Speed bleeder installation

Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

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Joined
Aug 25, 2011
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3,358
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
I put four each Speed bleeder products PN SB8125L M8x1.25 on the non-ABS NT today while changing the brake fluid. They are great once installed but you have to know a few things.
There is factory installed compound like RTV on the threads, making them very hard to screw in. You have to be very careful to feel when they normally bottom out. Once they do,
then you back them out 90 degrees and they work perfectly. I replaced the left front caliper top bleeder, which gets its force from the handlebar master cylinder, first and bled that.
When I did this, I introduced air into the right front caliper , which is also controled by the handlebar brake lever. I replace that bleeder and bleed it and got lots of air bubbles out and
then the front lever worked fine. There was no such problem bleeding the pedal master cyclinder controled calipers.
Speed bleeders are great. Put on a hose, crack the bleeder 90 degrees, and pump the lever, keeping the resouvoir full. Then tighten the bleeder. Easy peasy.
 
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Somebody who knows more about hydraulics than I do, advised me to regularly (quarterly) bleed off an ounce of fluid from each slave cylinder, "because that's what gets contaminated the worst". I don't know if it's good advice, but in any case, Speedbleeders make it easy.
 
Was the difference in fluid color obvious when the clean stuff started coming thru? How long did the whole install/bleed take?

Mike
 
I always first drain the master cyl reservoir using a plastic syringe, clean the floor of the reservoir where crud can accumulate, then refill with fresh brake fluid. That way you only have to worry about the old fluid that's in the line and you've also reduced the chances of crud plugging the compensation (return) port. :)
 
DirtFlier said:
I always first drain the master cyl reservoir using a plastic syringe, clean the floor of the reservoir where crud can accumulate, then refill with fresh brake fluid. That way you only have to worry about the old fluid that's in the line and you've also reduced the chances of crud plugging the compensation (return) port. :)
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I use Momma's turkey baster (and catch hell for it every time) to drain out the old fluid. Last year for Christmas I got my VERY OWN turkey baster for such projects.

Mike
 
DirtFlier said:
I always first drain the master cyl reservoir using a plastic syringe, clean the floor of the reservoir where crud can accumulate, then refill with fresh brake fluid. That way you only have to worry about the old fluid that's in the line and you've also reduced the chances of crud plugging the compensation (return) port. :)
Click to expand...

Yep.....me too. It doesn't make any sense to pump the old fluid in the reservoir through the system. And....chances are the fluid up top has deteriorated more than any of the fluid down in the "closed" portion of the system.
 
Is that really true? I mean, it would be nice, but I have this suspicion that in a hydraulic system, any H20 absorbed by the fluid near one of the ends is going to diffuse throughout the whole system pretty quickly. Dirt and crud, however, might settle out.
 
I'm guessing that the dirt and crud will be worse on the bottom end (near the slave cylinders) because of heat transfer from the discs. I think that water is likely to diffuse through the whole system, but I still think it would be worth sucking the old fluid out of the master cylinder before adding new and then bleeding until new clean fluid comes out at the slave cylinder.
 
OvO said:
Is that really true? I mean, it would be nice, but I have this suspicion that in a hydraulic system, any H20 absorbed by the fluid near one of the ends is going to diffuse throughout the whole system pretty quickly. Dirt and crud, however, might settle out.
Click to expand...

Water vapor can permeate the hoses and seals. Water vapor is far smaller than water so even when a system doesn't leak it is still vulnerable to absorbing water vapor. So even so called "closed" brake systems absorb water vapor at a significant number of points along the entire system. This is why flushing the system with fresh fluid is recommended every 2 years or so.
 
DOT 4 Brake fluid (used on the NT and most vehicles) is Hydroscopic which means it actively absorbs moisture.

Once it has 3.7% water content the boiling point of DOT 4 brake fluid drops from 446 degrees Fahrenheit to 311 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is the primary reason brake fluid is recommended to be replaced after around 3years, as its effectiveness is severely compromised as it absorbs moisture.

Seagrass
 
mikesim said:
Seagrass, methinks you mean "hygroscopic".

Mike
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Mike, yes, you are correct. But "Hydroscopic" as in hydroelectric has come into general usage. I have always said hydroscopic. Its kind of like little kids saying "orangatang" instead of the correct pronunciation "orangatan". Now, you see it both ways....
But seagrass's point is well taken. And you dont want water in that environment anyway in the brake fluid. At least I dont.
 
mikesim said:
Was the difference in fluid color obvious when the clean stuff started coming thru? How long did the whole install/bleed take?

Mike
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Oh, yes. The difference in color is obvious. I installed speedbleeders on my FJR earlier this spring. Working slowly, I spent about 2 hours. With an FJR, you bleed the brakes. Then you cycle the ABS pump, and rebleed.

Because the FJR has a hydraulically operated clutch and linked brakes, you need 5 speedbleeders.
 
mikesim said:
Was the difference in fluid color obvious when the clean stuff started coming thru? How long did the whole install/bleed take?

Mike
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What John said. It took me 12 oz of Dot 4 to do a non abs NT. If you watch the bleeder hose, first you get yellow stuff then clear and you know you are good if no bubbles.
The site glass on the handle bar resevoir will be crystal clear.
For a non abs NT, with four bleeders, installing the new bleeders and bleeding the system took about an hour and a half, but only cause I work at the speed of a glacier and I was concerned about how hard the new bleeders went in with their thread compound. The one rear bleeder is not fun to get to but its not too bad. Just clean the area well first.
 
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