Brake Flush

[Leeford]

How long till this should be done? Is this something a driveway tinker can do?

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[Unicorn]

Every three years.

Flushing them sounds simple. Siphon old fluid from the master cylinder and refill with new fluid. Then bleed the brakes... sort of. Open the valve at each wheel, with a tube attached to the drain and that tube going into a bottle or jar. Starting furthest from the master cylinder while someone pumps the pedal until the dirty fluid is gone replaced by clean. Refill master cylinder and repeat at each wheel. Then I'd go back and do it again properly, Open valve, helper presses pedal, close valve, release pedal. Repeat until no more air comes out.

Or use a gravity bleeder if there's nobody to help you.

 

[Mozella]

The best and easiest way to bleed/flush brakes is to use a pressure bleeder. Look on Amazon to find a basic DIY kit for $35 or a pro kit for $66. The kit consists of a plastic jug with a pump on top allowing you to build up pressure. The jug is connected to the cap of your brake master cylinder so you can open a bleeder valve on one of your wheel brake calipers and force old fluid out and new fluid in. You can fill the jug with fresh fluid, but I prefer to avoid a clean up by simply using the kit to supply the required pressure. That forces me to keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir because if it runs dry you introduce air into the system and have to start all over.
Anyhow, you bleed each wheel in order and periodically depressurizing the jug to refill the reservoir, making sure not to let it run dry. The old stuff goes into a catch bottle supplied with the kit. In a few minutes you're done without any need for clean up or risk of irritating your wife by asking her to pump the brakes on your command. The pumping doesn't make them mad, It's the "command" part they hate.
Dispose of the used fluid and you're good for another year. By the way, flushing is nothing more than extended bleeding. At a price of $35, there is no reason not to own your own kit especially since a shop will charge you $150 or more and more than likely use fluid from a container which has been opened for a while. Brake fluid collects moisture from the air which reduces the boiling point and, what's worse, causes rust inside your braking system. Flushing once a year is ideal, but every two or three years is the schedule most DIY car enthusiasts use.

 

[Leeford]

The best and easiest way to bleed/flush brakes is to use a pressure bleeder. Look on Amazon to find a basic DIY kit for $35 or a pro kit for $66. The kit consists of a plastic jug with a pump on top allowing you to build up pressure. The jug is connected to the cap of your brake master cylinder so you can open a bleeder valve on one of your wheel brake calipers and force old fluid out and new fluid in. You can fill the jug with fresh fluid, but I prefer to avoid a clean up by simply using the kit to supply the required pressure. That forces me to keep an eye on the fluid level in the reservoir because if it runs dry you introduce air into the system and have to start all over.
Anyhow, you bleed each wheel in order and periodically depressurizing the jug to refill the reservoir, making sure not to let it run dry. The old stuff goes into a catch bottle supplied with the kit. In a few minutes you're done without any need for clean up or risk of irritating your wife by asking her to pump the brakes on your command. The pumping doesn't make them mad, It's the "command" part they hate.
Dispose of the used fluid and you're good for another year. By the way, flushing is nothing more than extended bleeding. At a price of $35, there is no reason not to own your own kit especially since a shop will charge you $150 or more and more than likely use fluid from a container which has been opened for a while. Brake fluid collects moisture from the air which reduces the boiling point and, what's worse, causes rust inside your braking system. Flushing once a year is ideal, but every two or three years is the schedule most DIY car enthusiasts use.

That's perfect! My dealer wants $135 plus tax CAN.

 

[wireman]

Is the ABS module brake fluid bled using the standard method?

I always heard that a certain procedure was needed to bleed the ABS module and might require a scan tool to complete the process.

Otherwise ,you're not getting all the old fluid out.

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