What would happen if you never get the fluid flushed?How often should you get this done?Thanks for taking the time to answer my question!
After lots of use brake fluid develops a black grit. Sometimes you can see it in the bottom of the fluid reservoir. What it will do in time is make your rubber parts in the brake and slave cylinders leak and suck air. You can extend the life of your brake parts if you replace it next time you work on the brakes.
This is an often mentioned maintenance procedure that I seriously doubt is performed on 99% of vehicles. And the truth be known, I suspect that 99% of the vehicles in the salvage yards have the bulk of the brake fluid in their system that they came from the factory with. I personally have never flushed any brake system in the vehicles that I've owned - and I have never suffered any consequences.
Its when they hook up a machine that drawls old brake fluid out and forces new fluid in,by pressure this is done through hooking the machine hose up to the bleeder screw.As far as never getting it flushed, over time the fluid can start to attack the rubber components in the brake system being master cylinder,wheel cylinders,calipers,rubber lines ect.A good sign of this is if the rubber seal under your brake fluid reservoir cap will be distorted.As far as timing not sure on the intervals it might very with the auto manufacturer,Ive heard every 60k or so would be a good interval , as long as the bleeder screws are able to open on the calipers/wheel cylinders you will be alright.
Hello Lexi, Well, personally the only time I would recommend doing a brake fluid flush would be during brake repairs, such as replacing pads and rotors. It's the ideal time the car in the air anyway. Most shops are equipped with a device called a power bleeder, which forces brake fluid through the system. All they have to do is attach the power bleeder to the reservoir of the master cylinder, then open the bleeder screws on the calipers or wheel cylinders. On some modern cars they may need an ABS scan tool to get the system to bleed properly but if they do a lot of brake work they should already have that also. If they have to open the system for any reason, such as to replace a caliper or wheel cylinder, they will have to bleed the system anyway to purge it of air bubbles that would interfere with effective braking. Depending on the kind of vehicle you have and your mechanical ability you can do this at home also, it's not a difficult procedure on most cars. A Chilton's or Haynes manual would be able to talk you through the procedure. It usually takes two people. One underneath the car to open and close each bleeder screw, and one inside the car to pump the brake pedal. Just be sure to keep the reservoir full on the master cylinder, if it gets too low you will be introducing more air into the lines and defeating your purpose. Good luck. Bill
Basically, it's just bleeding the brake system until all the old fluid has been flushed out. There is fancy power bleeding equipment available, but it can be done just as well the old fashioned way. Some ABS systems do require special procedures. The thing about normal DOT 3 brake fluid is that it has this property (it's hygroscopic), where it sucks moisture right out of the air. This has 2 results. One is that water boils, and then when your brakes get hot (which is like, always), performance can be seriously degraded. The other is that all of the parts that contain the brake fluid will tend to rust/corrode faster. Personally, I recommend flushing every 3 years, or at least when major brake work is done, which is usually a little longer. Many people recommend it be done more often than that. The guy who says he's using brake fluid from 1952 has a screw loose. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fluid
