from the teflon is trapped as the bleed screw moves further into the hole.

It is not necessary to tighten the bleed screw to make a good seal. Just finger-tight is good enough. This prevents damaging the teflon tape, so there is no debris created.

When you bleed the brakes, the flow of brake fluid is out of the brake cylinder, past the conical end of the bleed screw, into the bleed hole, and out into the storage jar. This will force any possible debris into the collection jar.

When you remove pressure from the brake pedal, the balloon valve closes. This prevents air and any debris from getting sucked back into the brake cylinder. It also prevents dirty fluid from the collection jar from flowing back into the cylinder.

If any debris did happen to get into the cylinder, it would merely join all the other debris from the brake lines and master cylinder that collects in the bottom of the cylinder. This is not removed when bleeding the brakes. If the other debris has not caused any harm, there is little reason to believe any teflon debris would.

The bleed screw is closed after the brakes are bled. The end of the screw is conical and seals against the outlet side of the brake cylinder. There is no chance for any debris to get back into the cylinder when the bleed screw is closed.

Since the balloon valve prevents any backflow into the brake cylinder while you are bleeding the brakes, and the bleed screw seals the brake cylinder outlet when you are finished, there is little reason for any concern of teflon debris entering the brake system.

[snip]

Your butler doesn't bleed your brakes ?:-) ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

| 1962 |

Remember: Once you go over the hill, you pick up speed

A lot of sites recommend doing that. I tried it - it seemed to just slosh the fluid back and forth, with little actual movement of fluid from the brake system into the jar. This wastes time, and risks bringing debris from the brake lines back into the anti-skid valves. This could cause serious problems that could be expensive to repair.

Teflon is used to coat frying pans, so I think it can stand up to the heat. But it really doesn't matter. When you are done, just close the bleed screw. The tape remains on the threads, but it cannot do any harm since it is on the outlet side of the bleed screw.

Here is a picture showing the conical end of the bleed screw and the bleed hole:

"

"

The conical end of the bleed screw seals against the brake cylinder when it is tightened. This prevents any air or debris from entering the cylinder after the bleed screw is closed.

Every time I've installed brake parts the OEM said not to use any sealant.

--
You can't fix stupid. You can't even put a Band-Aid? on it, because it's
Teflon coated.

are better, have to get myself a set.

The Motiv pressure bleeders just make a mess.

Cheers

Teflon tape should not be used on bleeder screws, and you will not find any competent automotive technician using it because it can prevent a proper seal.

By the way, ABS does not stand for "anti-skid" brakes; ABS stands for anti-lock brakes.

--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

I use an old compact / portable refrigeration vac pump and a jam jar with two tubes soldered into the top, in line to the wheel cylinder. Slip on the tube with pump running, undo nipple, wait for line to purge, retighten and move on to the next wheel. It's fast and the only way to make sure that no air gets back into the system. You do have to ensure that the reservoir doesn't empty, otherwise start again.

If you run old and interesting cars, you end up doing the work yourself, especially with uk garage rates at anything between 50 and 150 ukp per hour. Eeeek...

Regards,

Chris

In message , Ray O writes

When it first came out, Ford called it "Advanced Braking System".

--
Clive

When Volvo invented it, they called it "Antilock Breaking System". :)

-- gburnore at DataBasix dot Com

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