New brake fluid, new brakes - Wow!

[NCfarmboy]

Well, I flushed my brake fluid yesterday afternoon and changed my brakes after 92k miles. Wow! That brake fluid was nasty. It was a black/green color. I would advise anyone who hasn't done so, to flush their brake fluid. I put in Valvoline Full Synthetic fluid that claims to exceed DOT 3 and 4 specs. I figure it will do just fine. I used NAPA Severe Duty brake pads, and left the stock rotors that were in great shape.

To flush the fluid, I bought 3ft of vinyl tubing from Lowes, and attached it to the rear most caliper bleeder. My wife then pumped the brakes until all of the old fluid was out - as I filled the resivoir with fresh fluid. All I have to say is that it stops as good as, or better than new. I didn't have any brake issues before - but fresh fluid and pads made a noticeable improvement.

[milo55]

Great advice!

[STG]

Originally Posted by NCfarmboy

To flush the fluid, I bought 3ft of vinyl tubing from Lowes, and attached it to the rear most caliper bleeder. My wife then pumped the brakes until all of the old fluid was out - as I filled the resivoir with fresh fluid. All I have to say is that it stops as good as, or better than new. I didn't have any brake issues before - but fresh fluid and pads made a noticeable improvement.

YOU DID NOT FLUSH THE OLD FLUID OUT NOR BLEED THE BRAKES CORRECTLY.

By only bleeding the right rear, you have old fluid in the other three calipers and brake lines. I guess one working caliper is a big difference when you had none.

The correct way to bleed with a helper is to have the helper depress the pedal AND HOLD IT while you unscrew the bleeder screw. You then CLOSE THE BLEEDER SCREW and have your helper release the pedal. Repeat several times until clean, bubble free fluid comes out and move on to the other three calipers to repeat the sequence.

Further more, your helper needs to be very careful not to depress the brake pedal to far. Doing so can damage old seals in the master cylinder when the pedal is depressed father than it normally travels.

Sorry, you botched it. Don't believe me? I dare you to bleed the other three calipers. Whsat comes out won't be fresh Valvoline synthetic.

[FleetMan]

STG gave good advice about not depressing the brake pedal too far. A good way to prevent this is to place a piece of 2x4 under the pedal to stop it before it goes all the way to the floor.

[bedwards]

Funny, bled mine this weekend too. It took a lot more fluid than I would have thought (64oz) but I may have over done each wheel. It seems as though the new mixed with the old instead of just pushing it out (2different colors). Mine seem much firmer now though. much recommended.

be

[doczenith1]

Originally Posted by STG

Further more, your helper needs to be very careful not to depress the brake pedal to far. Doing so can damage old seals in the master cylinder when the pedal is depressed father than it normally travels.

What are the consequences of damaging the old seals? I ask because I am experiencing a odd problem with my brakes and I cannot figure what the cause is. I had my gf help me bleed the brakes two years ago and there is a very good chance that she pressed the pedal as far as she could. The problem I have is that when I brake really hard and let off the brake pedal the brakes do not release immediately. There is a noticeable pause, maybe one half to one full second. It also seems like it is worse in winter when the temperatures are low. Normal breaking is fine. One year ago I took it to a reputable shop and had them look into it and also change the brake fluid. They were unable to find any problems.

Thanks for the help,
Al

[NCfarmboy]

Originally Posted by STG

YOU DID NOT FLUSH THE OLD FLUID OUT NOR BLEED THE BRAKES CORRECTLY.

By only bleeding the right rear, you have old fluid in the other three calipers and brake lines. I guess one working caliper is a big difference when you had none.

The correct way to bleed with a helper is to have the helper depress the pedal AND HOLD IT while you unscrew the bleeder screw. You then CLOSE THE BLEEDER SCREW and have your helper release the pedal. Repeat several times until clean, bubble free fluid comes out and move on to the other three calipers to repeat the sequence.

Further more, your helper needs to be very careful not to depress the brake pedal to far. Doing so can damage old seals in the master cylinder when the pedal is depressed father than it normally travels.

Sorry, you botched it. Don't believe me? I dare you to bleed the other three calipers. Whsat comes out won't be fresh Valvoline synthetic.

Sorry bro - but I didn't 'botch it'. Maybe I should have done a full writeup on it, but I started with the rear most cailper, and then worked my way around. Next was the drivers side rear, then the passenger side front, and then the drivers side. I can assure you that all 4 calipers have fresh fluid coming out of the bleeder. Thanks though.

Furthermore, if you have a long vinyl piece of tubing attached securely to the bleeder, you can simply pump the brake a few times, pusing out the old fluid. No air is induced into the system, becuse there is fluid in the vinyl tubing, keeping the air from entering the caliper.

[Meatco1]

I like your idea of using clear tubing to flush.

Please tell me what diameter tubing you bought from Lowe's, and what dept you found it in.

I'll run down there and buy some, but I just don't remember seeing it there.

Thanks,

Richard

[brocanicbob]

I replace brake fluid once a year as general maintenance. For me it is a one person job with speed bleeders. Shipped $37.00 with the clear hose. Brake fluid times out (age) and should be replaced for moisture intrusion. Castrol LMA (lo moisture absorption) fluid is my choice. Moisture will kill a brake system. The color shift in your fluid is the sign of moisture absorption. Glad you changed the fluid, sound like it needed it. Most people do not even think about it until there is a problem and then most times its from age.

Speed Bleeder Bleeding Brakes Bleeding Motorcycle Brakes Automotive Bleeder Screw Brake Bleeder

[STG]

NCFarmBoy,

My fault for reading exactly what you wrote. I got excited at the prospect of 7,000 lbs. of truck going 70 mph with one bled caliper.

I've seen two cases of trucks with old fluid crash after heating up brakes on a long down grade.

It looks like you did a variation of "gravity bleeding". I prefer using a pressure bleeder, but I'm glad you did all four calipers!

When I changed out the fluid in my truck, I used about 1/2 gallon of fluid. That master cylinder is big and those lines are loooong.

Using Ate Super Blue fluid, it was easy to see when the old fluid was completely pumped out. The discharge goes from dark amber to greenish to blue. Next change, I'll use Ate Typ 200. It's the same as Super Blue except for color - amber. Then, it'll be dirty blue, greenish amber.

Ate Typ 200 / Super Blue is DOT 3/4 and has very high dry/wet boiling points. It has a reputation of being able to hold more moisture than any other fluid and still function. This means it should last about 50% longer than other DOT 3 fluids.

A couple of notes:

1. Do not use racing brake-fluid in your truck. Castrol makes a racing fluid that has a very high dry boiling point that costs $69.00 / liter. "Dry"is the boiling point of fresh brake fluid.

Racing fluid does not deal well with moisture. In other words, it has super high temp performance for a short time. No problem for racers that change fluid every race or track session, but a serious concern for street vehicles.

2. Contrary to urban legend ( and Castrol LMA advertising), a brake fluid with a high wet boiling point (temperature at which it boils with 3% moisture) is not always more resistant to moisture absorption.

An engineer at Continental (Ate) wrote that Ate Type 200 / Super Blue has the highest wet boiling point of any Ate DOT 3 or 4 fluid, even though it absorbs moisture faster than Ate's cheaper DOT fluids. Typ 200 has the highest wet boiling point because it can absorb more moisture while retaining a higher wet boiling point that other fluids.

[brocanicbob]

NCFarmboy,
Good job on the fluid change. Do it your own way with what you can get.

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One to screw in the light bulb and…


Two to point out the light bulb is screwed in the wrong forum.

Five to post a Gallery.

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Consensus that BTM should change all the light bulbs in the future because he is tallest.

[short_stuff]

Originally Posted by brocanicbob

I replace brake fluid once a year as general maintenance. For me it is a one person job with speed bleeders. Shipped $37.00 with the clear hose. Brake fluid times out (age) and should be replaced for moisture intrusion. Castrol LMA (lo moisture absorption) fluid is my choice. Moisture will kill a brake system. The color shift in your fluid is the sign of moisture absorption. Glad you changed the fluid, sound like it needed it. Most people do not even think about it until there is a problem and then most times its from age.

Speed Bleeder Bleeding Brakes Bleeding Motorcycle Brakes Automotive Bleeder Screw Brake Bleeder

Which size did you purchase? I went out to their website, but I didn't find anything for 3/4 ton or 1 ton trucks newer than 1997.

short_stuff

[High PSI]

Originally Posted by short_stuff

Which size did you purchase? I went out to their website, but I didn't find anything for 3/4 ton or 1 ton trucks newer than 1997.

short_stuff

Russell Speed Bleeder # :639560 (10mmx1.0)

[High PSI]

Originally Posted by doczenith1

What are the consequences of damaging the old seals? I ask because I am experiencing a odd problem with my brakes and I cannot figure what the cause is. I had my gf help me bleed the brakes two years ago and there is a very good chance that she pressed the pedal as far as she could. The problem I have is that when I brake really hard and let off the brake pedal the brakes do not release immediately. There is a noticeable pause, maybe one half to one full second. It also seems like it is worse in winter when the temperatures are low. Normal breaking is fine. One year ago I took it to a reputable shop and had them look into it and also change the brake fluid. They were unable to find any problems.

Thanks for the help,
Al

Sticking slide pins.

[AllOutFirefighter13]

brocanicbob ,

From the Speed Bleeder website, is the part number SB3824L? It says that's only available for the front disc calipers...can ya shed some more light on this one?

Thanks,