Guide Rating and Review

I heard about a new tool for doing brake bleeding and brake fluid flush. It is called The SpeediBleed Brake Flushing Tool. Now I have two power bleeders in the shop and, sad to say, they sit in the corner gathering dust because most times they are more trouble then they are worth. It takes forever to set them up and most times they leak because they don't have the right adapters. Most times they won't even work on a particular master cylinder.

Flushing and bleeding brakes has been made very important with the advent of ABS brake systems, which are very sensitive to contaminated brake fluid. Flushing brake fluid is both a safety and a preventative maintenance issue and should be done every two years on all vehicles. With this new brake flushing tool, we can now do a brake flush in less than half the time it took us before. The kit comes in a very nice carrying and storage case. It's about the size of a large fishing tackle box and made of a heavy duty plastic that won't be damaged by brake fluid.

Included in the kit are the following:

• Brake fluid bottle.
• Air regulator and hose assembly
• Five adapters to fit most cars and light trucks.
• Easy to follow instruction sheet/adapter application chart.

The KO1A SpeediBleed is very simple to use. We tested it on a number of different vehicles, American, Asian and European. Selecting the correct adapter to use was simple. We just look at their handy wall chart and select the correct adapter the first time. The adapters were easy to use, are well made and should last a good long time.

We hooked up the KO1A SpeediBleed air supply hose to the valve stem on the left front tire. Wait! Did he say "TIRE"?? Yes, indeed I did. The SpeediBleed uses the tire as a low-pressure air source. By using the tire as the pressurized air source, SpeediBleed fail-safes the tool to ensure that there is no risk to ABS systems. The SpeediBleed regulator further ensures that high-pressure air cannot damage an ABS system by limiting the input pressure to a maximum of 30 psi. The operational pressure of the SpeediBleed is 15 psi.

We would then raise the car on the lift and attach a hose to the bleeder screw. The hose was routed into an old pickle jar to catch the fluid coming out of the bleeder. This is a good idea to help keep the shop clean and keep any stray brake fluid from getting into the environment.

Hi-Lo Distributors is introducing the new K01C model SpeediBleed in 2003, which includes a very handy used brake fluid collector bottle. The Collector Bottle is designed with a clear plastic hose that easily fits over the bleed screw to enable you to see the new brake fluid flushing out the old brake fluid. The Collector Bottle further allows you to dispose of the used fluid in an environmentally safe manner.

We adjust the SpeediBleed air regulator to 10 psi. SpeediBleed recommends 15 psi in their instructions but I found 10 PSI to work just fine for most applications.

We open the bleeder screw and let SpeediBleed do its thing. It took about 30 seconds to get clear, fresh brake fluid coming out of the bleeder screw.

We then repeated the process for the other three wheels. Starting with the wheel farthest away from the Master Cylinder and working forward.

Most times flushing the entire brake system took less than 30 minutes. It is much faster than foot pedal bleeding, gravity bleeding and vacuum bleeding with a hand pump. And it's a one man job again.

I found that everything Hi-Lo Distributors says about the tool is true. It is fast, easy and more convenient than the old pressure bleeders I have used. It has a large, clear brake fluid bottle, so it's easy to see when it's time to refill with brake fluid.

We found the SpeediBleed to be a huge time saver when compared to other flushing and bleeding methods, and it requires only one person, unlike manual bleeding. We can now do a better job in less time and pass that savings on to my customers.

With its selection of 5 easy-to-use adapters, SpeediBleed will work on about 95% of all the vehicles found in North America. There are some vehicles it will not work on, such as the Yugo or the older model Volkswagen Beetle, Dodge Caravan (reservoir cannot be pressurized), Toyota Previa (reservoir cannot be accessed) and Mercedes Unimog. This tool would be a valuable addition to any shop that does brake work. It would also be a big time saver for the DIYer who wishes to maintain his brake system properly but doesn't have all day to flush and bleed the brake system.

Additional adapters can be purchased separately.

The SpeediBleed brake fluid flushing and bleeding tool is available at many fine tool dealers, warehouses and jobbers throughout the USA and Canada.

Hi-Lo Distributors
Unit 129, 720 6th St.
New Westminster
BC, Canada V3L3C5
Telephone: (866) 864-8628
Fax: (604) 864-8638
Email: sales@speedibleed.com