Brake fluid, how often?
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Originally Posted by tjcvett
How often do you change your brake fluid? I have a 00 coupe with 21000 miles on her. Don't race or anything. Should it be done?
I think it should absolutely be done at least every two years at the minimum. I'm going to do mine again because I want to make sure I got all the black gunk out of the system. It only cost a couple of dollars in brake fluid, and I can't think of too many more important systems than the brakes....
Race Director
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From: Lake Havasu City, AZ
The fluid should look the color of a lager beer. IF it is cola colored and has coffee grounds in it ... you have waited far too long to change it.
Depending on your driving habits and local humidity it should be changed every 1-2 years.
Depending on your driving habits and local humidity it should be changed every 1-2 years.
Melting Slicks
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From: Farmers Branch TX
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St. Jude Donor '09
I bled out the entire system, you have to have a Tech 2 tester to bleed the ABS unit, but I have been told that if you bleed the brakes from the calipers, then go out and do a couple of ABS stops, then bleed them again, it will get all the fluid. I dont really know if this is true or not. I bought a set of speed bleeders for my car, and I think they are one of the best mods yet.
--Chris
--Chris
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From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Many people have cars with the original brake fluid in them with and the car is 15 years old with 200K+ on the clock..
while proper maintenance is important, many people over do their systems..
as brake fluid gets old, it absorbs moisture, which lowers the boiling point and this cause brake fade... but in normal driving conditions even ten year old fluid would never get hot enough to boil off...most brake fluids boils at around 450F to 500 F.
Contaminated brake fluid will boil at 300F but you would rarely see those temps in normal driving..
I am not condoning going that long, but like changing oil, people think they are doing something magical by changing engine oil ever 2 or 3,000 miles..
changing brake fluid does not appear in any GM maintenance schedule.. Of course changing brake fluid at any time wont hurt unless you get air in the line...dont bleed the system properly... I dont know how many times people do unnecessary maintenance only to cause a problem.. This car can go 100,000 miles with very little maintenance
while proper maintenance is important, many people over do their systems..
as brake fluid gets old, it absorbs moisture, which lowers the boiling point and this cause brake fade... but in normal driving conditions even ten year old fluid would never get hot enough to boil off...most brake fluids boils at around 450F to 500 F.
Contaminated brake fluid will boil at 300F but you would rarely see those temps in normal driving..
I am not condoning going that long, but like changing oil, people think they are doing something magical by changing engine oil ever 2 or 3,000 miles..
changing brake fluid does not appear in any GM maintenance schedule.. Of course changing brake fluid at any time wont hurt unless you get air in the line...dont bleed the system properly... I dont know how many times people do unnecessary maintenance only to cause a problem.. This car can go 100,000 miles with very little maintenance
Last edited by Evil-Twin; Mar 26, 2006 at 08:44 PM.
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From: San Diego CA
What I've seen in the past is corrosion of brake components due to absorbed moisture in the brake fluid. If all wetted parts in a C5 are corrosion-resistant, then I agree that changing fluid too often can cause more harm than good, especially if done by an inexperienced person.
I liken this to changing plugs. Before I change plugs, I try to thoroughly clean the area around each plug (at the head/plug interface) with water, air, or both. Still, I am wary of introducing dirt into the cylinders while installing the new plugs. Evil's point applies here as well - more harm than good could be done.
I liken this to changing plugs. Before I change plugs, I try to thoroughly clean the area around each plug (at the head/plug interface) with water, air, or both. Still, I am wary of introducing dirt into the cylinders while installing the new plugs. Evil's point applies here as well - more harm than good could be done.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Farmers Branch TX
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St. Jude Donor '09
I agree to an extent with over-doing maintence, but I have always been in the mindset of changing brake fluid every two years. This mostly comes from being a BMW tech, they require the fluid to be changed every two years on a large majority of their cars, and they even pay for it on full maintence vehicles. I honestly believe that if it was not proper maintence, a large automotive company such as BMW would not require, and pay for the fluid to be changed every two years, as we all know, auto makers arent in the business of spending money for no reason.
--Chris
--Chris
