2 year brake flush

David792

150+ Posts
Mar 6, 2019
199
126
Idaho Falls, ID
Name
David
Today i performed my 2 year brake fluid flush. Front reservoir looked pretty good, but the rear res looked like orange juice. Question: Does anyone know of a vacuum kit fitting that snugly fits the rear bleeders? The front bleeders are 3/8" and easy enough, but the rear bleeders are tiny 1/4" size. my suction fitting would not fit snugly on the rears and I had to do a pinch and turn maneuver to do the bleed. Now I'm paranoid that I might have let some air in the line. Can I replace those 1/4" rear bleeders with a 3/8" bleeder like the front?
 
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I don't use a vacuum bleeder... I just have an inline check valve I put on just on the other side of the bleed valve. That takes care of the air entering the system issue.

I must admit, do to some issues I decided to go 3 years on my Freewheeler rear brakes. I was good & did the front ones though & the dealer did the clutch during the recall, so I'm good there.

Not having anti-lock brakes, which seemed to be the big issue, I think I'll be ok.
 
Use a piece of 1/4 inch hose;) You can modify the end of your vacuum bleeder to use a hose like that. Otherwise if you are only gravity bleeding, as long as you keep the fluid level up in the master cylinder, the air bubbles ( if you have any air) will be pushed out the bleeder, You will not suck air back in as long as you do not run dry OR pump the brakes with a bleeder open
 
Use a piece of 1/4 inch hose;) You can modify the end of your vacuum bleeder to use a hose like that. Otherwise if you are only gravity bleeding, as long as you keep the fluid level up in the master cylinder, the air bubbles ( if you have any air) will be pushed out the bleeder, You will not suck air back in as long as you do not run dry OR pump the brakes with a bleeder open

Thank you, Jack. After I put the wheels back on, and after having a cold beer I started thinking more clearly and thought of just that. A clear piece of hose (like refer hose) that fits tightly onto the bleeder valve should do it. Those rear valves seem to have a very short turn to open. I will make it my obsession to cut hoses of just the right length to have a setup for each wheel so next time I tackle that job it will be an easy thing.

So far my cost for a brake flush is about $40 including the Mighyvac bleeder and two small bottles of Dot 4. A small price to pay for the peace of mind that the Harley mech didn't screw something up.
 
I had a dealer service my 2019, I asked to flush the brakes. They said they just check water content, then flush if necessary. Interesting change from the flush call back a few years ago. Same dealer. :xzqxz:
 

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