BigJohnLs

Damm, What a huge disapointment of myself.. My Dumb A@@ added Power steering fluid into the Brake fluid.. Yess I know call me an idiot. What Should I do pls help..

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Don't drive it. Flush the entire system...

Have you already driven it (is the fluid you added still in the reservoir)?

BigJohnLs

I drove it to autozone buy brake fluid

Justin2JZ

Whoa man you f'd up big time. Yes flush it asap.

mrxeb38

iTrader: (4)

Dude dont drive any more and flush it immediately. How much did you pour in?

deanbrown

If you just topped up, it might not be in the lines yet. Suck it all out, fill with brake fluid, repeat 25 times.

Test to see if it mixes homogeneously with the oil, or if it just separates, in which case I think the oil will float to the top.

Continue to curse, as with most repair jobs.

emarknot

the trans fluid is lighter than brake fluid. it will always be at the top.

dont flush it first thing..... suck out the master.....refill....suck it out again....refill....then flush.

and suck it out, I mean through the master cylinder fill hole.

or to be more specific.....remove cap ,insert hose...and use any type of vaccum device to pull out the fluid....twice...then refill.


then, bleed right rear caliper,left rear caliper, right front caliper, left front caliper.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

too late, suck it all out, rinse the res with brake fluid, then flush the lines completely.

then hope.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

AND save what you bleed out to see if it is brake or atf... it will separate.
you must get it all out, or under pressure (heat) your brakes will fail.

robert1408

I am in the service biz and have seen this a few times over the years. It's a disaster. Brake fluid is a chemical cousin to alcohols and antifreeze. Power steering fluid, trans fluid, greases and oils are generally mineral oil products. The two are natural enemies and any cross-contamination is bad news. The seals and any phenolic parts throughout the brake system are almost certainly screwed. Brake fluid and ps fluid mix in a very strange way, making a viscous emulsion (at low concentrations) which spreads throughout the whole brake system very fast. It causes every non-metal part in the whole brake system to either swell or disintegrate within a few days.

Here is what happened at my work. One of our guys topped off the brake master cylinder with clear power steering fluid. It was a 2005 Mustang GT. It came back the next afternoon with the right front caliper locked and smoking. At that time, our guy admitted his mistake and we told the customer what had happened. We replaced both front calipers and thoroughly bled the entire system. Two days later the Mustang is back with the right front caliper locked again and the left rear caliper nearly locked up. At this point we did the correct repair. We replaced the following: Master cylinder, ABS assembly, all flexible lines and all four calipers. We replaced the front rotors and pads because of the overheating. I argued for replacing the metal lines but that proved unnecessary. 1 1/2 years later that car's brakes are working perfectly.

deanshark

That sure is alot of work and repair for a little fluid mistake. Does the guy still have a job?

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

they made him a greeter instead...... smile....

robert1408

Other than that one big mistake the guy was really good. He was not fired for that but did quit about a year ago to take a better job as a dance instructor.

Yes, that was a lot of work and expense but that's really what it took to properly repair it. Even a very small amount of contaminated fluid remaining anywhere in the system has a high likelihood of causing problems.

BigJohnLs

Okay guys, Thanks again for all the advice you guys gave me.. Began to work on.. I began by sucking out the brake fluid out of Master Brake Cylinder Refilled & continued procedure for about 15X this is how the brake fluid looked when I opened the master cylinder
[IMG][/IMG]
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My next step was bleeding each brake caliber, I did 10 pumps to the brake then bleed out fluid, followed procedure 10X on each Caliber, started at passenger rear, then driver rear, passenger front, driver front, was on constant check of the master cylinder checking & refilling with brake fluid here is a picture of how the brake fluid looks on the master cylinder

[IMG][/IMG]
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Next I dipped the cap of the master cylinder into brake fluid to rinse off the access of the power steering fluid if you look closely you can see oil flooding on top, good thing I dipped the cap in brake fluid

[IMG][/IMG]
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Well Thanks again to everyone who helped out.!!! Now after all the work I've done CAN I DRIVE MY CAR NOW.!!!!! Lol will I have any trouble in the future.!??? Or should I be fine.!??? Should I bleed the system again in a couple days just to play it safe.!???

Lextrician

the question how much a couple of bottles of brake fluid cost compared to F in up your calipers and possibly others???? I would do another bleed of the system just to check if there is any contamination.