Tried a vacuum bleeder on a 2012 Civic, went back to the two-man pedal method

Picked up a $40 hand vacuum bleeder at Harbor Freight for a brake job on a 2012 Civic last month. It pulled fluid fine but kept sucking air past the bleeder threads, so I could not tell if the bubbles were from the system or the hose. Went back to the old pedal and bottle method with my shop buddy, and it bled clean in 10 minutes with no guessing. Anyone got a bleeder brand that actually seals on these small Honda calipers?

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ivan_schmidt12d ago

Air past the threads is just normal, that is what the grease trick is for. Smear a little thick silicone paste or even wheel bearing grease around the bleeder base and the vacuum stops pulling air through the threads, then any bubble you see is coming from the line for real. I have done this on every Honda I have owned and it works great, you just have to know the trick. The two man method has its own problem too, you can easily push the pedal too far and roll the master cylinder seals if the bore is dirty. A pressure bleeder at the reservoir is the real answer though, it pushes fluid down and never sucks air in from anywhere.

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