Volvo RWD 900 Forum

INDEX FOR 10/2025(CURRENT) INDEX FOR 2/2004 900 INDEX

[<<]  [>>]


 VIEW    REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE Replies to this message will be emailed.    PRINT   SAVE 

Bleed Brakes Like the Pros! 900 1994

That's what is printed on the box.

For several years I've been making use of the old garden sprayer, fitted with a brake master reservoir cap, or a coolant reservoir cap, depending on what needed pressurizing.



Up and down between wheel bleed screws checking and renewing fluid in the master rez seemed a pain, especially after once or twice not arriving to refill the master in time. But, this method replaced my old pickle jar and vacuum pump method that was touch and go if I sealed the bleeder threads with a dab of Sil-Glyde. And both are much, much better than the old comedy trying to get help with a pedal bleed.

However, the enticing ad for the Motive Products bleeder made it clear I could put the fluid in the tank and do the power bleed with a whole can (indeed two if you follow directions) without need to disconnect and refill. So I ordered one.



"Bleed brakes like the pros!"

OK, I replaced front calipers. Figured I'd test my new toy, but lazy, and confident I only needed to replace the fluid missing in the new calipers, I connected it to a full master with a dry tank, just for the pressure, essentially using it just as I did the garden sprayer. Dribble, dribble. Pffft. Spit, spray. Whoops! Emptied the master again!

Crack open a new can and fill the Power Bleeder with a liter of DOT-4. No, not two like the instructions say, but just one. All I have is the two front calipers and a bit of line in the front of the car to fill. Bubbles gone, lots of fluid left, so I think ... how can I keep this stuff in the tank from taking on too much moisture. Hmmm. Stick that cut-off golf tee in the hose.



Take the car on trip -- about two carlengths, before I realize there's too much air left in the brakes; the warning light reinforces my conclusion. Oh, yeah, the book bleeding sequence must have some basis in reason. There has to be a big air bubble in the top of the octopus - where the lines to the rear brakes attach.



Back to the power bleeder. Plenty left in the bottle. Connect it up and pump it to 15 lbs. Run around to the right rear (it was the front reservoir I ran out), crack the bleeder, and nothing. No drip, no run, something's in error. Try the front caliper. Nada. The rotors turn easily. Acts like a solid clog. Doh! I remember the golf tee- still in the cap of the Motive Products tool. Guess it was a pretty good seal.

So, plug removed, I return to the right rear and bleed until the stream of bubbles passes, and then some, as the stragglers are still showing. Then, another pfffft, spit, hiss and a few unprintable words from me. Couldn't believe I emptied all that tank and the reservoir too!

But when I looked up front, I found the bottle had lost enough of its weight to fall over, sort of like in this picture, except the front reservoir was empty!



Break open another can (now I'm coming closer to the letter of the instructions on the product) and find a better spot to stand it. Then, after bleeding, put the Motive tank in the same attitude it fell to before, to pump air and bleed the reservoir down to the max line. Followed the bleeding sequence in the book, and now that I'm following instructions instead of making my own way, the pedal is high, hard and free of red warning lights.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore






THREADED THREADED EXPANDED FLAT PRINT ALL
MESSAGES IN THIS THREAD

New Brake Fluid Replace Tools [900][1994]
posted by  someone claiming to be Greg  on Sun Feb 20 10:20 CST 2005 >


<< < > >>



©Jarrod Stenberg 1997-2022. All material except where indicated.


All participants agree to these terms.

Brickboard.com is not affiliated with nor sponsored by AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc. or Ford Motor Company. Brickboard.com is a Volvo owner/enthusiast site, similar to a club, and does not intend to pose as an official Volvo site. The official Volvo site can be found here.