BMW 2002 FAQ - Brake bleeders

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Date: 12-22-05 09:19
From: Lars in Kansas City, MO

Subject: Brake bleeders

So the minivan, the 02 and the Sunfire all need there brake bled. I had a hand vaccum brake bleeder but it broke and I didn't think it worked very well. I was thinking about taking them to some place to get it done, but then realized it would probably be about $80 a vehicle and I could probably get a good bleeder for half of one of those.

So are the pressure bleeders the best? I need something that one person can do, my wife doesn't do car stuff. I know BavAuto has one, but will it work with GM brake systems? What are your experiences with the different ones out there.
_________________
Lars
1974 2002
Weber 32/36, Urethane Bushings, Pertronix Ignitor, Electric Fan, 320is Steering Wheel w/ 325 horn, MagnaFlow Muffler, 320 5 spd, 320 radiator.

Date: 12-22-05 09:50
From: Pierre in Southern California

Subject: Pressure bleeders

I have the Bav Auto unit and it is absolutely wonderful. It's an easy one man job, quick, hardly any mess, I don't know why I waited so long to get one. You fill the canister with fresh fluid, attach the cap to your reservoir, pump it up to about 15 psi, and go around the car opening bleeders and letting fluid out. It works on my Benz too. (Same ATE cap)
GM is another story. The pressure bleeder cap will probably not fit your GM. I don't know what type of revervoir you have but my 92 Chevy Astro has a rectangular snap on type cap. I can imagine that if you get yourself another GM cap, drill a hole in it, and attach an air-tight fitting for a hose, then it should work. I would be careful though about how much pressure I would pump in there. In the BMW, it's a screw on type cap and it's pretty secure. On the GM, it's a snap on type fit. I would hate to see the cap pop off due to excess pressure. It would make a huge mess. And brake fluid is not very friendly to paint. It will eat it right up.
Best of luck and let us know what you did.
_________________
Pierre
69 2002 (track/canyon carver)
74 2002 tii (toy)
74 2002 (for sale)
74 2002 (project)
76 530i (continuous running project)
79 323i (toy)
97 M3 4-door (wife)
89 325i (DD)
91 318is (DD)
O==00==O
And Chris Culpen still owes me $950.

Date: 12-22-05 09:52 From: ScottNC Subject: Re: Brake bleeders
I HAD ONE OF THOSE VACUUM BLEEDERS TOO AND IT DIDN'T WORK WORTH A DAMN. I STILL THINK THE BEST WAY IS TO GET THE WIFE TO PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL WHILE YOU BLEED THE LINES.

Date: 12-22-05 10:25
From: Pierre in Southern California

Subject: Traditional wife-assisted brake bleeding may detroy your MC

Brake pedal travel is usually limited to the top third at most. The part of the MC shaft that never travel past the seal tend to get a little rusty over time. Then when you bleed the brakes and depress the pedal to the floor, the rusty part of rod travels through the MC seal and could potentially destroy it.
I used to own a vacuum pump bleeder and it was horrible. I hated it. It never worked. But the pressure bleeder is awesome. There is a write-up somewhere of a home-made version using a garden sprayer. But for $40 it's a bargain.
_________________
Pierre
69 2002 (track/canyon carver)
74 2002 tii (toy)
74 2002 (for sale)
74 2002 (project)
76 530i (continuous running project)
79 323i (toy)
97 M3 4-door (wife)
89 325i (DD)
91 318is (DD)
O==00==O
And Chris Culpen still owes me $950.

Date: 12-22-05 10:48 From: Lars in Kansas City, MO Subject: Both my GMs are screw on type....
I'll have to just pop the hoods and see if they are the same size. They are a 2000 and 2001 models, so hopefully it works. _________________ Lars 1974 2002 Weber 32/36, Urethane Bushings, Pertronix Ignitor, Electric Fan, 320is Steering Wheel w/ 325 horn, MagnaFlow Muffler, 320 5 spd, 320 radiator.

Date: 12-22-05 12:50
From: SteveJ in Dublin, CA

Subject: Re: Brake bleeders

The BAvAuto bleeder is sold under many different names.
There are a couple of shortcomings with the bleeder. There is no swivel for the line that goes to the brake res. cap. What this means is that you have to lift and rotate the whole bleeder while you screw on or off the cap. Another is that there is no quick disconnect or pressure relief for you to quickly drop the pressure before you go to disconnect the cap from the res. I usually just unscrew the top of the bleeder itself.

Even with these issues, it is a great little unit for the price.
My preference would be a Snap On chrome bomb unit, but I don't have an air compressor and I can't justify that expense for the amount of times I would use it.

You should be able to get different caps for whatever model of car you have. Just drill a cap and install a small hose barb, tie wrap the hose to the barb.

Date: 12-22-05 03:50 From: ingraham in Oakland, CA Subject: Another vote for the BavAuto aka Motive Products bleeder...
Works great! Also get the Bleeder Bottle to catch the old fluid. Motive makes adapters for most MCs, including GM. See the Motive website at www dot MotiveProducts dot com. <http://www.motiveproducts.com/02bleeders.html> _________________ Curt Ingraham 1972 2002tii, 1976 2002 Improved 2002 Radiators

Date: 12-22-05 05:12
From: 2002Targa in Kodiak, AK

Subject: Make one yourself

Just go down to lowes or something in the pesticide section and get a bugjuice sprayer for about 10$, also while you're there get about 10 feet of 1/4" clear tubing for about another dollar. (open the pressure sprayer before you buy it and pump it up and make sure it holds pressure for a few minutes)
If you work the tubing into the hole in a spare fluid cap, it's tight enough not to push out with pressure and hold pressure in. Then just screw it on and give it about 10 or so pumps and go twist a nipple (on the car). You'll also have enough hose left over to put on a bleed nipple so you can put it in a catch bottle.
Be careful when taking the cap off of the res afterwards, if there's pressure left, brake fluid will try to spurt out.

TK
_________________
Life's a garden baby, dig it.
My web album
75 Fjord
73 RHD Targa

Date: 12-23-05 09:32 From: Guest Subject: Re: (on the car)
i knew i was doing something wrong 8)

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