OK, not THAT pneumatic wife... but one that takes the place of her pumping the brakes in my car while I crack the bleeder valve at the brake caliper!

My wife was running errands when I needed her help to bleed the brakes....so I wanged this fugly but very functional power brake bleeder together in about 15 min. It's ugly and looks clunky but works fine, cost $1.99 (for the tire valve) and installs in 5 min.

Since the auto stores don't sell a master cylinder top, I took a piece of 1/8" aluminum, stretched a piece of rubber from an old bike inner tube over the bottom side, and installed a screw down tire valve in a hole drilled thru the aluminum plate.

I removed the tire core (if you had a latching type of air hose connector, like the old treaded type, you could leave the valve core in, I suppose) ...and connected a piece of rubber tubing over the business end of the tire valve.

The other end of the valve went to the outlet of a garden sprayer.

5 min to install with some c-clamps lightly holding it to the top of the master cylinder (after the lid is removed of course) , a few strokes of the sprayer piston and volia , a 15 min, 1.99$ power brake bleeder.....

Yeah, I know it's ugly, but I suspect it works as well as the $80 versions...and it was available on the spot. It's not an original idea, but perhaps will bail someone out some day.

I got the treaded tire valve stem at Carquest.

 

Don't feel bad.I have the motive power bleeder and still fighting air in the brakes.It ain't like its something your going to use every day.I work alone on my car 90% of the time.Hard to bleed brakes by yourself.Speed bleeders are nice but I can't see when all the air stops coming thru the tubes.

 

i once put the calipers on the wrong sides, so the bleed fitting was on the bottom.... true story.. took me 3 days to figure it out..haha

 

We all have our moments.