I finally got brake fluid to the rear wheels. I never could get the lines disconnected at the proportioning valve and I couldn't get fluid to the rears when manually bleeding. I disconnected the lines at the rear wheels one at a time, pressured up the system and flushed until I got new fluid out. Then I bled the rears and then the fronts. I think I still have a bit more bleeding to do and I still need to get the brake light off but at least I am confident I have stopping power at all four wheels. If anyone is interested, I can take a digital photo of the home made pressure bleeder. It still needs fine tuning because it leaks slightly at the MC but it sure is nice otherwise. Thanks again everyone for your help and advice. I am very close to getting on the road. Mike

Very cool man. I'm in the process of finishing a pressure bleeder for my truck (just need to cut a plate for the reservoir and pick up a couple more brass fittings), but I planned on making one for the Dart also. I'd be interested in seeing some pics of yours, just out of curiosity. I'll be posting a writeup of mine (with pics) once it's all finished also.

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

I'll try tomorrow. Mine is simple but I need a thicker plate to clamp onto the MC because that's where mine leaked a bit. I used a garden sprayer (hand pump, plastic hose, a gauge, the plate and some fittings. I soldered with plumbing solder the fitting to the plate and used large U-bolts to hold the plate. For sealer, I glued some electrical outlet insulator foam. Because of the leak, it took two to bleed to keep pressure. Once I get a stouter plate, it won't buclke at the points I bolt it down. Using the plate, I can pressure bleed any old system because I drilled alternate bolt holes and kept the plate large. For newer cars, I figured I can transfer the fittings to a plastic screw-on MC cover for that particular car. Mike.

I tried copying digital photos of the pressure bleeder but can't seem to figure it out. Any clues? Thanks.

Mike

i've used one of the commercially available (expensive) pressure bleeders at a shop i used to work at and none of the adapters seemed leak-proof. i had no faith in power bleeders untili bought a vacuum bleeder from the matco man for about 50-75 bucks (it's aussie built for k-d tools) and it works great. then a new guy gets hired and he has a home-built one using a vacuum pump from an old refrigerator and a freon tank as a receptacle. he does'nt work with us anymore, but i think i can get some pics from him. a very cool thing to have around for drawing any type of fluids out of a reservoir before removal (power steering pumps, master cylinders, etc.) i use my "store bought" vacuum for all sorts of things. very useful for pulling a pint or two out of an overfilled transmission (just about all of the new hondas that come in for pre-delivery inspection are like this.)

-james

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