I bought the power bleeder and it worked okay for the first bleed after replacing my master cylinder, wheel cylinders brake lines and rubber hoses. I had a firm pedal after bleeding but when I road tested, I still had to pump the brake to stop. I repeated the process with visible sign of air in the lines. Then, I went back to the old-school process of having someone pump the brake as I bled them. The line from the bleeder did show a measurable amount of air bubbles during this process, especially from the right front brake.
I Do Know What It Felt Like When The Air Cooled Volkswagen Was New Because I've Been A Mechanic Since The Early 70's And Worked For Volkswagen And Audi Dealers For 33 Years Starting In 1973 And Had Plenty Of My Own Beetles And Did Hundreds Of PDI Prep And Delivery Inspections On Brand New Air Cooled Volkswagens. I Still Have All The Special Factory Tools For Service And Repair Of Those Cars. If You Came Into My Home Shop You Would Surely Know I Was A VW GUY .
Fantastic video! Tried the vacuum method and it worked at first but then it always crept some small bubbles past. Couldn’t figure it out. Now I know, thanks!!
Thanks for the tip!!! That explains why it took me forever to bleed the brakes on my Beetle with one of those vacuum bleeders. Keep it up!!! New fan here from the Philippines. 👍😃
Very informative video. I use the same Motive pressure bleeder tool,on mine and have found it works well to get most of the air out, but not all. I think when the master cylinder pistons are depressed through the old-school two-person bleeding method, it reduces the space inside the master cylinder, which forces more of the hidden pockets of air to move through the lines and out.
Interesting theory @SimiNelsonFamily, that could be. I've used it on my bus and bug, both with dual circuit MCs and gotten different results, which makes me think there's something I'm missing about the brake system condition. The bus has a rock hard pedal compared to the bug, but both work well. After having changed the hoses, my next step is to check the drum thickness. Always a learning process.
Oh Brent, you are so kind. Not even a bad word for the hypothetical brake bleeding assistant. LOL When someone offers to help bleed brakes it's hard to say no but it's hard to say yes too. You don't want to throw them under the bus literally and hope they don't settle for "a few bubbles is good enough" but also trusting them to be as vigorous with pumping the pedal as you want/need is also tough to hand over. I might need to look into one of these pressure bottles. I tend to drive around with spongy brakes until a trusted fellow vintage driver can be secured for the task.
That's why you have your "helper" do the easy stuff like simply pumping the brakes and/or making sure the reservoir doesn't get low, even a teenager can do something so menial. If your still on the edge, then you probably need to relax on someone's couch and have a talk.
Great video! I was worried about the air bubbles coming into the brake reservoir from the power bleeder hose, but you clarified that point and affirmed that the air will not get into the system. Eased my fears!
Thanks for the tip. I just ordered one using your link. Wifey is not a fan of helping me bleed the brakes so gotta depend on myself and the right tools. Hoping to buy another adapter to use on my water cooled vw and other cars in the future.
Great explanation about the piston seals and why vacuum may not work. Even on my disc brakes I've had to pack around the bleeder screw with silly puddy to keep the vacuum from drawing air from around the threads. Pressure bleeder in cart. Thanks for another great video. ✌️
I am happy that it work on your vw. the adapter on the reservoir, leaked all over for me what a mess! no matter what I did that rubber seals doesn't fit well I even tried making one, still no luck any suggestions let me know I would apricate the input before i send it all back
Sorry to hear you're having trouble @The123Christop but thanks for letting me know. I'm sure it's frustrating. A buddy of mine had the same issue you describe. I don't have any relationship with Motive but I'd like to know what is going on and will look into it for you. What adapter and reservoir (year/model of car) are you using?
This might work for me because I'm having a hell of a time trying to bleed my break system on my 66 beetle. All of the lines and system are brand new and I've bench bled the master and I can get pedal pressure just not enough
Cool, I hope it works well for you too. I also think mine could be better in comparison to how firm my '67 bus brakes are (also bled with the power bleeder). Will be investigating the pushrod length next. Good luck!
Thanks Vocho, even NEW master cylinders are suspect but this time we found some drama elsewhere. I'll catch up on a few other videos and then post an update to this one. Thanks for watching!
Thanks Tom, I scanned through the video to see what you noticed- if it's around 13:36 , I think that is just leakage from the loosened bleeder valve. But... you're on to something. We did find some drama on the two front wheel cylinders that we'll share in an update video. Thanks for watching!
G'day, Very interesting video. I've actually not long purchased one of these bleeders I just haven't used it yet. I'd be checking for contaminated rear shoes. I know you have weep holes but it's a start. It will be interesting what you eventually find. ✌️ Peace from Melbourne Australia.
Thanks and good thinking Kevin- spoiler alert here; we opened things up and found some small issues, plus replaced some parts to fix the problem. Stay tuned!
I was always led to believe that storing any unused fresh fluid would become contaminated with moisture in a short period of time, what are your thoughts on that?
Hey Steve, thanks for the question. I would agree if it was left unsealed, but feel it would have a reasonable shelf life if you keep the cap on tight. It gives you an idea of how important it is that we flush our lines routinely; the reservoir's fluid level fluctuates during normal use, which just moves air in and out of the reservoir above the fill line. That's a regular source of humidity to be absorbed by the fluid there. With that in mind I'd be more comfortable with the resealed partial bottle of clean fluid than the old stuff in the system!
Hi @prius74, they're said to be compatible but DOT4 has a higher boiling point. I've also read that DOT3 absorbs less moisture from humidity than DOT4, but they are both hygroscopic. I would just use DOT3, but the Valvoline brake fluid I use says "DOT 3&4" on it, so who knows?!?
when I use my vacuum blender I use a hood rod to hold the brake pedal half way pressed, would that work to open the seal and vacuum bleed easier or does that seal not move when being compressed?
Interesting about mimimizing brake shoe clearance. Used to usingthe Motive for a 4 wheel disc brake car but an older vintage car with front discs and rear drums sounds like the rear brake shoes should be altered before hand like your brake drummed VW?
Hey Eric, thanks for watching. Sorry I'm not sure about other vehicles but I do use this unit on a vintage RV with disc front and drum rear. Other than locking a proportioning valve, I don't have to adjust the drums (it's a '75 P30 chassis). It has a self adjusting feature that keeps up with wear on the shoes which may have something to do with it. These old VW brake shoes are adjusted manually. Good luck with your project!
Yeah Max, that's a very real possibility. I changed these with some from WW and had some improvement, but still not the same as the bus brakes. Thanks again for watching!
Brent, what would be the correct model number of this power bleeder to fit the cap on my 69 beetle? I noticed there are several model numbers available. Thanks for the great video!
Hey Charlie, that sounds like the right one with the model 1104 adapter. I have an affiliate link to that combination in the description if you'd like to use it. Thanks for watching!
Hi Jeff, thanks for the question. I had a good opportunity to use DOT5 in Dweezil because the entire brake system was replaced when the chassis was rebuilt (it's important not to mix the silicon DOT5 with glycol based fluids, including DOT5.1). I opted to stick with DOT3 because that is in several other vehicles I maintain. Other than that it seems a worthy upgrade as long as the labeling is clear.
That wouldn't have been Bosch brake fluid would it? I replaced brake lines on my Mazda B-4000 (1997 Ranger) and refilled with Bosch fancy fluid which turns out it is much thinner and works ok in winter, but in summer I get lots of fade. May have a bubble in the proportioning valve because I didn't bench bleed it, but the summer/winter difference is large with this DOT 5 by Bosch.
Did you replace your soft lines when you did this project? That can cause squishyness. Other than that that should be everything. Maybe replace the pads and drums those are the only other components other than metal lines and cylinders.
Hey Darrin, thanks for the question. It can be recycled on an industrial level when it's not considered a hazardous material (the definition depends on who you ask). I doubt there is a practical way to renew it at the home shop level; debris, solvent contamination, and moisture absorption would be hard to resolve. Thanks for watching!
That makes sense, especially for a quick maintenance bleed. Recently I've been putting a quart or more through while flushing but I'll keep that trick in mind for future needs. Thanks Jim!
Hey Mike! The brakes are fine now after refurbing and replacing some other parts then a good re-bleed of the system. Will post an update after the LED Fog Lamp video. Thanks for asking!
I never realized how clean your bug is. Very nice! A lot of great info in this video!
Thanks @dubworldvwadventures!
I bought the power bleeder and it worked okay for the first bleed after replacing my master cylinder, wheel cylinders brake lines and rubber hoses. I had a firm pedal after bleeding but when I road tested, I still had to pump the brake to stop. I repeated the process with visible sign of air in the lines. Then, I went back to the old-school process of having someone pump the brake as I bled them. The line from the bleeder did show a measurable amount of air bubbles during this process, especially from the right front brake.
I Do Know What It Felt Like When The Air Cooled Volkswagen Was New Because I've Been A Mechanic Since The Early 70's And Worked For Volkswagen And Audi Dealers For 33 Years Starting In 1973 And Had Plenty Of My Own Beetles And Did Hundreds Of PDI Prep And Delivery Inspections On Brand New Air Cooled Volkswagens. I Still Have All The Special Factory Tools For Service And Repair Of Those Cars. If You Came Into My Home Shop You Would Surely Know I Was A VW GUY .
I love how thorough you are with these videos! Every step with nice tips and tricks.
Thanks FeveredMindProps!
Fantastic video! Tried the vacuum method and it worked at first but then it always crept some small bubbles past. Couldn’t figure it out. Now I know, thanks!!
Thanks @AndersVestlund I'm glad you got it figured out!
I thought I was smart buying a vacuum bleeder for my 73 Bug. Thanks for the explanation on how the cylinders work!
Thanks for the tip!!! That explains why it took me forever to bleed the brakes on my Beetle with one of those vacuum bleeders. Keep it up!!! New fan here from the Philippines. 👍😃
Great to have you with us CJ, I'm glad this is helpful to you. Thanks for watching!
Very informative video. I use the same Motive pressure bleeder tool,on mine and have found it works well to get most of the air out, but not all. I think when the master cylinder pistons are depressed through the old-school two-person bleeding method, it reduces the space inside the master cylinder, which forces more of the hidden pockets of air to move through the lines and out.
Interesting theory @SimiNelsonFamily, that could be. I've used it on my bus and bug, both with dual circuit MCs and gotten different results, which makes me think there's something I'm missing about the brake system condition. The bus has a rock hard pedal compared to the bug, but both work well. After having changed the hoses, my next step is to check the drum thickness. Always a learning process.
Great video and excellent instructions on bleeding brakes. I love your attention to detail and thoroughness
Thanks Aussie Beatle, this was fun to share.
Oh Brent, you are so kind. Not even a bad word for the hypothetical brake bleeding assistant. LOL When someone offers to help bleed brakes it's hard to say no but it's hard to say yes too. You don't want to throw them under the bus literally and hope they don't settle for "a few bubbles is good enough" but also trusting them to be as vigorous with pumping the pedal as you want/need is also tough to hand over. I might need to look into one of these pressure bottles. I tend to drive around with spongy brakes until a trusted fellow vintage driver can be secured for the task.
Yeah, it's a simple tool that solves complex interpersonal challenges. They should put that on the box. Thanks for watching Atomicmellon!
That's why you have your "helper" do the easy stuff like simply pumping the brakes and/or making sure the reservoir doesn't get low, even a teenager can do something so menial. If your still on the edge, then you probably need to relax on someone's couch and have a talk.
Great video! I was worried about the air bubbles coming into the brake reservoir from the power bleeder hose, but you clarified that point and affirmed that the air will not get into the system. Eased my fears!
i was thinking the same thing. Some videos on youtube tell you to prime the hose to push away all the air before screw it on
Thanks for the tip. I just ordered one using your link. Wifey is not a fan of helping me bleed the brakes so gotta depend on myself and the right tools. Hoping to buy another adapter to use on my water cooled vw and other cars in the future.
Great explanation about the piston seals and why vacuum may not work. Even on my disc brakes I've had to pack around the bleeder screw with silly puddy to keep the vacuum from drawing air from around the threads. Pressure bleeder in cart. Thanks for another great video. ✌️
Thanks CJ! Makes sense the vacuum bleeder would have that Catch-22. I trust this method will work well for you!
Hi, Brent as always Interesting videos.🇺🇸👍🏻 will help a lot of VW owners, thanks for sharing🙏🏻🤗☮🇳🇴🇳🇱. Greetings.Hubertus
Thanks Hubertus, always great to hear from you!
I am happy that it work on your vw. the adapter on the reservoir, leaked all over for me what a mess! no matter what I did that rubber seals doesn't fit well I even tried making one, still no luck any suggestions let me know I would apricate the input before i send it all back
Sorry to hear you're having trouble @The123Christop but thanks for letting me know. I'm sure it's frustrating. A buddy of mine had the same issue you describe. I don't have any relationship with Motive but I'd like to know what is going on and will look into it for you. What adapter and reservoir (year/model of car) are you using?
This might work for me because I'm having a hell of a time trying to bleed my break system on my 66 beetle. All of the lines and system are brand new and I've bench bled the master and I can get pedal pressure just not enough
Cool, I hope it works well for you too. I also think mine could be better in comparison to how firm my '67 bus brakes are (also bled with the power bleeder). Will be investigating the pushrod length next. Good luck!
Given the fact that the brakes did not get better, I'd say the master cylinder needs to be replaced, especially if the wheel cylinders are new.
Thanks Vocho, even NEW master cylinders are suspect but this time we found some drama elsewhere. I'll catch up on a few other videos and then post an update to this one. Thanks for watching!
@@HapticGarage Definitely looking forward to the update!!!!!
Great info.👍 Need to save funds to buy one of those.
Thanks Vintage 76, I hope that works out for you. I'm sure I'll wear mine out at some point!
Enjoying and learning from your videos. I think I see brake fluid leaking from within the front left hub.
Thanks Tom, I scanned through the video to see what you noticed- if it's around 13:36 , I think that is just leakage from the loosened bleeder valve. But... you're on to something. We did find some drama on the two front wheel cylinders that we'll share in an update video. Thanks for watching!
Good stuff! Thanks.
Thanks Reggie!
Got that tool years ago for my bug. But my biggest issue was having to bench bleed master cylinder first.
Yup, that's a thing. It was bench bled originally but -spoiler alert- it was bench bled again in the follow up. Thanks for watching Jason!
G'day,
Very interesting video. I've actually not long purchased one of these bleeders I just haven't used it yet.
I'd be checking for contaminated rear shoes. I know you have weep holes but it's a start.
It will be interesting what you eventually find.
✌️ Peace from Melbourne Australia.
Thanks and good thinking Kevin- spoiler alert here; we opened things up and found some small issues, plus replaced some parts to fix the problem. Stay tuned!
@@HapticGarage
You're not going to leave me hanging are you.
Who, me?!?
@@HapticGarage 🤣
That thing works
Good video!
Thanks @veedubcrazy!
I was always led to believe that storing any unused fresh fluid would become contaminated with moisture in a short period of time, what are your thoughts on that?
Hey Steve, thanks for the question. I would agree if it was left unsealed, but feel it would have a reasonable shelf life if you keep the cap on tight. It gives you an idea of how important it is that we flush our lines routinely; the reservoir's fluid level fluctuates during normal use, which just moves air in and out of the reservoir above the fill line. That's a regular source of humidity to be absorbed by the fluid there. With that in mind I'd be more comfortable with the resealed partial bottle of clean fluid than the old stuff in the system!
Did you post the resolution to your brake problem?
Any updates on how this turned out?
Question? Old school Vw's, what is best to use... Dot 3 or Dot 4? Thanks
Hi @prius74, they're said to be compatible but DOT4 has a higher boiling point. I've also read that DOT3 absorbs less moisture from humidity than DOT4, but they are both hygroscopic. I would just use DOT3, but the Valvoline brake fluid I use says "DOT 3&4" on it, so who knows?!?
when I use my vacuum blender I use a hood rod to hold the brake pedal half way pressed, would that work to open the seal and vacuum bleed easier or does that seal not move when being compressed?
Interesting about mimimizing brake shoe clearance. Used to usingthe Motive for a 4 wheel disc brake car but an older vintage car with front discs and rear drums sounds like the rear brake shoes should be altered before hand like your brake drummed VW?
Hey Eric, thanks for watching. Sorry I'm not sure about other vehicles but I do use this unit on a vintage RV with disc front and drum rear. Other than locking a proportioning valve, I don't have to adjust the drums (it's a '75 P30 chassis). It has a self adjusting feature that keeps up with wear on the shoes which may have something to do with it. These old VW brake shoes are adjusted manually. Good luck with your project!
Any chance the spongy response is due to elasticity in the hoses to the front wheel cylinders? Just a notion.
Great video!!
Thanks!!
Yeah Max, that's a very real possibility. I changed these with some from WW and had some improvement, but still not the same as the bus brakes. Thanks again for watching!
Brent, what would be the correct model number of this power bleeder to fit the cap on my 69 beetle? I noticed there are several model numbers available. Thanks for the great video!
PS: Looks like it takes a 0104 kit. 27 MM inner diameter reservoir cap. 1104 adapter
Hey Charlie, that sounds like the right one with the model 1104 adapter. I have an affiliate link to that combination in the description if you'd like to use it. Thanks for watching!
Hi Brent have you used DOT 5 brake fluid? I run it in my Super Beetle. Pedal does not feel firm, but it won't harm pain and will not absorb water.
Hi Jeff, thanks for the question. I had a good opportunity to use DOT5 in Dweezil because the entire brake system was replaced when the chassis was rebuilt (it's important not to mix the silicon DOT5 with glycol based fluids, including DOT5.1). I opted to stick with DOT3 because that is in several other vehicles I maintain. Other than that it seems a worthy upgrade as long as the labeling is clear.
That wouldn't have been Bosch brake fluid would it? I replaced brake lines on my Mazda B-4000 (1997 Ranger) and refilled with Bosch fancy fluid which turns out it is much thinner and works ok in winter, but in summer I get lots of fade. May have a bubble in the proportioning valve because I didn't bench bleed it, but the summer/winter difference is large with this DOT 5 by Bosch.
This is interesting
Thanks @VW-BEETLE-OVAL-1955 !
Did you replace your soft lines when you did this project? That can cause squishyness. Other than that that should be everything. Maybe replace the pads and drums those are the only other components other than metal lines and cylinders.
You're on to something San Diego VW Life, rubber lines are a big part of how this ends. Thanks for watching!
Is there any way to recycle old brake fluid and use it again?
Hey Darrin, thanks for the question. It can be recycled on an industrial level when it's not considered a hazardous material (the definition depends on who you ask). I doubt there is a practical way to renew it at the home shop level; debris, solvent contamination, and moisture absorption would be hard to resolve. Thanks for watching!
My friend just keeps the fluid full in the reservoir and pumps it up. No fluid in the bleeder.
That makes sense, especially for a quick maintenance bleed. Recently I've been putting a quart or more through while flushing but I'll keep that trick in mind for future needs. Thanks Jim!
Hey Brent, any updates on your brake situation. I.e. soft peddle
Hey Mike! The brakes are fine now after refurbing and replacing some other parts then a good re-bleed of the system. Will post an update after the LED Fog Lamp video. Thanks for asking!
Did you figure out the problem?
I've had my best luck just letting gravity be my helper
I'm a fan of gravity bleeding too, particularly on an empty system when I'm not in a hurry. Lots of ways to get it done!
Better get pressure up I think with new master cylinder pressure up finally got sponge off pedal for me.