I just finished installing a BBK on the front of my car and it was time to bleed the brakes. I started off using a MityVac manual vacuum pump, but after a while, my hand was getting tired and it was taking longer than i would've liked. That's when i looked over to the corner of the garage and saw the electric vacuum pump i purchased earlier in the year to service my A/C system. The pump itself doesn't state anything about being specific for A/C systems only so i figured i'd give it a shot. I found some tubing, hooked up the vacuum cup from the MityVac, and connected one end of the hose to the electric pump and the other to my bleeder valve. First i started up the pump then i cracked the valve open and it worked like magic. After filling about 1/4 to 1/3 of the vacuum cup with brake fluid, i tightened the valve and turned off the pump. I redid all 4 corners twice starting with the passenger right side and working my way towards the driver front. This was by far the easiest brake bleeding job i ever did...almost too easy. I haven't gotten the car on the road yet, but just by pumping the brake in the car, the pedal is rock hard.

Here's a picture of the pump and how i hooked it up:

 

What pump is that? Can't tell from the pictures. Thanks.

 

The brand is Pittsburgh, but you can get it off Harbor Freight, which is where i got it from. It says it's $99 but i'm pretty sure i didn't pay that much for it. Harbor Freight always has coupons and this particular unit was on sale during the summer.

Electric Vacuum Pump - 2.5 CFM

 

Interesting approach to bleeding your brakes, thanks for sharing. Regardless of how you've bled the lines the pedal should be rock hard after you pump the brakes with the car turned off. Even if there's still some air in the lines the pedal will still be hard after a few pumps. Until you drive the car it's tough to say just how well it worked. I've never really liked mity vac/ vacuum bleeding since it's never worked great, at least not for me.

Recently I had a member who was tracking his contact me with soft brake pedal problems. We traced the problem to the mity vac/vacuum bleeding. Switching to a pressure bleeder fixed his problem...Plus it's easier IMO. With a Motive pressure bleeder you pump it up to roughly 15lbs and then bleed each corner by opening and closing the bleed valves on each caliper. As an added bonus the master cylinder reservoir stays full so you don't need to keep checking the level (assuming the pressure chamber has fluid in it). Some people say the pressure bleeder causes micro air bubbles to form but I've never had any problems. Just offering another (possibly cheaper) option you may not have been aware of.

-Dan