I've had one of these pressure bleeders for 5 or 6 years, and it's one of my favorite tools. Today I was using it to change the brake fluid on my '08 Z, when the vinyl tubing, near the fitting on the bleeder's pressure tank, failed explosively. I had it pumped up to ~12psi, and how none of the Ate Super Blue got on my car's paint I'll never know. I was at the right rear caliper when I heard the "pop".

I haven't used the bleeder in a while, maybe a year, and noticed that the tubing had become a cloudy, yellow color. Still seemed soft and flexible, though. I guess over time the tubing deteriorates. So, check your tubing, and if it's yellowed, replace it. Home Depot sells a 10' coil of 5/16" ID clear vinyl tubing for $7.

 

I replace mine every change. Not sure about you, but using contaminated tubing feels pretty disgusting.

 

Love my Motive Brake Bleeder...being using it about 9 months now.

Will check the tubing before I use it next...thanks.

 

Contaminated with what? You're pushing clean, new brake fluid through it.

 

Brake fluid will dry out most hoses sold with the brake pressure bleeders. Replace them every couple years and 12psi in a pressure bleeder is just silly.

 

What do you mean by the 12psi comment? Motive recommends 15psi.

 

You don't need that kind of pressure to move fluid. I've used that bleeder many times and I normally use about 5psi for the reasons you learned above. I have used 15 (and even 20psi) at the race track when we were in a huge hurry between sessions, but its not something I wanted to do.

If you're working in your garage, lower the pressure to keep from having the problem you experienced. You can even gravity bleed the system if you have enough patience.

 

I understand what you're saying, but I think you get a better flush with the higher pressure, since the fluid is moving through the system faster. For example, last night I bled the clutch system by gravity, before I started on the brakes, and by the time I was done with the brakes, I could see about 1" worth of the OEM clutch fluid had risen to the top of the clutch MC reservoir. There was a clear delineation between the new Ate blue fluid and the OEM clear/yellow fluid (like oil and water). This morning, there is nothing like that visible in the brake MC reservoir, so I can only guess that more of the OEM fluid was flushed out by pressure bleeding versus gravity bleeding.

As an aside, I have to wonder why the OEM fluid and Ate fluid don't mix. You'd think any of the glycol-based fluids would. I also saw the same separation in the drain bottle I used to collect the brake fluid, after it had been sitting for a few hours. I'm pretty sure the OEM fluid isn't silicone-based, but I saw something similar several years ago when I bought an Alfa Spider the previous owner had foolishly used silicone DOT5 fluid in. I ended up having to rebuild the entire system to get all that crap out.

 

I bought the Motive bleeder with the 1101 and 1107 adapters for my cars. The 1101 fit easily on my Benz since it simply twists onto the reservoir. However, it's a different story with the 1107 adapter. I can't get it to seat properly. What's the trick?

 

Btw, Ate says their fluids are compatible with other brands as long as they are the same type.....dot 4 to dot 4.

 

The Nissan adapter is a bit tricky to use. It has 3 internal tabs, so all you've got to do is line it up with those tabs opposite to the tabs on the MC reservoir. The tendency is to try and push the cap on unevenly and too far, when you really only need to push it down a little bit. I had the same problem last night, but once you get it, it's easier the next time.

I've got that other adapter, too, as my Alfa's use Ate hydraulics (like your MB), and wish all cars had that screw-on cap.

So, what's the OEM Nissan fluid, DOT3? Should still be glycol-based, though.

 

Ok, thanks for the tip. I gave up using the adapter on my Pathfinder and did the brake pump method instead. Yes, Nissan uses dot 3.