Brake and Clutch Fluid Change

Duey1083

Duey1083

Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Are there any good how-to's for changing the brake fluid and clutch fluid on this site?

I'm definitely overdue for this service and have never done this myself on any car before (I usually let a mechanic do it). I'm curious if there is anything I should be aware of like running into seized bleed screws, recommended brake fluid, and recommended bleed tool / kit.

Many thanks in advance!
 
Chrisfix on YouTube has a good video for general brake bleeding using gavity bleed.

If you live in snow country, I highly suggest you buy extra bleeder in case your current ones decide to break.
You should have a helper. If that isn't available to you, use a 2x4 or even 1x6 wood between front of seat to brake pedal. Gravity bleed or attach clear tube to the bleeder and into a plastic water bottle. Close bleeder after pressure is built up. Don't let brake pedal go to floor.

For the slave cylinder, it should be inline with the brake resevior. I gravity bleed it. Mark level before opening the bleeder.
 
Ate typ 200 brake fluid, motive power bleeder is your friend but failing that it's a two person job, keep fluid topped up in res, pump brake, hold, open bleeder a little let some out and close, repeat. Pass rear, driver rear, driver front, pass front (furthest from res to closest assuming driver seat on left of car ;) ).
when it comes to the clutch same process however there are two reservoirs within the brake one the clutch is at the back you need to keep the fluid at the fill level line or higher to actually get fluid to the clutch section, so keep it almost completely full...
Plenty of YouTube videos on clutch and brakes, nothing special other than that dual res for us
 
Thanks guys!

I'll check out the bleeder and the fluid recommendation. Hopefully all goes well for me!

Also, I love ChrisFix videos...that guy makes incredible content on YouTube.
 
Here's a link for the power bleeder it ain't cheap but it works
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That is indeed an expensive tool...but I can use it to do my girlfriends brakes too.

It looks like ATE no longer makes the blue brake fluid...how does one know when they've completely flushed the old fluid out of the lines and reservoir?

Also, should I buy 2 quarts of brake fluid?
 
You should notice a colour change with the older fluid to new, first corner will take the longest as you're also doing the reservoir. certainly by the time you're half way through the bottle lol. nah can do a flush on 1L just fine. you Do not need the power beeder, I just get the lady to sit in the drivers seat and tell her to pump / release the break

Ate Typ 200
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The power bleeder is expensive but well worth it. Once you get the hang of power bleeding, you wont bleed your brakes or clutch any other way. Its super efficient and fast.

I made my own pneumatic power bleeder to use with my air compressor. It takes me less than 20 mins to bleed all 4 corners and the clutch. Its so easy I do it on both cars once a year.

As far as color change, you will see brownish bubbly fluid come out at first. After a while it will look almost completely clear and solid, depending on the brand of fluid (color) you get.

For a first time flush, yes get 2 quarts. Once you get the hang of it you could probably just use 1.
 
Thanks for the recommendations @Awafrican and @Mauro_Penguin. I'm assuming the dealer would charge at least $150 for this service, so it's still worth it to me.

Biggest concern is seized bleeder screws...but I'll use the recommendations I got in the ShoutBox.
 
Just avoid removing all the fluid in the container. This can damage the o rings in the master cylinder. After each corner, refill to max line.
 
I’ve been using a Mitty-Vac hand pump for years. Keep the reservoir full. Sucks the old fluid right out.
 
Reviving my old thread because I finally got around to building my power bleeder. Life has been super busy for me...recently got engaged and have been learning to weld and have been slowly building a welding table/workbench when I get time.

I ended up going with Pentosin Super DOT 4 fluid as it was a little cheaper than the ATE fluid (bought 2 litres; if I only use one, then I have another container for my fiances car).

I'm pretty sure the answer to my question is no, but is there a way for us to extract the old fluid out of the reservoir? Looked like there is a fixed in place screen.
 
Well...I successfully changed the brake/clutch fluid. There was a shit-ton of air in my rear drivers brake line.

Glad I bought 2 liters of fluid because that one line took a long time to bleed. Pedal feels much better now.

Overall it went great and my power bleeder worked quite well!

Thanks to all who gave me tips and recommendations in this thread!
 
I put mine together for about $65.

It worked pretty good especially for the clutch because I was nervous about the two stage reservoir we have. Near the end of the flush, I started to spring a slow / small leak at the reservoir cap. It also took a lot of time to troubleshoot leaks when I built it.

But, I couldn't find Motive Power blenders with the correct reservoir cap adaptor. All in all I'm pretty happy!
 
Duey1083 said:
I put mine together for about $65.

It worked pretty good especially for the clutch because I was nervous about the two stage reservoir we have. Near the end of the flush, I started to spring a slow / small leak at the reservoir cap. It also took a lot of time to troubleshoot leaks when I built it.

But, I couldn't find Motive Power blenders with the correct reservoir cap adaptor. All in all I'm pretty happy!
Click to expand...
you mean this one?
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Motive Products 100 Brake System Power Bleeder
Screenshot 2021-02-26 160447.png
needs the model 1100 European adaptor which this one comes with
this is the one @JohnnyTightlips uses
 
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