Brake bleeding question

[Stocker]

Getting ready to replace my master cylinder and was told of a different (easier?) way to bleed the brakes. Never heard of it so I'll run it past you guys & see what you think.

Instead of the old way I have used before (wife pumping the pedal while I open & close each bleeder), this involves placing a length of tubing inside the bottle of fluid and connecting it to an open bleeder valve, then pumping the pedal until fluid is drawn up into the master cylinder.

Has anyone tried this, and does it work okay? Or is there a better (that is, easier) method?

I have done a little brake work (mostly just pad & shoe replacement) but it's been several years. Any advice is appreciated. Oh btw just how do you clamp the pin on the prop valve to keep it centered? Pics would be helpful.

[BMERDOC]

You don't need to put fluid in the bottle. A foot long piece of vacuum hose is all you need (or a clear piece of tubing from Home depot or Lowes). Put it in the bottle and let it drip, drip, drip. You can pump the brakes a if you want to get things started. The fronts will bleed way faster than the rears. BTW, its called Gravity Bleeding. No need for a second person.

[lil hoodlum]

Something kinda similar. My girlfriends 1991 Chevy 1500 has a hydralic clutch. We had a real bear of a time bleeding it. It was better but not to my satisfaction. Seems there was an air pocket that was not wanting to be bled out.

I used a turkey injector syringe with out the needle. I filled the injector up and attatched it to a hose to the bleeder valve, this is underneath the truck. I opened the bleeder valve and injected the brake fluid. As I was injecting the brake fluid, I could hear the bubbles escaping out of the clutch master cylinder. I did it a few times and the clutch pedal was finally much stiffer. Best part of it was I did it by myself. No helper was needed.

Good luck!

Keith

[old Chevy guy]

I have done it by putting a container with a small amount of fluid and a hose from the bleeder. You pump the brakes a few times and the fluid in the container keeps air from being sucked back into the system when the pedal comes up. The end of the hose must be under the surface of the fluid for it to work. You can do this alone and it wont make a mess. But you can only pump a few times without refilling the resivoir,if it goes dry you will have to start all over. It wont suck the fluid back up to the master though ,at least I dont think it will. Front disks you can bleed just by opening the bleeders and letting the fluid run out for a bit with no pumping.

[Stocker]

Sounds good, guys, thanks. New MC is bench-bled and installed. Gotta see about possibly replacing some brake hoses, then pull the rear axles to get to the bleeders....