Brake bleeding advice

[MadRiver]

Before putting my car away for the winter, I replaced the BDWA -- unsuccessfully, by the way, because they don't make a seal kit for the cup seals on TR-250 BDWAs. So, mine continues to leak. I'm now armed with a TR-6 BDWA and a rebuild kit, and I'm ready to tackle the job again.

My question is this. When I bled the brakes last time around, I used a Mityvac from Moss (the grey unit with the pressure gauge on top). I'd put the hose directly on a bleeder valve (without any of the attachments -- they just didn't fit), build up a bit of pressure, and then turn the valve to open it. I repeated at every wheel and was pretty sure I wasn't getting air bubbles in the fluid. However, every time I'd still get a squishy peddle that had to be pumped a few times to get good pressure. Am I missing something or doing something wrong? I've never done this operation before with the vac unit -- I usually do the "buddy system" approach. Any advice on how to successfully conquor this with the Mityvac? I think I may be getting air through the PDWA, so perhaps when I resolve that, it will fix the issue.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Guest]

Hey Bill,
Throw the Mityvac away. They really are pretty useless. No substitute for the buddy system. I even call my wife "my buddy" when I need her to pump the brakes.
My TR6 PDWA was shot so I substituted a brand new one I found from a Spitfire (I think) for my old one. Had to rebend a few pipes but it works great. Why the Spit unit was so much larger than my original is a mystery to me.

Bill

 

[DNK]

Bill, If you still have the original ,I have heard you can find seals all over for them.
don

 

[tr6web]

My wife is my buddy too. She's helped me bleed my brakes a number of times. Rear first then I got around to the front. Then I messed with them some more and she helped bleed them again. I tried the Mityvac and it stinks. Waste of $30. Time with wife...priceless.

 

[jerrybny]

I use the Vizibleed Hydraulic Bleeder on my TR6 and it works great. I even use it on my 2 sons quads and it works great there too. It was only 15 bucks.

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi,

I installed Speed Bleeders throughout. My TR4 used two sets of RUS-639600 from www.summitracing.com, probably the same size would fit your TR250. The car is not back on the road yet, so I can't say if I like the Speed Bleeders or not. But, I know a lot of people swear by them.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[RobT]

I installed the SpeedBleeders on my TR250 also and love them. Used a Minivac, with a home-made jam-jar based vacuume bottle and was able to bleed the brakes without any problem - even using Dot 5 Silicone, which seems to have higher viscosity and tends to trap bubbles more easily than mineral fluid.

Rob.

 

[Mickey Richaud]

I tried one of those vacuum bleeder devices, and found it difficult to use. Too much air was being drawn in at the bleeder, so it wasn't very effective.

Enter the wife, and a story I've got to tell on ourselves: She sat in the driver's seat and worked the pedal, while I did the bleeding under the car. My workshop is at the back of our lot, not too far from the neighbors' houses. As we progressed with the bleeding, I would tell her repeatedly, "Faster... hold it... Is it any harder?"

We later hoped that no one was close enough to hear all that!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif Mickey

 

[MadRiver]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi,

I installed Speed Bleeders throughout. My TR4 used two sets of RUS-639600 from www.summitracing.com, probably the same size would fit your TR250. The car is not back on the road yet, so I can't say if I like the Speed Bleeders or not. But, I know a lot of people swear by them.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Clever little device. Makes perfect sense, really. I'm sure we've all thought about this at one time or another!

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has used them on a TR, and also, what size they used on a pre-metric Triumph.

I may just get some today. This is why I love this forum! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[RobT]

For TR250 brakes (pre-metric) you will need the 3/8 x 24 speedbleeders - Item # SB3824

And here is a link to their website:

https://speedbleeder.zoovy.com/

Rob.

 

[MadRiver]

Thanks! I appreciate it!

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi all,

Regarding DOT5, it tends to get a lot of air bubbles trapped in it when it's poured. To avoid as many air bubbles as possible, try standing an old screwdriver upright in the master cyl. reservoir and gently pouring the fluid so it runs down the screwdriver blade. That will help prevent a lot of the air bubbles that can be so hard to get out.

I don't use DOT5 in my own vehicles for a number of reasons, but have used the above method with DOT5 on other folks cars to make bleeding *far easier*. Even doing this, it's still a good idea to go back and re-bleed DOT5 once or twice, a couple days later, to chase out any elusive air bubbles.

Hmmm. Speed Bleeders or a wife? Wife or Speed Bleeders? I guess it's a toss up... advantages and disadvantages to both, I suppose. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

(Hey, it just occured to me. Treat your wife wrong and, depending on her temperment, a husband could become a Speed Bleeder himself!)

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[MadRiver]

[ QUOTE ]
(Hey, it just occured to me. Treat your wife wrong and, depending on her temperment, a husband could become a Speed Bleeder himself!)

[/ QUOTE ]

I can confirm that this is the case! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif