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RE: Power bleeder

To: <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Subject: RE: Power bleeder
From: "Wayne Farrington" <w.farrington@verizon.net>
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 20:34:19 -0700
I swear by my power bleeder. I road race a 4th gen Camaro that has a braking
system that is a royal pia to get bled properly. I have tried the vacuum
pumps, the speed bleeders (these really did not work well at all), and the
good old fashioned pump the pedal with the kids foot while I ran around to
each of the calipers. None of these even comes remotely close to the
effectiveness of the power bleeder. I usually bleed the brakes at least
once, sometimes twice during a race weekend and will bleed before the car
gets put on the trailer for the tow to the track. This includes bleeding the
abs unit as well.

The unit I use is a KD tools unit I believe. It has a gauge, shut off valve,
and quick disconnect at the end of the hose. The shut off valve is really
nice as it lessons the mess when disconnecting from the reservoir and you
don't have to bleed off the air from the tank. At first I tried the
universal adapter for the reservoir cap. It was awkward to use and a waste
of money, never could get it to seal properly. I then made a cap per the
instructions on the internet. Another waste of money and time. It would
never seal properly along the edge of the lip on the cap. I fussed with that
thing for one weekend and threw it in the trash.

Finally purchased a machined aluminum screw on cap specifically made for the
Corvette and Camaros reservoir. Worked like an absolute charm, seals tight
every time and holds the 35 psi I use to bleed with. I think it was $20 or
so. This whole set up was expensive.... like $200 expensive if I remember
correctly. But it has absolutely been worth every penny I paid for it. I
don't know about you guys but I hate bleeding brakes and this tool helps me
get the job done quickly and effectively. My bleeder is very popular amongst
my racing colleagues as they struggle to get a good bleed with the
aforementioned methods. Then finally give up and borrow my pressure bleeder.
One of the really nice things is it allows me to bleed the brakes by myself
on those weekends when I don't have any crew help.

The only drawback I have found so far is it can be a bit wasteful of brake
fluid. I keep it full enough that it will not run dry during a bleed and
cause me to start over. This is about 3 quarts or so. At the end of each
season any fluid left in the tank is thrown out and new fluid is used
starting the next season.

So, yeah I like pressure bleeders... :)

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