Gunsons Eezibleed

If the fluid has been changed regularly then the master cylinder will be fine inside and there will be no danger in fully pressing the pedal. If not then it is quite possible to tear the seals on internal rust (I have seen this for certain twice)

Pressure bleeding is great as long as the pressure is low (too high will lead to leaks from the seal at the cap of the master cylinder)

I've got one and find it very useful.

A couple of gotchas.

Do make sure the lid you replace the master cylinder one is correctly fitted and sealed. They can be easy to cross thread - especially if the master cylinder is in an awkward place. If it doesn't seal, fluid goes everywhere.

Do reduce the spare tyre to about 15 psi. Too much pressure and the push on tubes can push off - with again fluid everywhere.

Do keep an eye on the fluid level - all too easy to run out and have to start again. Drain the old fluid into a similar sized container as the reservoir gives an indication of how much you've run through.

Fluid will run through the system from the MC to callipers without pressure.

You may want to just use a piece of tube over the bleed nipple and run that into a jar. Open the nipple then wait for the new fluid to appear and shut off the nipple. do the same to the opposite side.

Start at the shortest distance (rhs)

Make sure the reservoir is full and does not empty.

Are you sure? A *very* long time ago I had a car where one corner wouldn't bleed by the pedal method (after a slave cylinder change). It had a big inverted U tube around the wheel arch and I concluded that you couldn't move the bubbles far enough in one pedal stroke, so that they made their way back to the "airlock". That was when I bought my Gunson! Like Dave P, I reckon they save a lot of work but *do* follow his advice about pressure and sealing.

I found it to be crap. It's 3x the price of a simple easy bleed kit.

I use a Vizibleed Brake bleeder with a one way valve on a tube that dips in the discard fluid bottle. The rubber tube with plastic strap they supplied was useless, I just put the clear plastic tube on the nipple. One man job, pump 8 steady strokes, go look for clean fluid and no air in the clear pipe. Top up reservoir and repeat or move to next caliper. It's now over 20 years old.

Only time I've had problems is when doing front brakes only and pumped master cylinder empty - thought it would take 10-12 strokes. With nose of car on stands and rear on floor I couldn't get air out of MBC.

Valves in bleed nipples are available but cost silly money. £80 a set of 4.

You weren't using it right.

And more than 3x better.

When we did disks, pads and rear cylinders and shoes the other day on daughters Corsa we used a modified pesticide spray to act as a pressure bleeder and I think it worked ok.

I say 'think' because I'm not sure if what we currently have is a fully bled system or not yet (not sure if the lack of breaking efficiency and pedal firmness is some residual air or the new shoes (more so than the new pads) bedding into the 175K miles drums?

We had both rear hoses clamped off (and the hose ends capped off as soon as we removed them from the old cylinders) until we had the reservoir filled and under (low) pressure then we removed the hose clamps and cracked open the nipples (one at a time). Initially nothing happened (as it was filling the cylinder) and then we observed a gentle trickle of fluid after that had run for a few seconds we nipped the nipple up. Same process the other side.

However, had we lost any fluid from the rubber hose and the pip to the cylinder I'm not sure the flow would have been sufficient to chase any air from downward facing hoses / pipes?

My mate did say we could pop it back on the ramp if it didn't feel like it was improving after a few days so I might do that at the next opportunity and possibly go back to my preferred 'hose in a jar' method [1]. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] If I can't find my production bleed kit / pipe I normally just block up the end of a piece of silicone tube with a suitable bolt (also acts as a weight to hold the pipe in a jar) and then cut a small slit down the pipe near the end to act as a non-return valve.

You need to take a couple of precautions to ensure that you don't inject ae rated fluid. Fill the bottle several hours before you use it, during which time the hose s should be kept elevated, or the fluid can syphon out. This allows time fo r the rising of all trapped air bubbles, many of which may be too small to see, but still count. Fill the master fluid to the brim, again hours before the job. This ensures that new fluid entering the reservoir can't mix air into the fluid already there. Even with a brand new unit used at the correct pressure, you may notice air escaping from the cap around the fluid hose joint. You can forestall this problem (preferably before the unit ever sees fluid) by sealing the joint a round the inside of the cap with silicone sealant.

From one who has used Eazibleed (and bled more braking systems than I can recall) in the past - I have never read such bloody rubbish.

+1

Or didn't have the right tops for a Honda Civic or Chevy Kalos.

That's possible - but ISTR them saying they had others not in the kit available at a reasonable price. It obviously depends on a properly sealed master cylinder lid to work - and makes that clear in the instructions.

I stand by every word and have used the system for decades.

If you just fill the bottle and hook it up straight away, you will be feedi ng aerated fluid into the reservoir. If the reservoir isn't completely full , the stream of fluid entering the reservoir will fall onto the surface of the fluid already in it, thereby mixing air into it. Both those effects wil l compromise the operation.

What part of the above do you dispute?

I have also been bleeding brakes for decades; 50 of them to be precise.

I have *never* encountered a situation where I needed to carry out the procedures you have outlined in order to prevent aerated fluid entering the system from a new container.

Chris

You're 500 years old?

when I ran a shop, many customers would pick up a bottle of brake fluid and shake it as they came to the counter, I would tell them that they should put it to the back or leave it to stand for a day before use.

The master cylinder is vented to the air. Why doesn't that absorb air too? Of course I'm not suggesting you shake up the new stuff like taking medicine.

motorbikes have a useful idea, above the fluid was a rubber bellows so the fluid was not vented to the air, it probably also helped to avoid vibration induced aeration.

Methusela Braking Company.