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Eezibleed - what am I missing?
Slimy38 - 8/9/12 at 08:49 PM

I bought an Eezibleed to do my tintop brakes on Friday, came to use it this morning and couldn't get an airtight seal. The cap itself sealed fine on the reservoir, but where the pipe attaches to the cap it wouldn't seal. I'd sprayed a bit of water around the cap and could see bubbles coming from the little washers.

I know from my brother in law plumber that sometimes making things as tight as possible isn't the best way to seal things, but I tried everything from hand tight up to f**king tight, and it still wouldn't seal. In the end I declared it faulty, and got a replacement from Toolstation.

Everything on the internet suggest the issues are more where the cap fits to the reservoir, but I'm fairly sure that is actually ok. If it had been leaking there I doubt I'd have seen bubbles coming from the washers.

I've not yet fitted the cap on the new one, but is there a 'knack' to attaching the pipe to the lid?


Wheels244 - 8/9/12 at 09:00 PM

I had one years ago - I never could get it to work properly.
Sorry, probably not the news you wanted to hear.
I rely on the good old mate pumping the pedal and tube into a jam jar technique.
100% success rate.


BenB - 8/9/12 at 09:16 PM

I had some leakage where the cap meets the bottle but some PTFE tape did the trick. Not sure about your leak though!


Ben_Copeland - 8/9/12 at 09:32 PM

What pressure are you using in your tyre? If its too high you'll blow the seals in the easibleed.


spiderman - 8/9/12 at 09:34 PM

How much air pressure are you using? I had problems when using too high a pressure. Try using a really low pressure like 2psi or there about, worked for me. Also make sure the brake pedal is depressed as the pressure has nowhere to go and just pressurises the reservoir.

[Edited on 8/9/12 by spiderman]


wylliezx9r - 8/9/12 at 09:34 PM

I've used mine about 5 times with a home made cap so that it will fit the Lucas reservoirs. Never had a problem. Are you using too much pressure ?

HTH Dan


JoelP - 8/9/12 at 09:41 PM

i thought it was 20psi it needed, but either way, it doesnt matter if its leaking, so long as some pressure is pushing the fluid through. Its a brilliant system i thought, a muppet like me managed to do my brakes first time with no bother.


David Jenkins - 8/9/12 at 09:50 PM

Low pressure is important, with mine I had less than 10psi in the tyre (I used an old trailer wheel to supply the air).

Really, all you need is a few psi over atmospheric to get the fluid through.

[Edited on 8/9/12 by David Jenkins]


ashg - 8/9/12 at 10:22 PM

ptfe tape will sort it. i have converted mine to run off my compressor, it is so much more usable now as i can control the air flow perfectly


maccmike - 9/9/12 at 12:09 AM

My dad bought one, I used it, it was brilliant.
Bought my own, same supplier, same brand, it was sh1t.


Bare - 9/9/12 at 01:23 AM

Waste of time and money :-) Buy a cheap disposable 2 oz Plastic syringe.
Use it to reverse flush the Brakes on ANY vehicle.. Fill it with fresh Fluid, Attach it to the subject bleed nipple. Open the nipple a half turn then 'force' the fresh fluid in. It;s slowish So don't be in a massive rush.
But it Works ! every time.


RichardK - 9/9/12 at 01:39 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Bare
Waste of time and money :-) Buy a cheap disposable 2 oz Plastic syringe.
Use it to reverse flush the Brakes on ANY vehicle.. Fill it with fresh Fluid, Attach it to the subject bleed nipple. Open the nipple a half turn then 'force' the fresh fluid in. It;s slowish So don't be in a massive rush.
But it Works ! every time.


Surely that would take ages to flush an entire system Maybe ok if you suspect air at one the corners though or if you pumped through all the old fluid out first and then ran some fresh through.....

Mine also squirted fluid from the top as I used too higher pressure at first, think I used about 10 psi, worked great after that.
Cheers
Rich


Slimy38 - 9/9/12 at 08:08 AM

Thanks for the replies everyone. I started with 10 PSI, I'd seen a Youtube video where they do an old Beetle so I thought it sensible to start at the same number they quote.

Is PTFE tape safe for brake fluid? Alternatively, if I follow JoelP and accept the inevitable slow leak, would a few rags wrapped around the pipe catch any overflow? I'm guessing depending on how quick I can be I might not be looking at too much coming out, and I've got 2 litres to finish the job with.

I should mention that it's a VAG car (SEAT Toledo) with a hydraulic clutch in the circuit, and an 'odd' master cylinder design. Apparently if you try standard two man bleeding, it's remarkably easy to reverse the seal on the master cylinder and then the whole thing has to be stripped down. You've also got an ABS system that requires electronic bleeding if any air bubbles get into it, and it's been quoted that pressure bleeding is the safest option to avoid that.

That and the fact that I've never done car brake bleeding before suggests that the 'eezier' the bleed is, the safer it will be.

Bare, I understand the principle of reverse flushing, but how do you confirm whether it's flushed out all the bubbles? Even when you attach the syringe, you're introducing an air bubble then forcing it into the system.


40inches - 9/9/12 at 08:59 AM

As said, low pressure needed or it will leak. I have an Eezi bleed and a vacuum oil pump, the vacuum pump is more reliable for
bleeding brakes, plus if you get a system that will not bleed ( midi engined car clutch i:e MR2) using both in combination will
always work.


neilp1 - 9/9/12 at 09:45 AM

I had same problem even at 10psi, so binned it!!


chillis - 9/9/12 at 09:53 AM

Wouldn't be without mine, bought it in the early eighties and is probably the best tool I ever bought.
use at low pressure 7psi is about 1/2 an atmosphere and makes it very controlable. I think people crank up the pressure 'cos think they'll be able to do the job quicker.
I do have a few bubbles where the air pipe goes into the bottletop but nothing leaks from the M/C cap. Make sure you have assembled the seals and washers correctly. If you're using a modified cap from the vehicle make sure you file down the top of the cap nice and flat. Has it worked ok previously, you never know it could be afaulty one.
Throughout my automotive career I have use vasious other types including the (useless) vacuum types with varying lack of success but I always come back to the easibleed.


Slimy38 - 9/9/12 at 10:41 AM

All sorted now. The second cap bubbled at the same point as the first one, but all it meant was that there was a tiny pool of fluid on top of the cap, and the reservoir itself filled up to the brim. I just got on with it, and released the pressure between wheels. Keeping things mopped up meant that I lost very little, and the paintwork is still intact.

The amount of rubbish that came out was scary, it was at least two shades greener than it should have been (the new stuff is yellow!), it was really frothy and there was definite debris in the pipes. Not had chance to take it for a run, but starting the engine and pressing the brake pedal showed there was resistance so I can't have done that bad a job!

All hail the Eezibleed!!


Autosri - 9/9/12 at 11:12 PM

used mine again today for about the tenth time absolutly brilliant i start it at 23psi and by the time you have pushed over a litre its down to 18psi i had a few leaks the first time but were easily sorted i dont even bother with any onther method as the gunson just works i even have a proper vaccum bleeder and the gunson is better imo


dhutch - 18/9/12 at 11:21 AM

They are fairly poor, but do work, sticky tape, cable tie round the pipe, get it good enough and then get on with it, and use the spare (or have a pump).


Daniel


Mr Whippy - 18/9/12 at 11:34 AM

only thing that works for bleeding the landys brakes, they do tend to spring leaks but easy to sort


SeaBass - 18/9/12 at 02:23 PM

I do remember a bit of fiddling when I first got it but mine works great every time - used it on countless projects.

SWMBO point blank refuses to get involved with the old up down up down and I have no mates...

Rgds


David Jenkins - 18/9/12 at 03:35 PM

I've had an Ezibleed for ages - last time I tried to use it I found that the rubber washer on the 'reserve tank' was misshaped and wouldn't seal. I assumed that I had messed it up when I last used it by not ensuring that it was seated properly when I tightened it and put it away (almost certainly).

I sent an email to Gunsons explaining the problem - and they sent me a replacement free of charge by return post. You really can't argue with customer service like that!


Slimy38 - 18/9/12 at 05:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by SeaBassSWMBO point blank refuses to get involved with the old up down up down and I have no mates...

Rgds


Snap on both points, although neither of them are really to do with the Eezibleed...