jjscsix

Good advice. I just went back and read the first post again. Just to clarify, you don’t drain the fluid then refill it. You star “sucking” the old fluid out until the reservoir gets low. Do not let it go below the “low” line. Every time it gets to the line you top it off with new fluid. When clean fluid comes through you are done with that one and move on to the next. And there is an order you need to go in. I’m sure you are, but watch several YouTubes.

thug9030

I really appreciate info and tools suggested and I’ll make sure to watch tons and tons of videos and read until I’m 100 percent confident on doing this for my vehicle. Yea it’s easier to go to the dealer and pay and get this done but the satisfaction will be great for now and future vehicles I’ll own . Before you know it I’ll be rebuilding cars hahaha sike .

jcg0324

How do you know your brake fluid needs to be replaced? The cost of new brake fluid is minimal if you do it yourself but it is a pain in the ***. Watch this video and be more informed.


Skip to 8 minutes and 45 seconds for the brake fluid part.

jjscsix

How do you know when your oil needs to be replaced?

jcg0324

You obviously did not watch the video otherwise you would not have made such a rediculous remark about changing oil. Changing oil and brake fluid are two different maintenance requirements. Brake fluid is not exposed to the high heat, acid and carbon chemicals and pressures of engine oil. Please watch the video.

PhxBill

Brake fluid is hygroscopic though—it absorbs moisture from the air. And it is exposed to high heat, at the calipers. Decades ago I never would’ve bothered with flushing brake fluid, but in the last twenty years or so I have seen ABS systems go haywire from a little bit of internal corrosion. So I don’t flush it religiously (not as often as the manual) but I do try to flush it at some point in the cars life before it’s first brake change.

jcg0324

Please refer to the video at post # 18

LeX2K

For those that don't want to watch the video he says replace brake fluid every 3 years I about follow this schedule. He also says don't judge brake fluid by the colour test the moisture content instead. Technically that's correct, but after 3 years I can plainly see brake fluid is much darker and needs to be flushed out. According to him high end brake fluid can be much darker in colour I've never used such fluid.

jjscsix

I did not need to watch it. I’m well aware of the differences. The one thing they both have in common though is that there are generally no symptoms that they need changing if you change them when the manufacturer recommends. And brake fluid has its own set of problems, namely moisture and air getting into the fluid.

Go pull the cap off the reservoir of a vehicle with 30,000 miles that has never had its brake fluid changed and siphon some fluid out of it, and compare it to new fluid. There will be a night and day difference in the color.

jjscsix

Here is a comparison. The light one is from a bottle of DOT 4 I have. The dark one is from one of my motorcycles that has 22,000 miles on it. It is also DOT 4 and when new it looked just like the other.

Y’all can go by the video if you want. I’m not. I am not going to claim to know more than people who do brake work for a living, but my experience and training is far more than most people. I’ve probably flushed brakes 100 times, and changed engine oil in high performance cars, motorcycles, and boats several hundred times.

mrcheap

My RX has 40k and never had the fluid changed. Looks like your pic on the right.

jcg0324

He did not say to replace the brake fluid every 3 years. He said the average time from manufacturers recommendations was to replace it every 3 years. A big difference.

kalvink

Any DOT3 fluid works. I live in Florida and there is definitely fluid pickup from all the rain we get here.