Motive Power Bleeder
 

I plan to bleed my brakes within the next couple of weeks using the Motive power bleeder. In the past, I've always relied on the "pedal push" method and managed to recruit my significant other or one of my sons to help ... but the power bleeder offers the convenience of one person being able to do the work alone ... so I thought I would try it out. One question: What pressure should you bring the power bleeder vessel up to for bleeding the lines? I recall that AK used 15 lbs (I think) in his DIY video ... but I'm not sure if he was just guessing. Is there a recommended min/max range? The instructions that come with the bleeder aren't helpful in this regard. Any advice from those of you who have used the bleeder is welcomed. Thanks!

15 works, i use 13

I pump it up to 30-35. Also, if you are putting fluid in the bleeder tank, make sure when you are done to unscrew the top of the bleeder from its tank BEFORE unscrewing the adapter from the master cylinder. If you do it the other way around, brake fluid will go everywhere.

Mike, Is helpful hint at the end from a personal experience? :icon17:

yep!

OK, thanks for the advice. Another question: Once the bleeder tank has been filed with the new brake fluid and hooked up through the poly tubing to the master cylinder reservoir, I suspect that there initially will be air in the tubing. So is the idea that this air will initially be forced under pressure through the tubing, reservoir, MC and the first brake line to be bled (i.e., the rear passenger line), and will be bled out when the bleed screw on the caliper is opened up? Or am I completely off base? I guess the other thing is to ensure that the bleeder tank is filled up with an adequate amount of fluid at the start ... probably 1.5 to 2 L of fluid (??) ... so that all lines can be bled without a need to re-fill. Again, any advice is appreciated.

i use the motive extractor pump. i never liked the idea of pressurizing my brake reservoir.

people use gravity bleed these days, why not just speed up the process using an extractor instead? you can extract other things with it too, like motor oil from your engine dip stick, power steering fluid, etc. get more use out of your equipment than just bleeding brakes.

That isn't an issue at all. There is a certain amount of air in the tube, correct, but when you pressurize the bottle and open the bleed screw, its still the same amount of air, so the fluid will travel through the tube and into the resorvoir, and the air will stay on top. 1 liter should be fine, but check it after each caliper, and have a second bottle just in case.

Hey Kenchan tried to send you a pm but it says you can't receive. Will the extractor be easy bleeding clutch fluid as well? I'm thinking of changing to ss lines on brakes and clutch lines and would rather extract than pressurize as well.

sorry my extractor pump is not by motive, my replenish brake bottle with nissan valve is by motive.
the extractor is by mityvac. i think it was model mv7400. hand pump evacuator.

ive not done the clutch lines, but it can extract pretty much any fluid as long as i can fit the tube in the hole or reservoir. very handy to have. :tup:

just clean the tube and fittings after you're done to prevent any leaks.

Be very careful about how high you pressurize, you could potentially blow something out of place and have to disassemble the master to put things right. Things such as O-rings, etc.

I've used the mighty vac method before a few years ago at a tech meet. I like it better than the power bleeder. With the motive adapter cap you can also use another bottle to replenish what you suck through the bleeder.

Hi Kenchan, what's the correct Motive replenish brake bottle for the Z? Is it their "0107 Ford/Import Three Prong Bleeder" or "0117 Black Label Ford / Import 3-Tab Power Bleeder"?

Thanks for advise :hello:

its the three prong, i believe its a 2in resevoir cap.

0107 I think the black label is the same, but more premium.

Thx guys. U seem to be right. 0107 and 0117 should both work with the latter featuring an aluminium cap instead of a plastic one, plus longer tubing
Unfortunately it's very difficult to get hold of the Motive kit in the U.K. or just ridiculously expensive shipping through ebay store. having found no national alternative I shall stick with pedal pumping and employ my wife for the labour :-p
Cheers!

Btw, I bled my brake system last weekend for 5hrs after which my pedal still didn't work right despite no more air coming out of the bleed valves.
The mistake I believe I made is that I only bled the front-facing bleed valves but omitted the hidden rear-facing second valves on each caliper. There must be residing more air still. Gonna redo the bleeding as soon as the weather plays along ;)

yes, you have to do both sides. I do outer first.

I just wanted to chime in here... Mike gives good advice and I have taken a lot of it, but I went to 30 doing this and blew the seal on the reservoir... MY MC was on the way out and I replaced it after this, but just wanted to share this. Be careful exceeding recommended pressures.

Random voice on the internet here...

I would not pressurize more than 15 psi. I usually do around 10-12 with no problems.

yah, i personally use the extractor and suction out from the caliper side.

was never really into that pressurize reservoir with brake fluid inside thing.

Ya, by the time I realized the pressure was dropping it was pouring into that well and it was a frick'n mess; Not to mention how caustic that crap is. If a hose or seal fails it could spray that stuff all over the place.

Nothing against Mike here, I respect his knowledge, but this did happen to me, so I felt it was proper to share here. I would hate not to say something and have someone wreck a paint job. :(

yep, that is the biggest worry i have.

thing about these brake service tools is that the o-rings disintegrate without much warning unless you visually check each time.

sorry to see that. Maybe I have just been fortunate to this point, but I've done it this way at least 30 times between mine and customer cars. I guess stick to 15 is probably safest. I only go to 30 so I can get 2 calipers done per pump up.

I hear ya Mike, mine might have been 1/50 or 1/100 who knows, but I just wanted to make sure everyone was a where to save them the mess and possibly some paint.

Like I said, I respect your knowledge and have used it many times from reading here, I knew you were not thinking this could happen or you would have commented on it.

Sall good buddy. :eekdance:

Can i bleed clutch with the motive bleeder after changing clutch line?
I know there is no adapter but i will make my own from OEM cap.

It's not recommended since the master is very fragile.

Do you how do they bleed it at Nissan Service?

Well, I would expect they are replacing the CMC more often than not, so typically they would bench bleed it. I doubt a lot of dealers are doing SS clutch line installs.

Is it not possible to use the pedal to bleed the entire clutch hydraulic system? I've replaced my CMC several times in the past and never bothered to bench bleed it. I just gravity bleed it for a while (solo), and then a few pumps of the clutch pedal to pressurize the system (requires a helper).