Homemade Pressure Bleeder

After rebuilding the entire brake system (except for the brake pedal itself!) on my '77 Dodge D200 pickup, I had a need to bleed the hydraulic system. Being the type of guy who likes to figure out how to do things by himself, and not being overly wealthy, I thought it'd be good to investigate pressure bleeders. A pressure bleeder is a reservoir of brake fluid which is pressurized with air in order to force the brake fluid into the master cylinder, and through the hydraulic lines and slave cylinders (calipers and wheel cylinders). After getting sticker-shock at the prices of the commercially available units, I then decided to see if I couldn't fabricate my own. Here's a photo-story of how I did that:

Though the commercially available units have a membrane separating the air from the fluid, I felt it would be difficult to incorporate, and wasn't going to be worth the effort. About 30 PSI is required to overcome the residual pressure valve in the master cylinder (for the rear drum brakes). This dictates a container that can withstand a) brake fluid and b) 30 PSI of pressure. I chose a thick-wall nylon bottle (made by Nalgene) that I found at Gart Sports. It holds 1L (a 2L bottle would be better but this is all I could find at the time).


Shopping List:

QTY Description
1ea 1 to 2 Liter Nylon Bottle (thick wall)
1ea ¼"ID Vinyl Tubing - 6' length
1ea ¼"ID Nylon Tubing (Length = Height Of Container)
1ea Bulkhead Feedthrough Fitting (Compression-Fitting type)
1ea Compression Fitting Insert For Vinyl Tubing
3ea Female Quick-Disconnect Air Fitting
1ea Male Quick-Disconnect Air Fitting
1ea ¼"NPT - ¼"ID Hose Barb Adapter Fitting
1ea ¼"NPT Coupler
2ea Hard Rubber Washer (sized to fit Bulkhead Feedthrough Fitting)
2ea Flat Washer (sized to fit Bulkhead Feedthrough Fitting)

Here's a photo of the complete system:
Pressure Bleeder System