How to Bleed/ Flush Brake and Clutch Fluid System
 

How To Bleed/ Flush Brake and Clutch Fluid System (with a Motive Power Bleeder)

Tools/ materials needed

1. 7/8th brake wrench or 7/8th open ended wrench

2. Small screwdriver

3. 3-8 bottles of brake fluid (best to have extra on hand)

I'm using Motul 660 DOT 4 brake fluid

https://www.amazon.com/Motul-847205-...ords=motel+660

4. Motive Products 0118 Black Label GM/3-Tab Power Bleeder Kit (I recommend getting Black Label because it comes with a aluminum cap which seal much better than the normal plastic cap)

https://www.amazon.com/Motive-Produc...ve+black+label

5. Motive Products 1820 Brake Fluid Catch Bottle Kit

https://www.amazon.com/Motive-Produc...JC6TEPR432RHGC

6. Large Syringe with tube

7. Empty gallon jug

Optional

1. Help or a friend

2. Jack

3. Jack stands

4.Wheel chock

5. Cold beverage of your choosing

I took photos to help step by step, however I lost my SD card (If I find it I will updated the post) Sorry :(

Steps

1. Remove brake master cylinder reservoir cap

2. Take your large syringe and insert the tube into brake master cylinder reservoir and siphon out old contaminated fluid.

3. Take old contaminated fluid and put into your empty contaminated fluid jug

4. Open 1 bottle of brake fluid of your own choosing (I’m using Motul 660 DOT 4)

5. Fill the brake master reservoir up to the top fill line (fill level marks can be found on the left side of reservoir if looking from the front of the engine bay)

6. Leaving the car off get your Camaro and pump the clutch fully 100-200 times (making sure it has a solid pebble feel)

7. Take your large syringe and insert the tube into brake master cylinder reservoir again and siphon out contaminated fluid

8.Take contaminated fluid and put it in your contaminated fluid jug

9. Refill reservoir again up to the top fill line

10. Get back into your Camaro and pump the clutch again 100-200 times (making sure it has a solid pebble feel)

11. Take your large syringe and insert the tube into brake master cylinder reservoir again and siphon out contaminated fluid

12. Take contaminated fluid and put it in your contaminated fluid jug

13. Refill reservoir again up to the top fill line

14. Now prepare your motive power bleeder by filling the tank with 2 quarts or 4 bottles of brake fluid of your choice and screwing on pump cap

15. Now screw on motive power bleeder cap onto the brake master cylinder reservoir

16. Pump the motive power bleeder till 15 psi is reached

17. Wait about 5 minutes to check for leaks, confirm by still having 15 psi in the motive power bleeder after waiting 5 minutes

18. Now make your way to the passenger rear wheel (this is where you have two options)
1. Bleed only the outside bleeder
2. Bleed inside and outside bleeder (If you are changing to a different fluid then which is already in the brake system you MUST use the inside, outside method as you need to completely flush out the different old contaminated fluid)

19. If you choose to bleed inside and outside bleeder this is where you would jack up the car and place it onto jack stands and remove the wheels. If you choose to bleed only the outside bleeder you can do so without taking off the wheels through the wheels spokes. Then proceed to step 32 and repeat in the order (passenger rear, driver rear, passenger front, driver front)

20. Once wheels have been removed locate the passenger rear inside brake bleeder nipple and remove rubber protective cover with a screwdriver

21. Take your Motive brake fluid catch bottle and slide tube over the inside brake bleeder nipple

22. Take your 7/8th brake wrench and place it onto the inside brake bleeder nipple

23. Go back to the Motive power bleeder tank and confirm it still has 15 psi

24. Now crack open the inside brake bleeder nipple until fluid starts flowing.

25. Let fluid flow and go back to power bleeder to confirm brake fluid starts to fill the power bleeder tube leading to the brake cylinder reservoir automatically filling the reservoir with fresh fluid keep it at the top fill line (continually check that the system is still pressurised at 15 psi. It will drop as you bleed the system and pump it back up as needed)

26. Continue to allow fluid to flow until your start to see new uncontaminated fluid with no bubbles in the brake fluid catch bottle tube.

27. Once you start to see fresh fluid and no bubbles close the inside brake bleeder nipple

28. Remove the Motive brake fluid catch bottle tube and empty contaminated fluid into your contaminated fluid jug

29. Now reattach your Motive brake fluid catch bottle tube onto the inside brake bleeder nipple now repeat steps 22-27 confirming only fresh fluid and no bubble are coming out along with making sure the system is pressurized to 15 psi and new fluid flowing into the brake master cylinder reservoir

30. Once confirmed that only fresh fluid and no bubbles are coming out repeat step 28 (Remove the Motive brake fluid catch bottle tube and empty contaminated fluid into your contaminated fluid jug)

31. You have now flushed the inside brake bleeder nipple of the passenger rear

32. Now locate the passenger rear outside brake bleeder nipple and remove rubber protective cover with a screwdriver

33. Take your Motive brake fluid catch bottle and slide tube over the outside brake bleeder nipple

34. Take your 7/8th brake wrench and place it onto the outside brake bleeder nipple

35. Go back to the Motive power bleeder tank and confirm it still has 15 psi

36. Now crack open the outside brake bleeder nipple until fluid starts flowing.

37. Let fluid flow and go back to power bleeder to confirm brake fluid starts to fill power bleeder tube leading to the brake cylinder reservoir (continually check that the system is still pressurised at 15 psi. It will drop as you bleed the system and pump it back up as needed)

38. Continue to allow fluid to flow until you start to see new uncontaminated fluid and no bubbles in the brake fluid catch bottle tube.

39. Once you start to see fresh fluid and no bubbles close the outside brake bleeder nipple

40. Remove the Motive brake fluid catch bottle tube and empty contaminated fluid into your contaminated fluid jug

41. Now reattach your Motive brake fluid catch bottle tube onto the outside brake bleeder nipple now repeat steps 33-39 confirming only fresh fluid and no bubbles are coming out along with making sure the system is pressurized to 15 psi and new fluid flowing into the brake master cylinder reservoir

42. Once confirmed that only fresh fluid and no bubbles are coming out repeat step 40 (Remove the Motive brake fluid catch bottle tube and empty contaminated fluid into your contaminated fluid jug)

43. You have now completed flushing the passenger rear inside and outside of the brake caliper.

44. Repeat step 19-43 in this order (inside passenger rear, outside passenger rear, inside driver rear, outside driver rear, inside passenger front, outside passenger front, inside driver front, outside driver front)

45. Now you have completed flushing and bleeding all four brake calipers

46. Slowly unscrew the pump cap on the motive power bleeder (once you see pressure start to drop on the gage allow it to do so slowly once pressure has reached zero unscrew the cap.

47. Now remove the motive power bleeder brake cylinder cap

48. Place your motive power brake bleeder off to the side out of the way

49. Confirm the brake master cylinder reservoir is filled to the top line (if needed fill with new fluid)

50. Put on the brake master cylinder reservoir cap

51. Go around your Camaro one more time looking at the inside and outside brake bleeder nipples and confirm they are not leaking and tight

52. Put your wheels back onto your camaro and take it off the jack stands (do not put the rubber protective brake bleeder nipple cap on yet as you want to inspect the brake bleeder nipples again in the next few steps)

53. Get into your Camaro and pump the brakes confirming it has a solid feel if not go back and repeat the whole process as there is possibly air in the system (DO NOT DRIVE IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SOLID BRAKE PEDAL FEEL)

54. If you have solid brake pedal feel, you can now check your clutch pedal confirming it has a solid pedal feel if not repeat the whole process as there is possibly air in the system (DO NOT DRIVE IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SOLID CLUTCH PEDAL FEEL)

55. Now start your Camaro and check both pedals for solid feel again

56. Once again get out of your Camaro and check the brake bleeder nipples for leaks and confirming there tight

57. Once you have found no problems with the system with the car running put in the clutch and put transmission into gear keeping the clutch depressed (DO NOT FORCE IT)

58. Repeat step 57 multi times in each gear

59. Now your ready for a test drive

60. Slowly start to drive your car in a safe space (DRIVE SLOWLY)

61. Apply the brake confirming the brakes are stopping the car

62. Slowly start adding speed and using more brake force

63. Once the brakes check out and are working correctly, go around your Camaro one more time check the brake caliper bleeder nipples for leaks and making sure there tight

64. Open your hood and check the brake master cylinder reservoir level (fill if needed)
I recommend taking the car for one last test drive confirm the brakes work correctly as this is a key part of your safety and everyone around you

65. Now you can put the rubber protective brake bleeder nipple caps back on

66. Over the next couple of days or drives check for leaks and brake master cylinder reservoir fluid level

Congratulations you have completed bleeding/ flushing brake and clutch system

Good write up

Agreed. Thank you for contributing.

I've been using the Motive bleeder for years and am very happy with it.

Just upgraded to the Motive system and I love it so far. Its better then yelling "presser" "release" and then getting them mixed up

Great write up. Only thing I do differently is use the Motive dry.

If you drive an auto how many liters do you need to do just the brakes???

Pump pedals 100 to 200 times?

Will need 1L minimum (brake system capacity is about 0.9L) but good to have more on hand just in case.

When doing the clutch, yes. You're trying to get fresh fluid in the slave cylinder without actually opening the slave cylinder bleed valve. Won't be able to get 100% new fluid into the slave cylinder with this method, but pumping that many times with fresh fluid in the reservoir will help mix in the fresh stuff.

I'm getting ready to do this procedure on my 1LE and wondered why you don't just bleed the valve on the slave cylinder?

JD

I can't get the motive to seal. I've tried so many times I'm tired of it. using thin gasket, it's obvious it will never work, audible air leaking at around 5 to 8 psi. Using the thick gasket, it seems promising, but very slow leak. I've tried tightening all connection points, using teflon tape on threads between hoses and using wrenches to tighten etc. I've tried this so many times i've lost count and each time it leaks slowly, about 1psi a minute.

this is very frustrating.

I used the 0108 kit with the thick gasket and it works like a dream, it's tough to get it twisted on right at first for sure, but it seals to 20psi and holds all day. I wonder if there are tolerance differences in the plastic reservoir that cause these issues for some.