Hello,

I bought the Motive bleeder and finally got around to bleeding the brakes on my 1996 4runner with 87,000 miles. As far as I know, the brake system has never been flushed before.

I pumped the bleeder up to 10 psi and started to bleed my brakes. I noticed that some air bubbles were coming out of the bleeders. I ran out of fluid before I could get all of the bubbles out; however, the bubbles showed no signs of reduction. It seemed that the more I drained, the more the bubbles would come out.

I'm confused about what to do. The brakes seem to be working as good or better than before the flush. I just don't know what to think about all of the air bubbles. Should I buy a gallon of brake fluid from Walmart and flush untill there are no air bubbles? Are some air bubbles OK? Is it possible that I unscrewed the bleeders too far and allowed air to mix with outgoing fluid?

Any Ideas?

Thanks,

Craig

 

Yes that is quite possible, I had that exact problem the first time I tried to bleed brakes a long time ago.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. The brakes are working as good as before with no sponginess so I guess I was sucking air from somewhere around the bleeder.

I just got off of the phone with Motive. Their suggested source of the bubbles is the drain hose - bleeder nipple junction. Motive was very phone friendly. I give them a big thumbs-up.

 

Yes, more than likely you are opening the bleeders so far that air is coming in via the threads and looks like air bubbles in the fluid. Once the fluid starts coming out clean you should just open them enough for fluid to come out the clear hose and then you can watch for air bubbles. More than likely, if the pedal feels normal, then you don't have any to worry about.

 

Yeah, I've used that same bleeder. I ran almost an entire large bottle of brake fluid through my truck before all the old "black" fluid with bubbles disappeared. I did see more bubbles when I opened one of the bleeders to much. I think a half turn is plenty to bleed with.

 

That's most likely my problem. I did about 2 full turns.

Thanks for all of the help