TRD911

Just checking on what everyone's philosophy is in regards to bleeding brakes.

BP

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Every brake job. The brake fluids should last about 30k miles before they need to be bled. It's just a maintenance more than anything. It just so happens that my pads will last around 30k, so it's a perfect opportunity to bleed them.

TRD911

Gsteg.. it is too bad your not in SC.. I would love to see you in action!!!

BP

TRD911

Just to let you know what inspired this Poll.. I am a huge fan of NOT working on the wifes vehicle. If you do you will get blamed for anything that goes wrong in the next million miles. I decided that I could not stand it anymore. I am an advocate of bleeding the brakes every 5K.. I think it does no harm in doing it that often. I do drive a lot of highway... I have to get from 70MPH to about 45 in about 100ft so I am a little hard on brakes. My wife has a kid Carter, please don't ask the make I am embarrassed but, it has been awesome. Original brakes.

She has 50K and I just did the bleed job today after an oil drain. I took it to get washed and gassed up and I could not believe the difference. I told her to make sure she was hungry the next time she went somewhere. She said why, cause I will eat the steering wheel?.. Maybe I could save a lot of money like this.. lol..

BP

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Heh. If the fluids get too hot, they will definitely wear out faster. This is why I choose to run ATE superblue fluid. I like a higher boiling point just so I dont have to worry about the fluid oxidizing and such. What fluid are you running? Maybe you can try switching to a high-performance fluid so you wouldn't have to change it as often?

TRD911

Not to bore anyone... but in my work life I have lots of rotating equipment and the number one mistake that we can make is to mix fluids and cause a catastrophic event.

I have been using valvoline dot 3 /4 synthetic Fluids.

BP

RX729

What would happen if you mix them together...?

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

I haven't done my GS4 yet. I have only had it about six months.

The paperwork that came with the GS4 shows that three years ago the car had one caliper replaced and the brakes were bled at 140000km. The car now has 182000km. All work done at the local Lexus dealer. I have most of the paperwork for the car so I am guessing that the brakes have only been bled the one time in the life of this car.

On another note, I bought my '92 Cressida ten years ago with 89000km. I bled the brakes for the first time in the fall of 2006 with about380000km on the clock. I must admit the brakes did seem just a bit firmer although I suspect the average driver probably wouldn't notice the difference. I change the brake pads pretty much every year and I am on the third set of rotors. All the hydraulic components are still factory original although the brake lines are starting to look scarey rusty. Compared to the GS4 I find my Cressida brakes are much firmer and seem to stop the car a lot quicker.

19psi

i change it every 15k to 30k miles. you have to change it to keep moisture from building up; that' sthe #1 reason for brake component failure.
the poll doens't actually have the recommended intervals so i couldn't vote..

sung35

What would everyone here do when you can't get the bleed screw/valve to turn. My seem not to cooperate and I afraid to break it if i give it too much force. Will the shop be able to get it unscrew? Thanks all.

19psi

soak it in pb blaster. after that, tap it with a hammer. be careful those little valves are fragile. then try to unscrew. sometimes they will break off and then you're either going to be removing the caliper and drilling and tapping, or buying a remanned caliper and replacing it.

TRD911

sorry I missed your comment.. apparently emailing daily does not work..

Could be very bad for all the rubber o-rings and rubber components in your brake system. Could chemically attack them (eat them).. BAD and costly.. Make sure you use compatible oil and fluids in your system..

BP

Alexus_300

iTrader: (4)

Do not soak it in PB blaster trust me. Go out and get yourself a 10mm boxed wrench to remove the bleeder valve. The cost of this wrench will more than pay for itself because this will prevent you from rounding off the valve since it is very soft.