It's time for some brake work

[Mat M]

An incredibly easy way to bleed the brakes sans helper is this (as told to me by jmortensen):

1) Find an empty spaghetti jar with a metal lid, poke a hole large enough to accept a 1/4 inch diameter (about 5 feet long) clear plastic tube.

2) Put about an inch of new brake fluid in the jar, and replace the lid.

3) Insert the tube so that the end is submersed into the fluid. Place the other end of the tube over the bleed screw and loosen the screw. The tube will allow you place the jar in a position such that one would be able to view it from the driver's seat while bleeding any corner of the vehicle.

4) Just apply slow smooth pressure to the brake pedal until there are no more bubbles going into the jar.

5) Tighten the bleed screw and move to the next corner.

The Driver-side brake line is actually longer than the rest, so start there and work your way around the car counter-clock-wise. Make sure you do not drain the MC reservoir or else you will need to start over!

[zbane]

Thanks for that suggestion Mat (and by inferrence, JMortensen)! I'll give it a shot when I get a chance.

[BRE-240Z]

They sell one-man brake bleeders ($2.99?) at Harbor Freight that work on the same principle, and they work well. The advantage to the system that was described above, however, is that there is enough tubing to be able to see what you're doing!

Just make sure that first pump is long enough to get fluid down into the container - this should be easy, since you can see what you're doing - or else you'll suck air back in when you let up off the pedal.