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Schwaben Power Bleeder Leaking During Brake Flush

Bill19751

Bill19751

Ready to race!
I replaced the transmission fluid and attempted bleeding the brakes in my 2013 6mt GTI today. For the brake flush, I purchased the Schwaben Power Bleeder from ECS, which is basically a copy of the Motive, gets good reviews, and is less expensive.

The problem was I had difficulty attaching the adapter to the reservoir. Despite multiple attempts, I barely got the pressure above 5psi before brake fluid started leaking. Even with the old fluid siphoned out, there was still a leak.

Am I doing something wrong, or should I call ECS about a return? Also, since the reservoir was emptied and refilled, I have a lot of new fluid in there anyway. Should I still try and bleed them, or call it good enough for the next two years?

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Squashdaddy

Squashdaddy

Go Kart Champion
I have the same one and had the same problem. I had to put Teflon tape on the threads of the reservoir to get a proper seal. One would think that the rubber gasket would be sufficient, but it isn't. A bit of a crummy design if you ask me.
 
Bill19751

Bill19751

Ready to race!
I can try that, but I'd rather just return it if that's the only option.

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MKVInnie

Passed Driver's Ed
Wow the irony, this thread started yesterday? I was doing this job last night and ran into the same issue. Got the O-ring mentioned in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfz9RlvKO0c but am still getting the leak this morning. Gonna try the teflon tape. I should be at work right now, instead I'm dealing with expensive brake fluid spilling all over my transmission and garage floor. Rage.
 
Bill19751

Bill19751

Ready to race!
Saw that video last night. I'll try picking up some o rings. I'm not going to be able to re so the brake job for a while though. I did suction all the old fluid out of the reservoir, so most of the new fluid went in anyway. Not a true "flush" but it's better than nothing for now.

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MKVInnie

Passed Driver's Ed
That's good. As long as there are no air bubbles in the system you should be alright. I got the teflon tape with the o-ring and its sealed now. Probably can get away with just the tape, wrapping it around the reservoir threads 2-3 times.
 
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apache

Passed Driver's Ed
Had the same experience today (mk6 2015 GTI). Was extremely difficult to thread the Schwaben cap onto the brake reservoir, and it leaked massively above 5psi. I noticed the rubber gasket in the Schwaben cap is extremely thick, so I removed it just to check the thread fit. With no rubber gasket, even on the initial turns it's extremely hard to thread onto the VW GTI brake reservoir, like the thread pitch is slightly off. Didn't want to force it and ruin the thread on my brake reservoir. The YouTube video linked above had a comment that the Motive power bleeder cap fits properly, so I'm going try that one next.
 
SteveInLA

SteveInLA

Ready to race!
I also have this problem with the Schwaben power bleeder. I have never been able to use it on my MK6 but it works great on my 1978 Fiat Spider!
 
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