Agreed. Anytime I've done the manual method, and screwed up, this happens and it's always been air in the system. One of the reasons I bought a bleeder kit and haven't had an issue since. Careful driving until you get it fixed.

 

All I could find on their website were vacuum tools. I'm not a big fan of these. I just did our honda with a similar tool, and while it eventually got the job done, it was a real pita. Lots of leaks around the bleeder threads. Was able to alleviate some of this with grease around the threads, but the periodic opening/closing of the bleeder screw didn't help matters.

With the motive tool the system is always under pressure and the only thing you need to do periodically is pump up the reservoir (and add fluid once or twice). More importantly, it's very easy to see if egressing fluid contains bubbles. Good luck observing this with the tool above. I'd gladly do the honda with the motive tool, but because of the reservoir location and design, it's nearly impossible to attach a cap to it. The reservoir is also very flimsy.

 

Thanks for the input, I will definitely consider this when I purchase mine. Now leaning towards the motive after reading your experiences with it.

 

Thanks for chiming in. It's reassuring to know that it's likely not my MC or booster that has a problem. I will bleed it properly once I find time and a place to do it. Beside from a softer and less responsive brake pedal, are there any other safety issues that I should be concerned about in regards to air being trapped in the system? If I let this go unfixed, would it eventually cause damage to the MC or booster? Or are spongy brakes the worst of it?

 

I can't see air causing damage but if you can't stop due to the brakes being compromised it could lead to damage to say the least lol. Just give yourself as much braking distance as possible if you're going to drive it.

If you need clear line for a vacuum tool, 5/32 ID will give you a tight seal. I managed to lose my lines for my bleeder and bought 7/32 ID as a replacement and had the issues Jsolo was describing.

 

Actually, the seal on the bleeder nipple was good and tight. Issue was leakage around the threads.

 

When you loosened the nipple? Luckily that wasn't my issue but it took me longer than I'd care to admit to figure out my seal wasn't air tight.

 

Correct. The rears seemed to have the greatest leakage. Fronts were actually reasonably well sealed (when opened). I wonder if the front bleeders had some kind of coating on the threads where the rears didn't. Either way, it took way too long with this tool (~1 1/2 to 2 hours). Part of the issue was my 12gal compressor could barely keep up, rears took the longest.

I'm glad I don't have these headaches on the G (with the motive power bleeder). The honda gets done every 3 years (and then some) so I suppose I can deal with this nonsense. Surprisingly most of the other maintenance on that car is well though out and accessible (fwd car with factory identified jacking points and jackstand points).