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Subject:Re: Speed bleeders? Not me
From:Mike S
Date:Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:53:33 -0400

At 07:02 PM 6/11/2008, Don Hanson wrote...
>   Personally, I wouldn't use speed bleeders.  Just one more possible
> failure
>point...   Which one might be leaking air..?  And now, is that pesky
>piece of grit that held open the ball valve of the speed bleeder gone?

You apparently don't understand how they work. When you screw them
closed, they seal exactly the same as a standard bleeder screw, the
ball valve only comes into play when they're open. If you have a
problem because dirt is interfering with the ball valve, you would have
even more serious problems with the same dirt which would have been
sucked into your brake cylinder when using a normal bleeder screw. Just
use the dust caps (why are those things so darn expensive???).

Having said that, I agree that investing in a pressure bleeder like the
popular Motive, makes more sense in the long run. It will also help
with more modern cars, where you might need pressure to bleed an ABS or
clutch. For the price of 2 cars worth of Speed Bleeders, you can have a
pressure bleeder.