brake fluid disaster... Need help

[asung]

Hi all,

I got my GS a few weeks back, and this weekend, I finally decided to do some maintenance work on it.  Clean the chain, changed the brake pads, and then looked at the brake fluid.  It was darkish color, so I decided to change it.  I went to Autozone and got an one man brake bleeder kit.  Went home, loosen up the bleeding screw, and suddenly remembered I forgot to bring the kit to the garage.  So I went up without closing the bleeding screw.  When I got down, you can guess what happened.  The fluid was all over the place.  what a mess...  on the bright side, the system was totally "bled"...

Here is my first question.  What is the best way to clean up this liquid on concrete?  I wiped it up with paper towels, but there is a big stain on the concrete  

I ignored the stain and pressed on.  Connected the bleeder tube to the bleeding screw.  The bleeder tool that I used is basically a tube connected to a plastic bottle.  There is no pump in the kit.  I refilled the master cylinder with brake fluid, and started pumping the front brake, waiting for the fluid/air mixture to get into the bottle.  I see a little liquid in the tube, but it was just moving back and forth, not reaching the bottle.  

So here is my 2nd question?  What did I do wrong?  Did I get the wrong brake bleeder kit?  I read about another person suggesting using teflon tape in the bleeder screw, to stop the air leak.  Will this help in my case? If so, where can I get the teflon tape?  Also, does that mean I should remove the bleeder screw, put the teflon tape on the threads, and put the bleeder screw back on?  

Please help me out guys.  You guys are the greatest!

[JasonB]

Dunno on the one man bleeder kit but it should have instructions?

It really sucks the most when you let all the fluid out. Gotta pump till you get no bubbles anymore then close the bleeder screw while your in the middle of a pump because the air gets in after the pump. Teflon tape would only help if you bleeder screw threads are screwed up and if so you should get a new one.

[asung]

I followed the instruction of the kit, connecting one of the tube to the bleeder valve, the other end to the bottle.  I also raised the bottle above the bleeder value as stated.  No luck...

[asung]

I followed the instruction of the kit, connecting one of the tube to the bleeder valve, the other end to the bottle.  I also raised the bottle above the bleeder value as stated.  No luck...

[asung]

This is the kit that I purchased.

http://www.autopart.com/Tools/pictures/300dpi/CDefault-6.jpg

[Richard UK]

Teflon tape (sometimes called PTFE tape) you should be able to get from any plumbing shop.  

Use it on threaded unions in most systems that are meant to hold liquids of any kind.  Put 2 or 3 turns around the threaded portion in the opposite direction that you srew the fitting in.  This will stop it riding off the threads when you screw the fitting in.  

Don't use too much, and beware of little bits breaking off.  The stuff is very inert and will not dissolve away.

[scratch]

While bleeding, did you close the bleed screw after you squeezed, and held, the brake lever near the bar? Otherwise, you're just moving fluid back and forth in the tube, and potentially suckin' air past the threads of the open bleed screw when you let go of the brake lever.

[asung]

No, I didn't do that.  I will try that tonight.  BTW, how many times do I have to pump the brake lever in order to get fluid moving?

[Bob Broussard]

I would have figured the kit would have a one way bleeder valve.
Doesn't look like it has anything like that in the picture.
So do it the old fashioned way.

Put fluid in the master cylinder.
With the hose connected to the bleeder valve and in the bottle.
Keep bleeder valve closed.
Pump lever slowly a few times and hold it in.
Open the bleeder valve for a moment allowig air/fluid to spit out.
Then close it and Pump lever again.
Hold lever in after pumping and open valve again.
Keep doing this and make sure to keep the mastercylinder topped off.
Eventually there will be no air spitting out and the lever will become firm with the first couple pumps. Then you're done.
Clean up your mess and go riding.
Maybe try some degreaser on the floor, like simple green or maybe laundry soap.

[scratch]

I'll second the powder-type laundry soap.

[mrblink]

I had that same problem, but I did it intentionally (caliper rebuild).  I probably bought that same dumb-ass $7 bleeder kit, but I guess it worked OK.  I had 2 problems:

1) Lots of air in the calipers
2) Air leaking via the bleeder valve

I put some teflon tape around the bleeder valve, and that fixed problem #2.  Problem #1 was a Buddha Loves You.  I ended up using a syringe from work (pharmaceutical company), hooked up a tube to it, and sucked the air out.  Worked like a fuckin charm, but took me a week to figure it out.  Good luck!

[asung]

Hi guys,

Thank you all so much for your help.  I finally got my front brake working.  Let me tell you what I did.  I bought some teflon tape, that got rid of the leaky bleed valve problem.  

Also, as the Clymer manual suggested, I disconnected the brake host from the master cylinder, pumped it a few times to get rid of the air trapped within, reconnect the host, pump it a few more times, and started bleeding with the bleed valve.  After 10-15 pumps, the brake was working again.  

For detailed instruction, look in the clymer manual.  You need to bleed the master cylinder this way if it was emptied.  Thanks!

[Pkaaso]

I got some stuff from a neighbor.  I looks like cat litter but it's not.  It has larger granuals.  What you do is: Sprinkle it on the stain, crush it in with a block of wood or solid shoe heal.  Smash it till it turns to a powder.  Let it sit for few hours, then hose it off.

First time I tried it, I left it over night.  The concrete turned white, I mean white.  Now instead of haveing some dark spots, I got some light spots.  Oil is gone however.

I can't remember the name of it, but it came from Pep Boys in a bag.  

Experiment with it to see how white you want your spots.  You can alway re-apply it and wait another hour or so.

If anyone knows the name of this stuff, please jump in.  THIS STUFF WORKS!!!

Paul

[dmp221]

I've done Pkasso's method with plain clay cat-litter...it works.  Good luck.

[dmp221]

Even better....do that method with some superfine lime (from a garden center)...that's probably the stuff Pep Boys sells, repackaged as some super-duper cleaner degreaser at 5x the price.  Spread it, walk on it, brush it around, then hose it off.  No worries, mon.  

[scratch]

I got some stuff from a neighbor.  I looks like cat litter but it's not.  It has larger granuals.  What you do is: Sprinkle it on the stain, crush it in with a block of wood or solid shoe heal.  Smash it till it turns to a powder.  Let it sit for few hours, then hose it off.

First time I tried it, I left it over night.  The concrete turned white, I mean white.  Now instead of haveing some dark spots, I got some light spots.  Oil is gone however.

I can't remember the name of it, but it came from Pep Boys in a bag.  

Experiment with it to see how white you want your spots.  You can alway re-apply it and wait another hour or so.

If anyone knows the name of this stuff, please jump in.  THIS STUFF WORKS!!!

Paul

Grease Sweep. We used it at Daytona Beach Raceway for Daytona 200, good stuff. Cat litter will work too, whichever is less expensive. At the racetrack we have to sweep it off the track, you don't want to water the track just before a race!