Russell Speed Bleeders - anyone else try them?

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Timpanogos Slim

Timpanogos Slim

10 Year
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Orem, UT
So far I like them. Most of my friends don't have a lot of free time to help me bleed brakes, and the mity vac was only drawing about a teaspoon at a go, so these turned into a must-have for me. provided that they work properly.

It sorta seems that they do?

I got two pair of 639560 via amazon prime for about $24 shipped, for front and rear brakes.

I hear tell that the LSPV is the same thread, does anybody know if the MC is as well?

It was a surprise to me that the russell screw has a 7/16" hex rather than the 10mm (an 11mm wrench might fit) but that's only a hassle the first time around, and only because i didn't expect it.

I had my "well there's your problem" moment when i removed the front left bleeder screw and no fluid leaked out. The seat on that screw turns out to be pretty corroded. I'm hoping this was my only major issue.

So far in my brake saga i have pumped about half a gallon of rootbeer-colored fluid out of the system, replaced with autozone house brand dot-3.

I know I'm supposed to bleed the LSPV next but like i said i only bought 4 of these. I'm gonna take a test drive and if it turns out i still have issues I will order another pair and/or rope a friend into helping me out again.
 
I don't know if Joey got a bad batch or the quality went down recently.
I've had the speedbleeders for years on the Cruiser and haven't had any issues.
They do make bleeding very simple.

Also, like you, I forgot about the LSPV valve :/
Let us know how they hold up!
 
I had a problem with the rears; the SpeedBleeders I got had a pointed tip, the OEM bleeders are blunt. That extra 1/2mm prevented the SpeedBleeders from seating completely on the rear calipers. Don't know if that was due to the design of the bleeder or if there was some obstruction or rust at the base of the threaded hole. I ended up installing OEM bleeders on the rear calipers and put the SpeedBleeders on the front calipers. To bleed the system I used a cheapo one-man bleeder bottle at each bleeder one at a time. Don't recall what I used for the LSPV. After bleeding everything I stuffed some antiseize or grease into the center hole of each bleeder then put the rubber caps on to help keep them from rusting internally. No leaks after four years.
 
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Kernal said:
I had a problem with the rears; the SpeedBleeders I got had a pointed tip, the OEM bleeders are blunt. That extra 1/2mm prevented the SpeedBleeders from seating completely, but only on one rear caliper IIRC. I ended up installing OEM bleeders on the rear calipers and put the SpeedBleeders on the front calipers. To bleed the system I used a cheapo one-man bleeder bottle at each bleeder one at a time. Don't recall what I used for the LSPV.
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huh, did not notice this. I'd think it would be pretty easy to blunt the tip of a bleeder screw with a file, though.

I don't recall if the bleeders i installed were pointed or blunt. amazon's photo shows a blunt tipped bleeder though.

Anyway, stuff is improved but not perfect. I'll have to get under there and do the LSPV.
 
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Agree about blunting the tip, didn't think of the obvious solution until I had finished the job. Got so caught up in trying to bleed the system, had gone through over a quart of brake fluid and couldn't get a good pedal until I swapped out the bleeders IIRC.
 
The back story is that i tore into my front hubs in search of a noise. Bearings were fine, preload was nonexistent, noise turned out to be the front ds u-joints.

But i had already bought new 100-series brake pads, and the front pads were approaching paper thin. I'd also bought new rotors but it turns out that if you try to use brand new powerstop evolution ceramic 100-series pads with brand new brembo 80 series front rotors they simply will not fit. A friend at a machine shop turned and media blasted my OE rotors and i reused them.

I did not clamp off the soft lines before clamping the pistons back into the rotors as specified by the FSM because i am a dumbass.

A friend came over and helped me bleed the front brakes when i found that the mity-vac wasn't going to do the job before i died of old age. Things did not improve much.

At this point it's a lot better but i still have to use more pressure on the pedal than I'm used to to keep the rig stopped at an intersection.

I'm hoping it turns out that the MC uses the same bleeder as the rest of the system. Right at the moment I'm pretty much broke but i can buy another pair of speed bleeders next week.
 
Pin_Head said:
Speed bleeders may work, but they do not develop enough pressure to get the stubborn bubbles out.

Make some friends or get a wife or children.
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you misunderstand - the russell speed bleeder is a bleeder screw with a carefully engineered check valve. The idea is that this makes it unlikely to suck air back into the caliper. They also have a pretty good waxy-type sealant on the threads.

So you install the new bleeder screw, stick the hose on it, stick other end of hose into a reservoir, back it out a quarter turn, and go pump with the pedal without having to worry (much) about whether the valve is sucking air between pumps.
 
No, I understand. They all don't allow enough hydraulic pressure to build in the system to compress the bubbles and force the stubborn bubbles that are hiding out. Sucking air back is another problem, but it is a different issue. With the two man method, the guy in the cab presses hard on the pedal to pressurize the system to more than 1000PSI before you open the bleeder and it squirts out with gusto.
 
Pin_Head said:
No, I understand. They all don't allow enough hydraulic pressure to build in the system to compress the bubbles and force the stubborn bubbles that are hiding out. Sucking air back is another problem, but it is a different issue. With the two man method, the guy in the cab presses hard on the pedal to pressurize the system to more than 1000PSI before you open the bleeder and it squirts out with gusto.
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ok, well, that's still an option, and my original bleeders were still rounded off and rusty.
 
I installed a set several years back. The LPSV is a different size. If i had to do it again, i would just buy a Mityvac 1 man bleeding system. I borrow my buddys and it kicks azzz
 
used them. dont like them. really have to torque them tight after bleeding or they trickle fluid. also didnt tread in as smoothly as the OEM. have themon 2 cars. wont be using them on the others. dont really feel as confident as i do with a toyota part.
 
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