TANK
-- 1/2 gallon heavy duty (Nalgene) plastic tank.A dealer of outdoor
equipment should easily have such a tank. They have many different
styles and shapes. Your criteria should be a tight seal on the screw
cap, very solid construction, and a relatively flat surface area on the
top where you can mount a metal tire valve. We used a tank with
the following dimensions: 8"(h)x6"(w)x3"(d). It is most important that
it be sturdy and that most of the volume be air rather than fluid so
that the pressure remains relatively constant during the bleed. Use a
good DOT-approved fluid and put about a half quart in the tank. This
tank was the most expensive part ~ $9.50
TANK -- 1quart
tank into which old fluid is collected.You have probably used a form of
this in the past. At the same same outfitter store, you can get a
lighter duty quart jug for this purpose. Put another tire valve in the
cap, drill the valve out with a 1/4" bit, and run a 5/16" hose from the
calliper nipple over a short section of stiff 1/4" tubing which goes
through the valve and down into the tank. A very small hole drilled
into the cap next to the valve will allow air to escape. No more
catching fluid in a wine bottle, if this one falls over it is no
problem, because it is a single piece.
CAP -- Nalgene
cap to temporarily fit the top of the reservoir in place of the
existing one with the sending unit.Find a Nalgene cap about 1 3/4" in
diameter to fit your BMW perfectly (a tight fit here is essential).
This part may take some trial and error and the cap from one reservoir
may be different from another.
HOSE -- 2 feet of 3/8" OD x 1/4 ID vinyl hoseto go from Tank #1 to the cap #3.
HOSE -- 2 feet of 5/16" OD hoseto drain the fluid into Tank #2.
HOSE
-- 9" of stiff 1/4" OD tubing to fit inside Tank #1 from the drilled
valve down to a corner in the tank (take a look at the pesticide tank
in your garage if you can't visualize this).
VALVE
STEMS -- 4 metal type screw valve stemsthese should be available at
most car parts or tire stores. Drill out three of them as described for
Tank #2 above. The fourth one is not drilled out because it is mounted
in the cap of #1 above and is used to pressurize the system.
Bleeder Construction
Drill out three of the four valves with 1/4" bit (be careful and use a vise).
Drill out all three caps to accept the valves as well as a spot on the shoulder of Tank #1.
Mount undrilled valve in cap of Tank #1.
Insert 1/4" stiff tubing into bottom end of one remaining valve and mount valve on shoulder of Tank #1.
Mount a remaining drilled valve into the hole in cap which mounts on reservoir.
Put 3/8" OD hose on the two valve stems just described.
Collector tank construction is described above. You can use a small electric pump but a hand pump will do. Don't pressurize above 10 to 15 psi.
Larger
hoses will improve flow and a stop cock valve allows you to fine tune
your setup but is not necessary. A local observer suggested a strap for
the reservoir to ensure your reservoir doesn't decide to lift off,
another unnecessary precaution in my experience.
Building a brake bleeder
