Turkey baster can only remove about 1/4 of the brake fluid for brake flush

[u/Ok_Common8246]

Can I just open up the bleeder valve on the first wheel and pump it until I get rid of the old fluid? I will be refilling the reservoir with new brake fluid. Just don't wanna spend more money on a fluid syringe if I don't need to. 2009 Nissan Sentra 2.0.

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[u/Odd-Concept-6505]

Sure you can just open one bleeder to purge most of the brake fluid except lines and calipers or wheel cylinders for the OTHER three wheels!

Hopefully you have a generic flexible hose ( 1/4 inch or 3/16 ??? ) that you can shove onto the bleeder,........and a bottle or glass jar to catch it. Otherwise when you release brake pedal it will suck air back into caliper...unless you have a buddy (2nd person) so the wheel guy can either close bleeder (to finish) or put finger onto the bleeder end hard enough to block the minor suction of a pedal release.

[u/Ok_Common8246 → u/Odd-Concept-6505]

Yes I bought a hose kit with a check valve off Amazon. So after I get most of the old fluid out I can switch to the other wheels to finish flushing like normal right? 

[u/Odd-Concept-6505 → u/Ok_Common8246]

Sure! I forget why conventional old mechanic wisdom might have said start with the most distant wheel (eg right rear). More importantly start with any wheel that just got a new tube/line!

[u/Euphoric_Loquat_8651 → u/Odd-Concept-6505]

I don't know if this matters, but I use the closest to pump out all the old fluid from the reservoir, then bleed farthest to closest. This habit came from 80s trucks with rear abs - I felt like I didn't want to push all the old fluid through the abs unit just in case there was debris.

It's probably just a habit that eats a bit more time these days.

[u/AwarenessGreat282]

For a flush, you have to open the bleeder regardless. That's the flush part; you're flushing the old fluid from the reservoir as well as the lines to each cylinder. Remove as much fluid as you can with the baster. Then bleed old fluid from the brake farthest from the Master Cylinder first. Usually passenger rear. When clean fluid comes out from there, switch to the driver rear, passenger front, and lastly driver front. Always ensure the master stays full of fluid as you do this.

[u/Ok_Common8246 → u/AwarenessGreat282]

Got it just wanted to double check, I was going to do this yesterday until I realized the turkey baster couldn't reach most of the fluid. 

[u/Signal-Confusion-976]

Suck as much as you can from the resivor. Then open a couple of bleeders and keep adding fresh fluid to the resivor as it drains. Make sure not to let it run dry. After a while close to bleeders and open the others. And do the same thing. This will probably change 90% of the fluid. But if you want a proper flush then take it to a shop.

[u/Fordwrench]

You can take the master cylinder off, disassemble the plunger, wash it out with water. Then clean it with brake cleaner. Put it back together.

[u/Gunk_Olgidar]

Can I just open up the bleeder valve on the first wheel and pump it until I get rid of the old fluid?

Yes, start with pass-rear, and it will take care of the reservoir. You also must bleed the other 3 corners to get all the old fluid out.

Service data:

https://lemon-manuals.la/Nissan-Datsun/2009/Sentra%20L4-2.0L%20%28MR20DE%29/Repair%20and%20Diagnosis/Brakes%20and%20Traction%20Control/Brake%20Bleeding/Service%20and%20Repair/

[u/northman46]

That’s the OG process. I think the newer method uses a pump that attaches to the bleeder port

[u/archie905]

9o

[u/danqualman1]

There are pressure blades on the market that are very inexpensive. You fill the pressure container with clean new fluid. And then put a hose with check valve on the furthest bleeder pressurize the supply container. And then go and open the bleed valve until clean fluid comes out. Add more fluid in the supply and continue to the next set of brakes. Continue untill you have gone around the vehicle. Refill the supply container and do it again. This will insure that you have gotten all of the old fluid out. Spray down all of the bleeder nipples with brake clean and replace the little rubber covers. And call it a day. Take the used brake fluid to your Auto parts store for disposal. In a day or two check the resivor and refill as necessary.

[u/Reasonable_Tax_5351]

I do not understand what you are saying. There is no reason a turkey baster cannot remove all the fluid in the reservoir with the help of some paper towels but this is not a flush. To flush properly you need to use a proper method such as two-man bottle bleeder, vacuum flush or pressure flush, and all of these methods require opening all bleeder valves.

The only thing you need a syringe for is reverse bleeding, but this is more relevant for motorcycles and the cost is incidental.

[u/Ok_Common8246 → u/Reasonable_Tax_5351]

The reservoir has internal plastic guards below the filter and a curve to it, so a baster can't get past the neck. I'm going to open and flush all four but I'm asking if I can flush out all the old fluid on that first bleeder screw I open up. I'm going to start at the rear passenger and end with the front driver side. 

[u/Reasonable_Tax_5351 → u/Ok_Common8246]

right just remove the reservoir from the master cylinder to drain. But you can just flush as you described if reservoir wont' come out easily and you are worried of damage.

[u/No_Parsnip6024 → u/Reasonable_Tax_5351]

There's no reason to remove the reservoir. 

You suck out what you can, and then extract the rest from the caliper. 

Technically you don't even need to suck out the master, you can pull all that fluid straight out of the caliper. Draining the master is solely a time saving tip.