No-Drip Brake Bleeder
Mark SimpsonDescription
Early cars used mechanical means of activating the car’s brakes, whether the brakes were cable-operated or used metal rods and levers. These systems proved very effective when properly adjusted. But there were limitations to these early systems, and they notoriously required a fair amount of effort to stop a car.
All of that changed when hydraulic brakes were invented in 1918 and first fitted to a 1921 Duesenberg Model A car. These new brake systems allowed newer, heavier, and more powerful cars and trucks to stop nearly effortlessly; by 1940, nearly all US auto manufacturers had switched to hydraulic brakes.
Bleeding your brakes is a necessary part of any classic car restoration or maintenance. Whenever the hydraulic brake system is opened, air is introduced into the line and because air is “compressible,” the brake effectiveness will be compromised.
To remove the air, the brake bleeder at each wheel must be opened to evacuate the air in a process known as bleeding the brakes. The only drawback is DOT 3 & 4 brake fluid is nasty stuff that can strip the paint right off newly refinished components, not to mention the serious health risks should it come in contact with your skin, mouth, or eyes.
We join Mark Simpson in the shop as he shares a helpful tip to open and close brake bleeders without making a ruining the finish on your freshly painted chassis components or leaving a mess on your shop floor. We’re certain this is one tip that will help you enjoy your time in the shop.
When you go to open a brake bleeder on any classic car, you know, you always run the risk of having it, you know, spurt a little brake fluid out on the axle tubes or on your suspension component. And if you're, they're painted, you really don't want that to happen because, you know, brake fluid can take off paint quicker than anything. So, a little helpful hint that that's helped me in a few cases, especially on cars that are freshly painted where the brake fluid could really take it off quick is to grab uh the gear wrench, uh open wrenches. Their socket sets include plenty of uh space to get like a piece of tubing all the way through the socket in the wrench itself. I can then put this over the bleeder, push that down onto my bleeder and then open up the bleeder. So it works as a means to open the bleeder and, and as it opens any brake fluid that comes out, you can put that in a catch pan or a tube once you're done. And as you bleed the brake system, if you're doing a pedal brake bleed job, you don't wanna get fluid all over everything and you can seal it all up without ever taking the tube off the hose or, you know, removing your wrench. What I like about this is there are six point sockets. So they're, it eliminates the risk of, uh, rounding off the corners of your bleeder when you're all done. Simply pull it off.
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