TIL a zip tie works way better than a screwdriver for bleeding brake lines

I used to jam a flathead in there and hope I didn't strip the bleeder valve. Last weekend I was doing brakes on my 2005 Civic and a buddy handed me a zip tie with the tab cut off to hold the hose open. It fit perfect, didn't damage anything, and took like 10 seconds. Anybody else got a weird tool hack they swear by for car work?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_wesley25d ago

Yeah, "jammed a flathead in there and hope" is pretty much the standard way we all learned, but that zip tie trick is actually smart. I've been using a piece of rubber hose slipped over the bleeder with a clamp on the other end to create a one way valve, never lets air back in. Took me way too many years to learn that one, but it saves a ton of mess and headache.

leeknight25d ago

@the_wesley's rubber hose trick works on the same principle too - it's weird how the best fixes always come from stuff you already have lying around instead of buying some overpriced tool.