brake fluid change ? worth it or no

[Eddie Honda]

I had ...a 240 ...They have triple circuit brakes too.

They don't. (IIRC) they have triangular dual circuit. One circuit has both front and a rear, the second circuit has both front and the other rear. Only one rear is lost in the event of a circuit failure.

[forddeliveryboy]

I should probably do this job on the Nippa. To my shame, I've never ever done a full fluid change of anything other than a Citroen. In the 2CV's case, the last time was 14 years ago, and only because I was stripping the car down anyway. Doing it again this year! LHM at least isn't hygroscopic. In fact, it's brilliant stuff as it doesn't rot bodywork and has a higher boiling point too.

 

And diesels go like stink on it... it lasts almost forever when used as just brake fluid in 2cvs/Dyanes/Amis instead of central hydraulic fluid, though I refresh the stuff in caliper pistons by releasing the bleed nipple when changing worn pads, same as with the nasty DoT stuff. Same with rear cylinders, pop a piston out when doing shoes. 

 

I much prefer it to its synthetic replacement, stuff like Pentosin CHF11S and Febi 06161looks very pricey.

[pshome]

Get a braker fluid tester, a tener well spent, then make an educated decision...

[New POD]

Don't fucking touch those nipples. They will snap as they are made of cheese.

 

Buy new nipples, and an extractor tool before starting the job.

[lisbon_road]

Did the brakefluid change at the weekend.  Was a bit shocked how horrible it was, and one wheel cylinder was leaking.  Fortunately I had one on the shelf but have had to order shoes.  Adjusted brakes (Mk3 Astra - will get self adjusters working when I do the shoes) and as usual took the lip of the drums, which look good still.  Have to admit that they are better than before.  Loads.  Must do it more often.

[sierraman]

​

 

​You sound like my first girlfriend.

Or a lactating wife.

[twosmoke300]

Or a lactating wife.

Not all of them 

[stripped fred]

Just bought a brake fluid tester off amazon for under £8, prompted by this thread as I don't change the brake fluid very often tbh. I always thought they were more expensive but at that price it makes sense.

[Alan_Green]

Stupid question amnesty. For home/roadside basic maintenance what's so wrong with just sucking the old fluid out of the reservoir with a pela or pippet and topping it up with new fluid? You get most of it, right? 4 minute job. Leave the rusty nipples well alone. Maybe do it a bit more often.

[steveo3002]

the resevoir is just that..a holding tank for spare fluid 

 

its down in the calipers and brake lines where you need to be fresh and you couldnt suck it out and replace it without getting lots of air in it

[dollywobbler]

Indeed. Even with LHM, it makes sense (as FDB said above) to occasionally get fresh fluid into the brake lines.

 

My stuck-nipple technique has improved over the years. As a maintenance items, it's worth a quick squirt of penetrating oil every time you have a wheel off, and opening and closing the nipple will help keep it free. The worst possible thing you can do is just grab a spanner and put a shit load of force on it. That probably will snap a nipple. I've found that lots of penetrating oil, gentle tapping with a hammer and gentle application of force has good results, especially if you start going back and forth once you get a small amount of movement.

[sierraman]

Correct me if I'm wrong but if you sucked all the fluid out and then poured some more in, wouldn't you still need to bleed it anyway? If I'm right though at the garage they have some device to remove the fluid, replace it and pressure bleed it all without any nipple tampering?

[steveo3002]

yeah it just wouldnt work

 

not like say pas where you can keep draining the tank and re filling and it eventualy ciruclates and replaces it all

[Guest Hooli]

Did the brakefluid change at the weekend.  Was a bit shocked how horrible it was, and one wheel cylinder was leaking.  Fortunately I had one on the shelf but have had to order shoes.  Adjusted brakes (Mk3 Astra - will get self adjusters working when I do the shoes) and as usual took the lip of the drums, which look good still.  Have to admit that they are better than before.  Loads.  Must do it more often.

 

Cover shoes in petrol, light, stand back & wish you still had eyebrows - refit.

 

Boils the fluid out of them fine.

[alf892]

If I think a nipple is sure to break off I rake the caliper off, remove the piston and seal and give it a gentle warm and sudden cool. Takes no longer than struggling with a seized one and a good clean of the caliper does no harm.

 

On wheel cylinders I'm happier to push my luck as they are cheaper but care and patience goes a long way

[Guest Lord Sward]

Isn't a safer bet to use a 'T' bar type device with a socket on than a spanner or ratchet to release a seized nipple?  That way the force is evenly applied and there is less likely hood of snapping a nipple.

[TataBobu]

Correct me if I'm wrong but if you sucked all the fluid out and then poured some more in, wouldn't you still need to bleed it anyway? If I'm right though at the garage they have some device to remove the fluid, replace it and pressure bleed it all without any nipple tampering?

You can't bleed the calipers from the reservoir. There's an volume of DOT4 in the caliper that's above the brake line, so the air is trapped in the caliper (hence the need for a bleeding nipple).