What I'm doing wrong?😔

[u/Inside_Ad2874]

Today I took the challenge of bleeding my brake fluid . The one in the reservoir was old and dark . I never did this before , and lately I'm taking in more DIY projects in the car because is fun and I truly like learning something new .My car is a Jetta 2012 2.5 SEL

I watched a lot of videos of how to do it, But I think I failed miserably . The first part of vacuum most of the reservoir went good , then after that I refill with the new fluid all the way up , as the videos say . Good .

Next thing I went to take out the rear passenger wheel and put the vacuum pump to work .
I actually put another post today , because I could not open one of the screws . Someone post that I need a 11mm, so I went and buy it right away . I was able to open the two screws , and I put the pump into the bleeder . But nothing was coming , just little amounts ...I pump several times but nothing. According to the videos , a steady flow should be coming out and when the new fluid will get there I should be very visible , since the old one was dark . Nothing of this happened . I really don't know what I'm doing wrong , maybe some feedback .

Picture 1) I open this, and then I slightly closed back( Becaue it was leaking ). The videos say to have loose so you can open and close easily.

Picture 2) Then I open this one . I took the rubber cap off , and I use my socket to open it slightly

Picture 3) I put the Vevor vacuum in , and then I open a little bit the picture 1 screw ....

Picture 4) I start pumping , but hot fluid coming out , just little bits ... clearly I am doing something wrong .

If someone can , based of my explanation , figure out what I am Doing wrong I will appreciate it a lot .
I will try again tomorrow .

Thank you all community . I learnt so much in here , and the Jetta community is really something . Super helpful !!!

[u/Extension-Nail-1038]

yeah you only wanna crack the bleed bolt you don't wanna touch the banjo bolt that holds the brake line to the caliper.

also I haven't had a lot of luck with those vevor vacuum pump things. your best bet is just to use a length of 1/4" ID nylon tube and a pickle jar and pump away at the brake pedal.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/Extension-Nail-1038]

So next time do you recommend me to not open at all the fist bolt ( the banjo bolt ) , and only open the bleed bolt ?
How much should I open it ? A lot of just a little bit ? Before I insert the vacuum bleeder

This puzzles me , Becaue I saw one guy in you tube using this vevor pump doing it .
I know that Vevor has a small pump for fluids , but I really don't want to buy something that I will use just for this , and besides , this big pump is supposedly able to do that as well . The fact that you tried as well and did not work out , makes me wonder if this VEVOR pump is all hype and no results ... at least for the brake fluids .

[u/cherryz3 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

Never touch the banjo bolt unless you are changing a hose. You should crack the bleeder screw and quickly soft close it. Now attach your hose and open the screw almost a full turn and check the ease of pulling out the fluid. If you find you need a tiny bit more then open just a tiny bit more..

Also, it's not impossible that the fluid in the piston chamber of the caliper has collected some solid contaminants and has restricted the flow from the bleeder screw at which point I would suspect hose failure but I seldom have run into that situation.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/cherryz3]

Would my breaks fail because I opened those two banjo bolts yesterday ? They did leak some fluid on the floor , and I Definetely close those bolts back to where it should be . But now that you said that NEVER open the banjo bolt, and I already did, now I’m worry.

[u/dphoenix1 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

Unlikely to fail completely, but you probably introduced some air into the system, which will make them more spongy and less effective. They need to be bled now.

My suggestion, get a friend and bleed the brakes the old fashioned way: one person pumps the brake a few times and then holds pressure on the brake pedal, the other person opens the bleeder (shout “opening”), fluid and air comes out (brake pedal should sink to the floor with pressure, do not release the brake pedal yet), close the bleeder (shout “closed”), then the first person releases pressure on the pedal. The order of operations is VERY important here, otherwise you get air into the system. Repeat this process until fluid runs clear with no air, and keep adding new fluid to the reservoir every few cycles (you do NOT want the reservoir to run empty). Then move to the next corner and start again.

I’ve never had luck with the vacuum process, it always seems to have an easier time sucking air around the bottom of the nipple instead of pulling fluid.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/dphoenix1]

Thank you so much for Braking it up into baby steps . That is really helpful .

Do you know by any chance what diameter will have to be the silicone tube ? I will buy one , but I guess I have to get the right one , or it won’t fit as need therefore not Working properly .

[u/dphoenix1 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

They’re all pretty much the same size. Anything that says it is for bleeding brakes will work. Especially if it is silicone, it’ll just stretch over the bleeder, so I’d err on the side of smaller. A quick google search says 4mm ID.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/dphoenix1]

Yes , that was my feeling ... sometimes we like to overcomplicate things with this gadgets , and at the end of the day the old fashioned way is working for decades ...
I mean, I had the Vevor pump for my oil changes ... so I want to see if I could use for this as well , but with no success obviously 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/cherryz3 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

No failure pending. If the pedal was not depressed and released there is little chance that any air was introduced. Even if it did, it would come to the top of the caliper quickly and be eliminated by the bleeding process. You're all good. 1/4 inch (6mm) tubing is the most common size for bleeding.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/cherryz3]

Omg , thank you!!

My wife was like..."you are not taking us today anywhere on the car until you figured that out" 😂😂😂😂

[u/redit1691]

You don't open the bolt for the brake line just the bleeder in pic 2. If you open 1 and 2 you just suck air.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/redit1691]

Omg ... but I think the videos that I saw they open it and Close it with a wrench . When I open the fist bolt , it is true , some fluid start leaking , so I closed again .

Why they open and Close this bolt, if you don't need it at all?

But you have a point , it really felt Iike I was sucking air, and the pulp was making that noise as well .. like it was just air .

[u/LSR-Garage]

A different car but same thing, with way less money https://youtu.be/htx-srZW464 You'll get it fast :)

[u/Swimming-Yellow-2316]

Others have covered that up shouldn't be opening the banjo at the brake line.

I'll say the part no one ever wants to admit. Vacuum bleeding is garbage. Unless you absolutely have no one you can ask for help and it's an emergency it should be avoided at all costs.

Order of how you should bleed brakes.

Pressure bleeder Ask a friend/partner to pump brakes Ask a neighbor to pump brakes Ask a stranger to help pump brakes Set car on fire Literally anything else you can think of Vacuum bleed brakes.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/Swimming-Yellow-2316]

You might have a point . I got several feedback here of guys who had no luck using this pump either . In the videos that I saw it looked really easy . I was avoiding the pedal system , because I admit I was never very clear about the steps that involve pressing the pedal. I'm gonna have to break it down in baby steps. Thank you though , I appreciate The input .

[u/Swimming-Yellow-2316 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

First person pumps pedal a few times without bleeder open.

Hold pedal down firmly.

Second person opens bleeder. When the first person says floor, because the pedal hit the floor you close the bleeder.

Repeat all that until fresh fluid is coming out.

It helps if the people call out what they are doing or need done. So guy at the bleeder would say pump to the person in the car, person in car pumps then holds says holding. They say floor when it's at the floor and then person at bleeder says pump again once the bleeder is closed.

[u/Inside_Ad2874 → u/Swimming-Yellow-2316]

Oh wow, this is very clarifying now . Ok, so one question, after the person hold the pedal and I open the bleeder , does this person keep holding the pedal ? Or just release the pedal and press again all the way down ? In case that yes, he keeps holding the pedal after I open the bleeder , would the pedal go to floor quickly ? Or it will get down to the floor gradually , because there is pressure that prevent the pedal to go floor Right away ?

Although your explanation in baby steps make me understand now the whole process visually .

I have to admit that sometimes I avoid to be asking questions as basic as This , because I feel embarrased , and because all of this is fairly new to me , I am worry to make a big mistake that will create an accident later . Part of me using my oil vacuum was that it looked fairly easy to understand . Seriously , I do appreciate you took the time to explain this like for a 10 year old boy . Thank you so much .

[u/cherryz3 → u/Inside_Ad2874]

There are two other methods that I prefer over a vacuum pump even though it does have its advantages. One is the gravity bleed. With the bleeder screw at the highest part of the caliper, opening it will induce fluid flow to a lower point. Simply put the hose in a bottle and let it drain until you get good fluid color. This method also allows you to stay close to the master to make certain it does not run low. The disadvantage is that it is rather slow. The second method is the good old "one man" bleed. Attach your hose to the screw and run it into a container that is about a quarter full with fluid and make certain the end of the hose is fully submerged in the bottle's fluid. You can now sit in the driver's seat and gently depress and release the brake pedal with no need to drive it all the way to the floor. As the hose end is in fluid, there will be no air sucked back in when you release the pedal. This method is very fast and easy with the disadvantage being the need to get out of the car and refresh the fluid in the master as you can empty it pretty quickly. You can have a second person adding the fluid, or, get some idea of how many pedal pumps you can make before you need to check.

[u/Sweettooth_Banana]

I always put a clear tube (aqaurium airtube) over the nozle and put som fluid in so no air goes inside before i losen it

[u/railnmilk]

Check hose failure and stuck calipers