Used this for the first time to bleed my clutch. I had real reservations going in, but I'm here to tell you that this thing works. On my car, the clutch bleed valve is on the clutch delay valve on the front of the transmission. To reach it, all you have to do is remove the coolant reservoir (one bolt). You do the whole job from the front of the car through the hood. No need for lifts.

I'm looking forward to using the Mityvac on my brakes next week.


http://mityvac.com/hq_images/MV6830.jpg

 

A cheaper version of this can be had from Harbor Freight for $30 or less if on sale. I just used one to replace the brake fluid on my minivan. Will do the Fit later this month. Works great but doesn't have all the features of the mityvac unit.

 

i wash the system real well with warm soapy water after use. brake fluid corrodes the seals rather quickly as i found out.

 

I've used a MityVac, Speedbleeders, and pressure systems on an MX-5. Of them all, the pressure system is the cleanest, easiest and best results. The pressurized garden sprayer type is very easy to build.

Buy an extra brake reservoir cover, fit it with a flexible pipe to a 1/2 gallon garden sprayer. Don't fill the garden sprayer with fluid, just use it to pressurize the system. And you don't need (or want) much pressure, 5 to 8 psi. About 4 or 5 pumps and it should be ready to go. Keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir, but you can easily do one wheel complete line flush without refilling. If you want to get fancy, add a valve on the line from the sprayer to the reservoir cover.

With vacuum systems you get some air coming in around the bleeder valve screws unless there is some kind of sealant.

 

The trick with vacuum Systems is to close the bleeder screw while still drawing a vacuum

 

My experience was that the air would enter through the threads of the bleeder valve while I had it open, thus giving me bubbles.

I spent a lot of time bleeding the ABS system on that car after replacing the calipers, and having to stop with the lines open because one caliper I bought was the wrong part. I did finally get it right. I also changed fluid a lot on a non-ABS system after track days, and the pressure system was a lot less work.

 

I don't know if the Mityvac is a better system than doing a two-man job with one man pumping the brake/clutch pedal, but I had no one to help me, and the end result is that my clutch feels less spongy than before.

 

There are metal-bodied hand vacuum pumps (I've got one from Craftsman) that are much more durable and effective than the MityVac set up. Over the years, the plastic Mityvac pump broke -- but I still have the assortment of hoses, containers and adapters that came with it. The Craftsman pump is much better.

But WAY better than any of those approaches is the Motive Power Bleeder. Pushing new fluid in with pressure through the reservoir is MUCH quicker and more effective than trying to pull a bit of it out at a time with hand vacuum pump. Works great on the Porsche and Volvo --- if only them made an effective cap for the Honda reservoirs.....

FWIW - just did the brake flush (year one big maintenance) on my '15 Fit using the hand vacuum pump. Worked fine -- just takes a bit of time.