val862•4d ago

Tried the dollar store brake fluid flush trick and it actually worked

I was messing around with my 2004 Civic last Saturday trying to fix a spongy brake pedal and ended up draining the master cylinder almost dry. A guy at the parts counter in Dayton told me to try a gravity bleed with cheap DOT 3 instead of messing with a vacuum pump. I figured he was just trying to sell me something but I grabbed a $4 bottle and let it drip through for about 40 minutes. Pedal came back solid after maybe 15 pumps and I've put 300 miles on it since with no issues. I know some folks say you need a pressure bleeder but honestly this worked fine for a daily driver. Has anyone else tried the gravity method on an older car or am I just getting lucky?