brake bleading

[Trunkster]

Going to do my first brake fluid change soon. I just went on line to order a brake bleading kit and as usual there are loads to choose from. I will probably never use it again or won't for many years so don't particularly want top quality. Can someone recommend a particular one. The one I was thinking of was powered by a spare wheel and 20 quid from eBay. Also how much brake fluid should I get? It's a 1980 air cooled so clutch is cable not hydraulic. Anything I should watch out for as never done a t25. Thanx chaps

[AdrianC]

Have you got a willing assistant with at least one working foot, and the ability to correctly follow instructions as complicated as "UP" and "DOWN"?

If so, you don't need any tools beyond the right size spanner for the nipple.

[Oldiebut goodie]

I bought one as a teenager and still use the same one 40 + years later. Just make sure you deflate the tyre first to the correct pressure as you can burst the van's fluid reservoir with too high a pressure. You will need it every couple of years.

[Trunkster]

I have a wife that knows every thing and a 17 year old son so no I dont have a willing volunteer who can follow simple instructions. I think I will get the right tool

[kevtherev]

before you buy anything ..make sure the bleed nipples undo

[itchyfeet]

I use a piece of clear silicone pipe into a jar with some brake fluid in the bottom and a bulldog clip to keep the free end under the level of the liquid, as long as it stays under air can't come back once the air in the tube is purged.

[Oldiebut goodie]

Don't you believe it - I use a suction bleeder sometimes and you would be surprised at the amount of air that can get sucked in via the threads.

[Trunkster]

Thanx for the comments. How much brake fluid should I get?

[ghost123uk]

Not experienced this myself, but a local to me friend just has (and I have read about it on here). If you use the traditional pedal pumping method, it is possible for the brake master cylinder piston to move much further down the bore than it usually does. This can take the rubber seal onto a less than shiny, even pitted area of the bore and damage it. As I say, it just happened to a friend of mine.

Perhaps the "pressure bleed" method is better for this reason ?

[AdrianC]

Not experienced this myself, but a local to me friend has. If you use the traditional pedal pumping method, it is possible for the brake master cylinder piston to move much further down than it usually does. This can take the rubber seal onto a less than shiny, even pitted area of the bore and damage it. As I say, it just happened to a friend of mine.

It happened to me, with the clutch slave on my old Saab, at a forum spannering day on a Sunday. Fortunately, there was a EuroCarParts nearby which had one in stock...

When I took the master apart, it was royally nadgered inside. I was amazed it'd been working before. I'd been planning to get a re-seal kit, but when I dismantled it, the bore was badly pitted and corroded (because the fluid changes had been ignored in the past), to the point that the return-helper spring was corroded into small bits. If the master's so bad as to have a problem in those circumstances, it's probably well overdue for replacement anyway, and it's better to have it fail in controlled circumstances than when you take it into a normally-unswept part of the bore because some numpty's forced you to slam 'em all on - or it's on the MOT rollers...