I have tried may different ways to bleed brakes and vacuum is the least preferred way. When you try to use vacuum you take the chance of introducing air and contaiminants into the system or at least the bleeder. The bleeder screws were not deseigned to be used in that manner. Some advice was to remove the bleeder screw and "grease it up" and reinstall loosly but I never had luck with this method, I always seem to pull air I think at the bleeder screw. Besides if there is any crud in the bleeder screw it doesn't work at all. Pressure is the best way and the "Poor Man's" way is with an assistant. Short of that there is a cheap device that consists of a short piece of hose with a small plastic check valve. Use a small container with some fluid in it so you don't pull any air back in. The procedure is to do the master cylinder first, then front left, front right , rear left then rear right and repeat at least once. Make sure the fluid runs clear, which is why you really should watch as you bleed. A pressure bleeder is the the best way to go if you can afford it. NEVER mix brands of brake fluid and always use sealed cans. Get a kid to help you and all you have to promise him is a ride! The owner's manual says to change the brake fluid and clutch every 2 years. Current wisdom is to only use Castrol GTLMA Dot 4 as it seems the most compliant with the materiels used in the brake system. You should be able to find it in any large auto supply that handles the Castrol brand which is reletively popular. Dot 5 silicone does not absorb moisture but has a problem of dissolved air which increases compressability and on many older cars (Deloreans not included) increases brake pedal travel to the extent that to stop you have to pump the brakes, not what you want in a panic stop! It is very expensive and if mixed with any other DOT like 3 or 4 now you have to dump the whole system dissasemble, flush, and reassemble! David Teitelbaum vin 10757 --- In dmcnews@xxxx, "Hank Eskin" <heskin@xxxx> wrote: > > Hello All, > > I need to bleed my brakes, and today I picked up a $25 vacuum > pump/one-person-brake-bleeding kit at Autozone. What are peoples' opinions > about these type of kits, do they do the same job as a traditional two-man > brake bleeding procedure, and is there anything I should look out for when > using this kit? > > Thanks, > > -Hank Eskin #1619