Using the Actron Kit
It's very easy to use the Actron system and it makes bleeding brakes a simple job with "no muss or fuss". I'm at a point where I can bleed both the front and rear brakes on my bikes in less than 1/2 hour from setup to cleanup. The way I figure it, the easier it is to do, the less likely you'll be to ignore the maintenance!
The complete kit consists of the hand pump, two hoses and a container to hold the used brake fluid. The container has a screw-on top which is airtight once sealed; the top has two nipples on it, one is for the hose that goes to the pump and the other is for the hose that goes to the bleed fitting.
There is also a tube of some type of grease you can use to put around the threads of the bleed fitting after you've loosened it, but after I used up the little tube that's supplied in the kit, I simply use either generic brand petroleum jelly or regular grease in its place.
Before you begin, make sure the master cylinder cover is loose, otherwise you won't be able to overcome the vacuum created by trying to suck the fluid out of a sealed system. Use an old turkey baster to suck out most of the old brake fluid in the master cylinder, and you can use a clean paper towel to wipe out any sediment.
Then fill the reservoir up to the top with fresh fluid -- always put the cap back on the brake fluid container as soon as you can. I also set the top back on the master cylinder, just to make sure no dirt or dust find there way in there.
By the way, here's a tip -- I use a couple of pieces of aluminum foil and spread them around the master cylinder and over the gas tank and anywhere else the brake fluid might drip. Brake fluid is supposed to be pretty corrosive stuff on paint jobs, so I always keep a spray bottle of non-ammonia window cleaner (e.g., "Glass Plus" brand) nearby and some paper towels to spray and clean up any brake fluid drips as quickly as possible. I also spread some foil around the brake rotor and around the bleed fitting to prevent the fluid from landing on anything important -- like my tire!
Screw the top on the Actron container, attach the black hose from the pump to the container, and the clear hose from the container to the bike's bleed fitting -- the clear hose is so that you can see the fluid as it comes out and you can tell if there are bubbles in it.
You may find that the end of the clear hose will stretch a bit after 2-3 uses, so you may need to trim 10mm or so off the end of the hose with a sharp razor knife. This gives you another section of un-stretched hose end, which is harder to get over the bleed nipple, but helps to keep the seal airtight.
Pump the handle of the Actron pump a couple of times to make sure you can draw a vacuum, and let everything set for a few seconds to make sure the vacuum holds.
If the vacuum gauge starts to drop, you probably have some air leaking in, so you should check everything to make sure it's sealed. The instructions tell you to put some grease on the threads of the container to help prevent air leaks, but mine seems to work well without it, although I do put plenty of grease around the bleed nipple threads.
Slightly loosen the bleed fitting, and you should see the old fluid start to come out. I keep about 10 pounds of vacuum going (see the photo on the right), which means you'll have to give a few pumps occasionally. Make sure you put some grease around the threads of the fitting to prevent any air leakage. I rest the container on top of an old plastic toolbox, which means this is basically a one-hand operation.
It's important to keep an eye on the brake fluid level in the master cylinder -- if I'm alone, when the level gets low, I screw the bleed fitting back in and go around the bike and pour some fresh fluid in. If I can talk my wife into helping me, she keeps an eye on the fluid level and keeps it refreshed.
Also, check the old fluid level in the container that's attached to the Actron pump -- if it gets too full, it will get sucked up into the pump body itself. Although one of the nice things about the Actron pump is that it's all metal and can be taken apart for cleaning. It's a good practice to take the pump body apart and clean it with some water and dishwashing liquid after using it anyway, then dry it before you put it back together.
That's really all there is to it -- keep up the vacuum and you will see the old fluid pour into the container. As long as you keep a vacuum, you know you're sucking fluid down through the system. It takes a few times to get the hang of it; you'll probably find that you only need to crack the bleed nipple very slightly to get a smooth, steady flow of fluid.
You can screw in the bleed fitting at any time and see if there's a drop in pressure -- there shouldn't be, but if there is, it means that air is getting into the system somehow and you should check the hoses and the container seal to make sure they're tight. I usually put about 2/3 of a bottle of fresh brake fluid through the system and figure it's flushed. I've really never had any problems with air leaking back into the system.
Using the Actron pump works great when the system does have air in it, like after you've changed the master cylinder or replaced the brake lines. I'm not sure of the technical reasons, but it seems like when pulling the brake fluid down through the system is better than trying to push it through by hand
