Published 2007
Dave Kaplan has an alternative way to bleed/flush your brakes with little or no mess. Read on to learn how.
Dave says - I have always bled my brake and clutch systems the old fashion way. A container with a line connected to the bleeder. Have an assistant push on the pedal, crack the bleeder, wait for the pedal to hit the floor, then close the bleeder. The assistant then lifts his/her foot, applies pressure to the pedal and we start the process over again.
This weekend I tried something different as my trusty assistant was out of town. I got two old applesauce jars, drilled holes in the lids and inserted 2 feet of rubber line in each. I connected the two jars up to the front calipers, one on the left, the other on the right. Without touching the brake pedal I cracked the bleeders open and just let 'er drain. I was careful to keep filling the reservoir up and never let the level dip down far enough to expose the hole in the bottom of the cup. I ran one small bottle of brake fluid through the front system, one bottle through the rear system, and one bottle through the clutch.
It was the easiest brake fluid flush I've ever done. No pumping the brake, no messing with opening and closing the bleeders, no knocking over bottles of brake fluid as I scrambled around opening and closing bleeders.