Reverse Bleed Brake Fluid Replacement
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Shows how to replace brake fluid using the reverse bleed method. If done correctly it's quick and easy to bleed air out of the system. Be careful not to spill brake fluid over anything as it's corrosive.
A tip that is popular when bleeding mtb brakes is to pull on the syringe before you open the bleed valve. You’re trying to create a vacuum in the syringe, when you do you will see loads of small air bubbles form in the fluid, flick the syringe with your finger to get them to float to the top of the syringe. Just another little thing to get that nice firm lever feel.
Dammit! I do this for years and never came to my mind to use a ziptie for securing the hose on bleeder valve:)
When I want to learn how to do some type of maintenance on my bike, I don't even use google, I come straight to your channel and look here first. Thank you for producing excellent tutorials, I love how clear and easy to follow your instructions are. Also, I'm fairly sure your accent makes you at least 100% more credible. 👍
You missed a step. That bleeder valve is above the brake line fitting. When you are pushing fluid in through the bleed screw, air can remain trapped in the top of the caliper ( in the upper piston bore and resettle in and around the bleeder passageway). You can't push the fluid through there fast enough to guarantee you get all the air. Before you called the job done, you should have pumped up the master cylinder and cracked open the bleed screw again to expel any remaining air that may still be in the caliper above the brake line fitting. Yes your brake may feel "ok" and function, but why not add the final step and make sure the air is expelled.
Good tip. Although I’ve never had an issue reverse bleeding the front brake as shown in the video, what you’re suggesting would only take a few extra seconds to do and help ensure a full bleed.
To use a medical term, you can flag the syringe at the end to verify there is no air. As in draw the syringe back and see if there is any air trapped and at the same time bring the fluid down to the fill level on the M/C if necessary.
Best way of doing it. Air rises to the top. I have been doing this for years, so simple.
This method only works well if you put Teflon tape on the bleeder thread. Otherwise, the air will enter inside
Excellent vid.. nice and clear. May I add that topping off the brake fluid to the max level should only be done when new pads are fitted. Topping up to the max level on the reservoir with part or well worn pads will only cause you headaches later when you come to change the pads for new ones because the fluid can overflow from the top of the reservoir as the piston/s are pushed back into the caliper/s and the fluid level rises making a mess, unless of course you drain some excess off prior to fitting said new pads. (not everybody follows this practice and the reality is brake fluid leaks through the tiny air holes present in the underside of the cap/lid that are designed to allow the seal/diaphragm to take up the slack as the level falls and the pads wear) Not being critical my friend just some helpful advice if it's any use.
Wise words!
Even then people tend to squeeze the brake piston all the way in which might make the reservoir overflow
The caliper piston is roughly 3 times. Larger than the master cylinder piston. .
With that said when you push the caliper piston in just look how much pressures your are putting on the seals & cups , roughly 12 mm caliper piston. I have ruined even new master cylinders with that method. What to do is open the bleeder on the caliper to relieve the pressure you create when pushing the caliper piston back in. Or just take your chances.
You can completely avoid this by opening the brake bleeder when pushing the pistons back, i do not understand why people jump through hoops when its the easiest method.
And using a pair of calipers to measure brake fluid level is just psychopathic.
Some people put a bit of PTFE tape on the bleed nipple threads. It's to stop air seeping in around the threads.
Thanks! This workedd great! I tried everything before I reverse filled it like you recommend. I literally worked on these brakes for an entire day. I saw your video when I was about half way through with day 2. Much appreciated!
I used this method when I installed new brake lines on my honda hornet! it works brilliantly,so easy.
This is a great video. The only thing I could add is to make sure your brake line always has an upward trajectory, not bend downwards to your reservoir otherwise air could still get trapped.
Worked like a charm. I tried reverse bleeding and was still was getting bubbles after many many attempts. The key was using the zip ties to keep it sealed the entire time. The zip ties wouldn’t work with the clear 1/4in PVC tubing I got from Lowes, it was way too thick/stiff to clamp through with the ties, kept falling off. What worked for me was silicone tubing like you commented. Ended up using the tubing made for breastfeeding pumps. It looks like it’s too small for the bleeder valve but it stretches over it with some effort, then it clamps down good because it’s so soft/thin. Depressed the caliper pistons with a flathead screwdriver(twist it for the leverage) then pushed through 4 reservoirs of fluid and got the lever super firm the first time. Took me about 10mins total!! Thanks!
Hope this helps someone else. Wish me luck with stoppies.
Pleased to hear that you were successful in the end. Next time should be a lot quicker. Yes, silicone hose is definitely better...
Just went and got my brother a 06 636 I’ve just been trying to bleed his front brakes spent like 2 hours and still had so much air. Got pissed and started to do more research found reverse bleeding went out got all the stuff went to reverse bleed and still the brake didn’t feel stiff enough. Started searching through the comments and found this one went out got silicone tubing and worked like a charm brake finally feels perfect!
@@jib7793 glad it helped man
Obviously you won't succeed that way. Air enters the system through the bleeder thread. This method ONLY works if you seal the thread with grease.
@@iulianc9037 the fluid acts as a grease seal for me. Only crack the bleeder 1/4 turn. Actually just did it 2 days ago, only took about 15 mins and the brake lever is very firm
very good brother, I'm from Brazil, and his care and maintenance tips like these are very useful, as here the cost for off road bikes is high. Nothing better than taking care of our own
Very good. For years I’ve bled brakes but never thought of doing it in reverse. I like it.
I saw a cool dog lurking in the background so of course I clicked thumbs up instantly!
I never opened the valve and the tube popped right off😂
i always push the brake pistons back when i change it because when the pads are worn out very ugly black fluid stays behind them even when new brake fluid is up in the reservoir
air bubbles go up, than it's perfect system to get rid of ''hidden air'' in the system. i'm going to do this on my car with 4 big siringes
Thank you so much! Easy and best method I’ve ever seen. Worked perfectly for me.
I did it this way yesterday I injected the fluid and brake perfect 4 times! The best way I know.
Of course, everything has been reset and cleaned and a new liquid in the whole system!
Best regards! Good movie!
Good. Ideah
First thing I'd do is cover everything with rags or newspapers brake fluid can damage some paints and clock face glasses.
Yes, good tip. Certainly better safe than sorry. On the off-road bikes there isn't so much to damage as there are very few painted surfaces (frame). I always have a can on brake cleaner in case I spill some and clean up straight away.
This is the best way to service the brake if it’s single disc system
Quick and easy
The vacuum method that most shop use takes longer to bleed from completely empty systems
This is the best way of doing it. Zip tie brake lever to bar for a few days so full pressure is built up if your not gona ride straight away.
Good on you ! Thanks for the reminder to use pressurized reverse feed. You can also use water to clean up - water displaces and neutralizes brake fluid.
A caliper to measure fluid level. Now that's accuracy.
This is the kind of guy that buys sock hangers, lol.
Clear instructional video, I have came across to two different videos of yours, and you've earned a subscriber.
Thanks for the positive feedback. I have lots of new videos planned which hopefully will be of interest too...
Same technique works well for reverse bleeding hydraulic clutches.
Nice vid. May I add, after emptying the reservoir, I like to cover the reservoir with a cloth, because sometimes the new brake fluid can sputter through the tiny orifice in the reservoir and tiny drops can splash out the reservoir. The cloth prevents that splashing. Or, just add in a tiny layer of new brake fluid after taking out the old fluid.
Such a cute pup. Love him
I've been doing it this way since 1985. Some bikes (every Japanese bike I've owned) will suck air in around the bleeder screw threads. Don't open the valve any more than needed to get fluid to go in.
A VERY IMPRESSIVE AND EFFECTIVE TUTORIAL ON CORRECT BRAKE BLEEDING ! GREAT WORK...MANY THANKS
I can't thank you enought. After 10 attempts to bleed my brakes the "normal" way I wasn't able to build pressure. Doing it like this it was done in 5 minutes. Thank you so much!!
Pleased to hear it was successful. Reserve bleeding works well for the clutch line too.
Good Video. Like your channel👍👍👍
Please do this for the rear brakes plez.
Thank you so much. worked like a charm. took my 350 out for a ride and crashed lol. break works. lol
does opening the bleed valve allow air to enter the system between the caliper and the valve screw? I've noticed I have to open the valve screw quite a lot before I can start pushing fluid in. Wondering if air is getting sucked into the system. How much are you opening the bleed valve - 1/8 or 1/4 turn?
excellent! trying this tmrw. I replaced a brake line and I just can pump enough to move fluid thru..remove air.... my hands are sore!
not Working All Mastet Cylinder......Nice Info Budd....
Thanks for this, I bleed my front brake with no problems :) The rear is giving me trouble, I opened the rear fluid revisor and opened the bleed valve, but when I try to push new fluid in there is a lot of resistance. When I push harder the fluid pushes out just after the bleed valve (coming out the threads I think) do I need to open any other bolts on the brake line? what am I doing wrong?
I had this issue too, open the valve more and it should help.
Thank you so much for the trick. I spent countless hours and money buying all sort of tools but this is method works right out of the box. Do you recommend doing the same for the other caliper and the bleeder valve at the master cylinder or just one caliper is enough?
What do you think about pumping fluid in the farthest caliper and open the other caliper to push out all the air?
74 Thumbs Down?????
What is wrong with people?
Mark, you have the most informative Instructional Videos out there. Keep up the great work. Big Fan.
I do enjoy reading through the comments as well as you can pick up additional tips. Some of the complaints drive me crazy though. Reminds me of the time I was watching this History of Fleetwood Mac show on TV and there was this part where Santana was saying “ I told Peter he should have done this, he should have done that”. I almost threw the TV through the window!
Just finished the bottom end video. Couldn’t put it down. Think I will skip the actual rebuilding of the crank though. A little over my head. I’m better at taking things apart as compared to putting them back together properly.
Thanks and pleased you enjoyed the bottom end rebuild series...
Best tutorial out there
Again, Love your videos. Nice and clean work.
mine was spongy too after air got in ,just did this worked good,
Grate video. Seems a much simpler way of doing it. Cheers
Why in the fuck are you giving needed tools every bike uses different screw heads on those caps some use Allen keys some use bolts some use screws…
Hernandez Jessica Smith Patricia Brown David
brilliant.After pumping the break lever like over 100times to get the bubbles and break to firm up this is far superior method.Learn something new thank you
Pleased to hear that it helped!
brilliant - too bad none of the parts stores sell the syringes where I live. Have been looking for them ... but no luck ...
Drug stores sell the tubing and syringe
Great way of doing it!👍👍👍👍
Nice video, thanks.
It work! Tried the traditional method before, and had quite a hard time. When i tried this method, it took less than 1 min. Thank you very much.
Great, pleased to hear it worked well.
Good + 1. From singapore. Lol.
Awesome video duderacious!
I’m doing this on my hayabusa. I’m starting on the left caliper, furthest from the master cylinder. My syringe won’t push- it’s like air is stopping it from depressing and pumping fluid. What am I doing wrong?
Excellent video and nice bike, thanks!
What if you drain the system completely? Are you supposed to? You only said to remove the brake fluid from the master cylinder.
The method works the same even if the system is completely drained of fluid.
Great vid 👍 Doing the brakes on my BMW R1100RS but the ABS II unit seems to be stopping the fluid flow using a Mityvac. The front reservoir doesn’t empty at all using this method.
Hoping a reverse bleed will do the trick.
I opened my valve and took off the reservoir cap but can’t for the life of me get the oil to go in, even with a heavy duty syringe. Do anyone have any idea what could be stopping the oil from going in?
The most likely cause is that the piston in the master cylinder is not fully retracted and preventing fluid entering the reservoir from the hose.
Thankyou!
Got an old BMW K bike that's tricky to bleed the normal way. Another tip tighten a cable tie after all this on the brake lever/ handgrip overnight to sharpen up the brakes.
In your example where you are using the syringe to reverse bleed the brakes, and the system is totally empty of fluid, can you start out with a dry primary reservoir?
Yes, using the reverse bleed method it's no problem to start out with a dry brake master.
Brake cleaner is so toxic and is not needed. Use soap and water mixed in a spray bottle. Use small scrub brush when cleaning. Also, brake cleaner around the brake pads will dry them out and they will squeak horribly. Great video mate, you are the best of all time with repair videos and thank you so much for everything!!! Without your vids we would lost and doing things incorrectly, much appreciation for all your knowledge you've shared, etc.
Link to the syringe kit?
ON my motorcycles, I could not build pressure when I did traditional way, with this way it was quick,,, I think the reverse bleed for brakes and clutch is the best way, it build pressure in the system when you do it this way as well,,,,,good video
At time :02 brake fluid leaked from the brake lever housing, see it drip.
I've done this over and over with no luck. My brake handle is completely dead.
Is fluid coming up and into the brake master reservoir when you perform the reverse bleed? Was there a problem before you you tried changing the fluid?
Always remove the calliper,and pads,hang the calliper so bleed valve is at the bottom,proceed with syringe,then once all.done flick the lever a few times,add correct amount of fluid in reservoir,clean thoroughly with brake cleaner and reassemble,great vid.
Air got into a sealed system simply because the bike was turned upside down????
That makes no sense at all!
The master has a small amount of air in it at all times. You do not fully fill the master with fluid. This could make it's way into the brake line if the bike has been upside-down.
Worked beautifully, thank you
Pleased to hear that it went smoothly for you.
I can get fluid up to the master cylinder but the reservoir doesn't fill up like yours. Any ideas?
Make sure that the master cylinder piston is out (not being pushed in by the lever).
Greetings. I love your videos, which I find to be very informative. I have not had success in reverse-bleeding my 200 XC-W. I open the caliper bleed screw about 1/2-Turn and I cannot get ANY fluid to flow, no matter how hard I push on the plunger of the syringe. It bulges the silicone tubing out like a bad side-wall of an automotive tire, and NO fluid flows. I can't for the life of me figure out what I must be doing wrong. It sure looks to me like I'm doing it as you show in your video. Might you have any thoughts or suggestions on what I'm not doing right? Thanks again, Mark
The most likely cause is that the master piston is partially engaged and if so will not let fluid pass into the reservoir. Make sure that the lever position is adjusted out enough so it isn't pushing on the piston. On a side note it's important to have some free travel (spec is greater, or equal to 3mm) or you are at risk of the brake being applied when the fluid heats up.
@@TokyoOffroadthank you, Kind Sir, for your comment. Yes, actually, the piston may have actually been engaged. I had the lever adjusted all the way out, and then some, to take out the slack. The adjuster was threaded out farther than usual, which was likely applying some pre-load throught the actuator rod and onto the piston. My neighbor helped me do a tradional bleed and i now have a firm lever. I then installed a Midwest Mountain Engineering shorty lever and it works well. I was originally discouraged about the little "free play" I have with that setup, but your explanation makes sense and I'll keep it that way. I will re-attempt this the next time it's needed. Thanks again for all you do, especially the personal reply, SO helpful!! Peace!
How does the air traped in the upper part of caliper travel down to brake line that enters the caliper at its middle to go upstream to fluid reservoir?
i tried this method and the syringe is very hard to press and no fluid is getting in.
Should i zip tie the brake lever ?
If no fluid is getting in the most likely causes are either the brake caliper bleed valve is not open, or the brake master piston is not fully disengaged (make sure that the brake lever is adjusted out and not pushing the master piston in).
One thing I noticed in just about all these videos is, you guys always do the front brake. One man brake job, please show doing the rear brake.
Always wash and dry the cap and rubber separately as it will now seep out over the next few weeks and then destroy your master cylinder from the outside in. A typical bike shop mistake
You will get some leakage at the bleeder with this method because the bleader's threads are not fully sealed. Maybe wrap the threades with tefelon tape before starting. You might find that a bit of safety wire twisted about the tube at the bleeder makes a more secure connection. Always have a wet shop rad handy when messing with brake fluid.
What if the hand brake wont allow the fluid to flow in reverse? I loosen the upper banjo bolt and reverse flow pushes fluid UP. When I re-tighten the upper banjo bolt then its impossible to push bleed plunger in at all. Seems like something wrong internal to the master. Thinking next I remove the hand lever again and the clip to pull out the plunger to see whats wrong in there. There was a bunch of crud in the resoviour - maybe some got into a valve. Other ideas ? I tried a hand vacuum on the end of the bleeder and that only sucks fluid out - does nothing to restore brake. - Yes, im guilty of allowing the KTM to gather dust in the garage for years. Next is carb flush, tank flush. Learned to NEVER take a tank to a commercial spray off car wash - the pressure inside the tank split up open my honda XR tank.
Yes, if fluid can not pass up in to the master something is wrong. When the mater piston is fully released fluid should be able to pass from the slave to the master. Either the piston is not fully released, or the master is clogged up with debris.
Im gonna try this today,i rebuilt my brake calipers and i cant bleed it properly even with a vacuum pump,hopefully this works
Can you do this when bleeding hydraulic clutch aswell?
Yes, the same method can be used for the clutch and rear brake too.
i did this yesterday ( great and easy method ).
Would you make any special modifications to the brake line while bleeding as on my 2013 KTM 300 xc the brake line sticks up and over the master cylinder at any angle the bars are at. Sometimes I'll loosen the top banjo bolt so the line is angled lower than horizontal then reposition once I've bled the system.
Cable tie in ENGLISH
This is a good method for single brakes, but I don't think it will work so well for twin brake calipers, since you won't know when you have old or new oil in the reservoir. This is easier to see when you push through from the top as you will see the new oil colour in the pipe.
Choob
Fantastic video , can i ask you where you got the rubber hose from it seems really good quality. Cheers .
Used this method today. After doing some research the internet is riddled with brake bleeding horror stories, and I was hesitant to do it on my own. This method was so easy and worked instantly. I have piggybacked brake lines on my front, and worked from the furthest path to cylinder, I didnt even have to inject from the 2 nd closest. I found the rear brake had a bit of air, maybe because its on a horizontal plane. But i then after did the normal method of squeeze-open-close, and it got rid of any bubbles. This IS the best way to bleed brakes for flushing or new lines.
Awesome! What size ID tube are you using if I might ask?
Thanks! The tube (silicone) internal diameter is 4mm
Tokyo Offroad thank you
@@TokyoOffroadthanks for the info, saved me buying a few sizes to trial 👌
can we apply the same technique to rear brake?
Yes, I do the same method on both ends, front and back.
you know...I wonder if this method will work on car's...great video
quiet spongy hahahha how did ya notice pmsl..cheers for the vid tho im on doing mine now
I much prefer this method. Same as doing it on a bicycle, much easier and faster than pumping the lever 1000 times
What could be the problem if this method just doesn't work at all? I did everything just like that and the fluid just slowly drips from under the bleed bolt, the reservoir doesn't fill at all and the lever doesn't become stiffer.
Make sure that the brake lever is fully out (disengaged). If not fluid will not be able to pass round the piston.
The brake lever still looks spongy though!
If it's still spongy it means there's still some air left in the system. I always bleed until it doesn't feel spongy...
Spanner in ENGLIAH
You want to check the level of fluid compared to the amount of wear on the brake pads. That way when you change pads you won’t over flow the master when you compress the pistons.
Tried this, and like another commenter, I couldn’t get the fluid to push to the cylinders, it just wanted to come out the bleeder screw threads. Also, I’m glad it didn’t work because my front bleeder had a bunch of dirt in it and by bleeding down from the master, it flushed all the dirt out instead of into the system. So if you do this method, make sure your bleeders are cleaned out. This reverse method did work great for me on the clutch though.
If you can’t push fluid up it indicates that the master piston is not in the correct position (is not fully out), or something is broken. Yes, it’s important to clean off any dirt from the nipple before reverse bleed. If the nipple cap has stayed on all the time during use it should be clean inside. Pleased to hear it worked well for your clutch.
Would this method eliminate the need to bench bleed master cylinder on a car?
great video thanks !
Glad you liked it!
Funguje skvele...odporucam! Husqvarna TC 610....Brembo brake system😉
If you were just bleeding the system and not filling a dry line, would you still use this method? The bottom couple inches of fluid always seem to be the darkest. Bleeding using this method would push the bad fluid through the entire system ?
Yes, I still use reverse bleeding for replacing fluid. So long as you replace all of the fluid I don’t think there should be a concern. AFAIK the discoloration is due to heat rather than contamination so I think this is a non issue.
Hi, I have two front calipers. Do I do this on both of them or one side is fine? Please help anyone? Coz with the conventional way I usually bleed both sides. Thank you
You can still reverse bleed even if you have two calipers. Just do one side then the other. The advantage is air goes up and bleeding is very easy and quick.