Changing brake fluid
Racer
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 283
Likes: 181
From: New Boston
2024 C7 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified\
I am almost afraid to post in this thread. 
One thing to remember if you want a complete flush is the antilock brakes. You need a tech 2 to in order to release that fluid.
I bleed every few years but I am a little extra careful with maintenance since I take longer type trips. I don't worry about the ABS module. It is such a small amount I am happy with just replacing what fluid I can using my brake bleeder.
I use the ranger method for my clutch only because I can't deal with the bleeder. Someday when I need to do clutch I will get a remote bleeder.
My thought on this is that brake fluid does absorb water. The manufactures don't even suggest you use an open bottle. They sell it in small bottles so you use what you need and discard the rest and always use a fresh bottle.
Maybe extreme but that is what they say.
One thing to remember if you want a complete flush is the antilock brakes. You need a tech 2 to in order to release that fluid.
I bleed every few years but I am a little extra careful with maintenance since I take longer type trips. I don't worry about the ABS module. It is such a small amount I am happy with just replacing what fluid I can using my brake bleeder.
I use the ranger method for my clutch only because I can't deal with the bleeder. Someday when I need to do clutch I will get a remote bleeder.
My thought on this is that brake fluid does absorb water. The manufactures don't even suggest you use an open bottle. They sell it in small bottles so you use what you need and discard the rest and always use a fresh bottle.
Maybe extreme but that is what they say.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,302
Likes: 1,583
From: Western NY
I am almost afraid to post in this thread.
One thing to remember if you want a complete flush is the antilock brakes. You need a tech 2 to in order to release that fluid.
I bleed every few years but I am a little extra careful with maintenance since I take longer type trips. I don't worry about the ABS module. It is such a small amount I am happy with just replacing what fluid I can using my brake bleeder.
I use the ranger method for my clutch only because I can't deal with the bleeder. Someday when I need to do clutch I will get a remote bleeder.
My thought on this is that brake fluid does absorb water. The manufactures don't even suggest you use an open bottle. They sell it in small bottles so you use what you need and discard the rest and always use a fresh bottle.
Maybe extreme but that is what they say.
One thing to remember if you want a complete flush is the antilock brakes. You need a tech 2 to in order to release that fluid.
I bleed every few years but I am a little extra careful with maintenance since I take longer type trips. I don't worry about the ABS module. It is such a small amount I am happy with just replacing what fluid I can using my brake bleeder.
I use the ranger method for my clutch only because I can't deal with the bleeder. Someday when I need to do clutch I will get a remote bleeder.
My thought on this is that brake fluid does absorb water. The manufactures don't even suggest you use an open bottle. They sell it in small bottles so you use what you need and discard the rest and always use a fresh bottle.
Maybe extreme but that is what they say.
I don't have a Tech II, so I'm faced with that dilemma. What I do, however, right after I flush what fluid I can, is to take the car out on a wide grassy area, that's near my house, and activate the ABS a couple of times. Hopefully, that sends clean(er) fluid through the ABS block.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: N. Alabama
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Team Owner
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From: Western NY
Pro
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Montgomery City, MO
For what it's worth, I just manually bled mine after repairing the two rear lines and replacing the two hard lines from the master to the ABS / BPMV with new braided -3an lines.
It took a good bit before the air got to the right rear - maybe 10-15 cycles. The left rear took another 8-12 before the air got there. I then went through about another half a liter on the fronts, and didn't get a single air bubble. So I'm skeptical the BPMV and pump aren't adequately purged by simple manual bleeding with the pedal.
I do know the FSM doesn't mention anything about activating the ABS for bleeding. I haven't looked to see if there's another procedure for ABS replacement / fluid exchange.
It took a good bit before the air got to the right rear - maybe 10-15 cycles. The left rear took another 8-12 before the air got there. I then went through about another half a liter on the fronts, and didn't get a single air bubble. So I'm skeptical the BPMV and pump aren't adequately purged by simple manual bleeding with the pedal.
I do know the FSM doesn't mention anything about activating the ABS for bleeding. I haven't looked to see if there's another procedure for ABS replacement / fluid exchange.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 3,956
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From: Da U.P.
Yes it would, it is a TERRIBLE suggestion for that reason. All cars are designed this way for that reason.
Wow, this thread really ran off the rails. It seems like this happens a lot when questions are asked without sufficient background and specificity.
I think you would get a more direct answer if you were more specific. Are you tracking your car(s)? If not the premise of your question is somewhat ridiculous. The only racing I do is when some moron in a lifted Silverado with offset rims wants to challenge me. Even then, after as far as I could drive as fast as I was able to, I still didn't experience brake fade even after I crested a hill to find I was running up on a line of cars that were moving approximately 100mph slower than I was right after a hard sweeping 90. The only thing that faded was the possibility of wearing my underwear to bed.
I probably made the most pointed defense of old brake fluid. And when I say old, I mean wet. I'm not advocating that wet fluid should be in a car you plan to track. But the street is not the track. It doesn't matter if you drive a Corvette, or a Chevette. It's my strict assertion that leadfoot4 is either leaving out important details such as frequent track days, or he's being very extremely paranoid. Whatever the case, the correct answers will vary.
If you're that set on perfection, your bleeding regimen should start with seating all the calipers to remove any stagnant fluid contained in them, where it is most likely to experience boiling temps. Who's thought of that one?
Supercharged - not to refute your assertion about wet fluid becoming corrosive, but I live in the rust belt. The shops I know who replace rusted brake lines are doing so because of salt and calcium chloride collection in areas under the vehicle. Show me some one owner cars that live in latitudes below 35* who've experienced brake line rust through and I'll proclaim that everyone should change their brake fluid at least annually.
C'mon guys, let's be reasonable.
I think you would get a more direct answer if you were more specific. Are you tracking your car(s)? If not the premise of your question is somewhat ridiculous. The only racing I do is when some moron in a lifted Silverado with offset rims wants to challenge me. Even then, after as far as I could drive as fast as I was able to, I still didn't experience brake fade even after I crested a hill to find I was running up on a line of cars that were moving approximately 100mph slower than I was right after a hard sweeping 90. The only thing that faded was the possibility of wearing my underwear to bed.
I probably made the most pointed defense of old brake fluid. And when I say old, I mean wet. I'm not advocating that wet fluid should be in a car you plan to track. But the street is not the track. It doesn't matter if you drive a Corvette, or a Chevette. It's my strict assertion that leadfoot4 is either leaving out important details such as frequent track days, or he's being very extremely paranoid. Whatever the case, the correct answers will vary.
If you're that set on perfection, your bleeding regimen should start with seating all the calipers to remove any stagnant fluid contained in them, where it is most likely to experience boiling temps. Who's thought of that one?
Supercharged - not to refute your assertion about wet fluid becoming corrosive, but I live in the rust belt. The shops I know who replace rusted brake lines are doing so because of salt and calcium chloride collection in areas under the vehicle. Show me some one owner cars that live in latitudes below 35* who've experienced brake line rust through and I'll proclaim that everyone should change their brake fluid at least annually.
C'mon guys, let's be reasonable.
Old fluid, of any kind, is no good. It can be broken down, contaminated, etc and should be changed out. Hell, even engine oil turns acidic with time and little use and shoudl be changed. Using the line of reasoning that the car still stops doesn't mean it's right. You can keep using any neglected thing up to the point of failure, that's hardly the point. The point is fresh fluid is always better than 20 year old neglected fluid. And the corrosiveness has nothing to do with rotting a line through in the rust belt and everything to do with how it can attack the surfaces it actually comes into contact with. I'm being very reasonable here, can't say the same for everyone else in here. It blows my mind how a bunch of people who likely obsess over a 3000 mile oil change would not only be happy to neglect other areas of the car, but to defend it.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,976
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From: Switzerland
just recently i found a jar with old brake fluid i put aside long ago and forgot (lid was "tight)". just for fun i checked the boiling point. it was around 200°f.
to op: put a piece of hose (pvc, rubber, silicone) on the styringe and suck i as dry as you wish.
to op: put a piece of hose (pvc, rubber, silicone) on the styringe and suck i as dry as you wish.
Last edited by romandian; Jan 5, 2023 at 01:19 PM.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
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From: Western NY
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Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2012
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From: Da U.P.
What if you bend a small section of brake line specifically for this? Attach it to your sucker with a vacuum line. I think I want to try that myself now.
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Team Owner
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From: Western NY
I was hoping to do that, and I bought some really small ID tygon tubing and super glued it to the nozzle of a plastic syringe. Since there IS a certain amount of liquid transfer between the front and rear chambers of the m/c, obviously there is a gap, somewhere near the "floor" of the m/c. However, (a), I can't seem to find it, or (b) it isn't big enough to get anything other than liquid through it. That's why I originally posed the question here.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2012
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From: Da U.P.
I was hoping to do that, and I bought some really small ID tygon tubing and super glued it to the nozzle of a plastic syringe. Since there IS a certain amount of liquid transfer between the front and rear chambers of the m/c, obviously there is a gap, somewhere near the "floor" of the m/c. However, (a), I can't seem to find it, or (b) it isn't big enough to get anything other than liquid through it. That's why I originally posed the question here.
Pro
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 563
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From: Montgomery City, MO
Though I don't think it's necessary for a car that isn't tracked, supercharged's hard line idea may be a good one. Another thought, I have a bunch of marinade injectors I keep in the shop for stuff like this (more often for injecting grease) with 0.115" needles. I just checked and it will pass into the slot for the front reservoir. Though I'm not sure if I'm fully understanding the divider layout as I've never drained mine.
Pro
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Montgomery City, MO
Here's a marinade injector kit with an extremely long Quinke (simple angle) cut needle. I bet it would reach into both reservoirs through the slots in the filler volute.
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Team Owner
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Here's a marinade injector kit with an extremely long Quinke (simple angle) cut needle. I bet it would reach into both reservoirs through the slots in the filler volute.
Meat Injector Kit Stainless Steel Food Syringe & 3 Marinades Needles
Meat Injector Kit Stainless Steel Food Syringe & 3 Marinades Needles
Pro
Joined: Apr 2018
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From: Montgomery City, MO
I see what you're saying now. Sorry hadn't looked very closely at the reservoir from the side.
This was my thought, but obviously that will end up destroying the float for the float switch.
Full res here
I wonder if drilling a 1/4" hole between the 12:00 and 3:00 slots in the filler volute would be workable. Then fish a curved piece of 3/16" hard line in.
Another thought that would be messy as hell - drive the retaining pins out and replace them with screws. Then just pop the reservoir off after draining with a baster.
This was my thought, but obviously that will end up destroying the float for the float switch.
Full res here
I wonder if drilling a 1/4" hole between the 12:00 and 3:00 slots in the filler volute would be workable. Then fish a curved piece of 3/16" hard line in.
Another thought that would be messy as hell - drive the retaining pins out and replace them with screws. Then just pop the reservoir off after draining with a baster.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
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From: Western NY