Power Bleeder

Anyone using a power bleeder? Does it work? Is it worth it? 

And which one (or is there one) do I need to fit my current fleet?

- 1950 Willys CJ3A 

- 1976 Porsche 911s

- 2006 Tundra

- 2023 Acura Integra

Thanks

also interested in the answer. 

Subbed

I have bought two over the years and would buy a third no questions asked. They work great and make all kinds of PITA bleeding jobs a cinch.

I can't comment on what adapter to buy other than to say they are typically region and age-specfic so you might need two or three of them depending on your fleet.

(The adapters where the unit hooks up to your master cylinder are swappable/replaceable as there's no way to have a "one size fits all".)

I've had a motive for years and haven't had any issues. Have used various adapters for different cars, and have had the best luck with the redish colored aluminum adapters from motive. On some cars you have to snug the adapter pretty hard against the master to get a good seal, but I've never dmlamaged anything. My wife would kill me if I didn't have one, brakes get bled a lot with a race car. Money well spent IMO, assuming you bleed/flush brakes often enough to justify the purchase. You'll be in it well over the list price once you add up all the adapters you'll need.

I have a motive and I've gotten a variety of adapters by loaning it to friends with cars I don't have adapters for. "Buy me the adapter, use the bleeder for free!"

Motive user. Yes it works, I would definitely buy it again. 

I have a Motive, and it works great if they make the proper adapter for your master cylinder.
 

They don't make adapters for some Hondas. Every time I've used the universal adapter, it's made a huge mess.

 You don't need to use a lot of pressure.  I think they say to test it dry at 10 psi and check for leaks, but don't use that much when you're actually flowing fluid. You just need to be above atmospheric pressure to make it work. 

The last time that I was working on an Accord and I had very little time to get things done, I bought a Four Uncles vacuum bleeder off Amazon.  It was cheap and worked very well. It does use a bit of air though.  I had to refill my pancake compressor once per corner, but I was very happy with it. It's basically a Chinese Mightyvac that can be shipped to your door overnight with Amazon Prime. 

I have had a Mityvac unit that sucks through the bleeder and it's fantastic. I can flush my entire system in about 20 minutes with no helper needed.

Claff said:

I have had a Mityvac unit that sucks through the bleeder and it's fantastic. I can flush my entire system in about 20 minutes with no helper needed.

I have both a mityvac and a motive. Motive all the way. I always had air coming past the threads of the bleeder with the mightyvac, which made it difficult to tell if I had all the bubbles. The motive just works amazing. 

That said, I only really have used it on my F500, which I have the adaptor for. 

It's worth it. 

You don't have to fill the canister of the motive with brake fluid, you can just rely on what's in the master, you just have to watch closer that you don't run it out.

I think proper two person bleeding does - or at least can - work marginally better (quicker if not actually more effective) but for working alone it's 99% as good and super easy to use. In case anyone isn't aware, for the love of god do not actually fill the chamber with brake fluid unless you're planning on pumping a half gallon of fluid through the system, or enjoy wasting said half gallon of fluid and spending an hour cleaning it out afterwards. Brim the reservoir and use the chamber as a pressure source. Replace the hose connection with air line quick disconnects and you can disconnect to top of the reservoir and only lose a couple of pumps worth of pressure. Plus it makes it super easy to swap between adapters. The only problem I've run into is that the thing, especially where the gauge threads into the chamber, is only good for about 15-20psi, and modern German cars claim to want to be bled at 30psi. That said once I got it to seal it didn't actually seem to make any difference in bleeding effectiveness.

I use one of these, and a 25' length of vacuum hose hooked up to the running engine.  Works on vacuum.  It's not "pressure," but it works and it's cheap.

My mityvac experience was sad.  So maybe I'll try a motive. 

I put together a pressure bleeder for a couple bucks worth of plumbing parts.  It was good enough to bleed the brakes and clutch on a derelict Biturbo: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/tech-tips/diy-universal-pressure-bleeder-attachment/265352/page1/

You need to bring your own pressure source but I've had success with it in multiple applications.

Another +1 for Motive

I built my own out of a garden sprayer and it has been working great for many years. I did thread an adapter into the bottle so I could hook my air line direct to it, I just twist down the regulator on the compressor to 15ish psi and then I don't need to do any pumping. For doing a full bleed it works very well and is worth taking the few extra minutes to setup, if it's just one corner that needs to be bled I grab my partner to come pump the pedal and we do a manual bleed (she is pretty good after all these years lol).

For my BMW's I made my own master cylinder adapter, fo the Subaru I bought the motive adapter and that's what I'll do in the future for any others I need.

The mighty-vac style does intrigue me and I think it would be handy when just doing a single corner, I like that vacuum should make the bubbles more obvious (larger) and possibly remove more compared to pressurizing the system. Air leakage past the bleeder threads would be annoying but I think a bit of thread sealant before bleeding would help (and maybe prevents some corrosion in there long term). Might have to pick one up and give it a try.

SkinnyG said:

I use one of these, and a 25' length of vacuum hose hooked up to the running engine.  Works on vacuum.  It's not "pressure," but it works and it's cheap.

I've never seen this setup, could be nice to use at the track to pull in fresh fluid.

Another satisfied Motive user here.  It's worth the price of admission.  

Thanks for the feedback

Motive has worked for me over the last 20 years.  The adapter thing is an issue, I found an old master cap can be drilled and tapped for a hose connection that works quite well.  Taking it off can be messy but with care fluid spills can be avoided.  Most challenging use was on the 4 wheel drum brakes on the old motorhome.  With 20 foot long lines it took a lot of fluid to bleed but in the end I could lock up all 4 back wheels in a panic stop.  

For thread leakage around the threads with the Mitivac:  Speed bleeders (if available) are a good answer.  I have also used engine honey (very thick oil) dribbled at the base of the threads.  Of course with speed bleeders you don't really need the mitivac, but it makes it fewer steps and you can see what is going on better.

Speedbleeders are a great choice, have tried them.  Still like the motive, you can crack open the bleeder and watch the bubbles or dirty fluid come out,   then close the valve when you are happy with the result.

I've had a Motive for 20 years, works great!  You do need to replace the tubing on it every so often, otherwise it'll split under pressure and spray brake fluid everywhere.  That's bad.  

As noted, they don't make adapters for every master cylinder out there.  Some companies have stepped in to make adapters but search before you buy to make sure you can get what you need.  I don't have a Honda adapter and had to search far and wide for a Toyota one for instance...

I guess I'm just an idiot, I never had good luck with power bleeders. Always used the two-man method. 

Plus helping a buddy or a buddy helping you out in the garage is always more enjoyable. 

Apexcarver said:

Claff said:

I have had a Mityvac unit that sucks through the bleeder and it's fantastic. I can flush my entire system in about 20 minutes with no helper needed.

I have both a mityvac and a motive. Motive all the way. I always had air coming past the threads of the bleeder with the mightyvac, which made it difficult to tell if I had all the bubbles. The motive just works amazing. 

That said, I only really have used it on my F500, which I have the adaptor for. 

It's worth it. 

You don't have to fill the canister of the motive with brake fluid, you can just rely on what's in the master, you just have to watch closer that you don't run it out.

Same here.  Motive > MV for brake bleeding.  However, the MV, at least the venturi type that uses shop air, is a hell of a good fluid extractor for a myriad of different jobs.  I'd highly suggest  one.  
 

And while we're discussing these suck blow tools, I'd also suggest an Air Lift for coolant changes.  I love pulling a vacuum on the entire cooling system and watching it pull fresh coolant in.  And no air pockets ever.