Brake Fluid

[Mondeo]

Agree!

[Turbobrick]

DOT4 is indeed enough for all stock cars but given our mentality sure want the highest grade possible lah

 

If U gonna change to 5.1 then must flush out all the exisiting DOT4 in your system.

[Mondeo]

Yeah, thinking whether let outside w/s to do. U got lobeng?

[Turbobrick]

The main diff between 3,4 and 5.1 is the boiling point temperature. Also there's some diff in the viscosity which makes DOT 5.1 not compatible with some older generation cars.

 

I suggest sticking to the OEM recommendation unless someone else has tried 5.1 and had no problems.

[Myfocus]

Two man job but no need to remove wheels lah, I got ramps that U can drive up on then can reach the bleeder screws to start bleeding the fluid

 

Pressure bleeder, one man operation, but use up more brake fluid.

[Mondeo]

Hi Myfocus,

long time didn't hear frm U man, how's going?

Edited April 29, 2002 by Mondeo

[Guyver]

Yah man.... where have u been?

[Turbobrick]

Hi MyFocus, long time never hear from U! Been BZ?

 

U mean pressure bleed by letting the bleeder screw loose marginally and then pumping hard with the bleeding hose submerged in new brake fluid issit?

[Myfocus]

Hi Myfocus,

long time didn't hear frm U man, how's going?

 

Greetings! generally good, just back from Beijing (had to squeeze in visit before they shut down for week beginning 2moro). B4 that was in Taiwan & HK.

 

Quite a number of new faces/nicks, re-org in layout. Fast movers here!

[Myfocus]

Yah man.... where have u been?

 

Beijing, looking at VWs, Daihatsus, Citroens :-) How's the going?

[Myfocus]

Hi MyFocus, long time never hear from U! Been BZ?

 

U mean pressure bleed by letting the bleeder screw loose marginally and then pumping hard with the bleeding hose submerged in new brake fluid issit?

 

Busy? Been living out of hotels, contending with dial-up lines that drop to less than 9.6K :-( Trying to catch up before the next trip. Economi pickup, so have to run faster to catch the train :-)

 

 

Actually, if you do as suggested, you may actually get air into the system. You dun what that, do you? :-)

 

 

I do pressure bleeding with the most cost-effective (read cheapest) gadget from Gunsons. You can get one from Snap-on (very nice, very nice price) too. You can make your own too, with a largish bottle, some penumatic hose (preferably clear), a spare brake reservoir cap, and some RTV.

 

It comprises of a bottle with two openings. One has a tube which goes to the bottom o the bottle The other opening has no inner tube, just an externall tube to a low pressure source (max 10psi, eg partiallydeflated spare tyre). The first tube, goes to a spare brake fluid reservoir cap.

 

to use, fill up the bottle with brake fluid, replace the brake reservior cap with this thingy. Apply low pressure air, which will force the brake fluid into the reservoir (via the cap). because you dun want the cap to pop off, keep the pressure low, max 10psi (approx 0.7 bar). now, go to your preferred (brake) bleed nipple (either furthest or nearest to reservoir depending on your beliefs :-) ). Attach a short length of hose, say 12-18inch, over the nipple. the other end goes into the waste fluid bottle. usual disclaimers about proper bottles,and dun drink that suff.

 

crack open the nipple, old fluid comes out, wait until freshh stuff comes out, and observe if there are particles/dirt. If none, close, clean up and proceed to next nipple. Do all 4 (or 5 if the proportioning valve needs bleeding too).

 

while you can wait for the lighter coloured fresh fluid to appear, I prefer to use different colour fluid at each change. My favourite (because my old car used ATE) is ATE blue, comes in dark and light blue. Easy to see the changes. (the dark blue is actually mid blue, while old fluid is nearly black).

 

The pressure bleeder is one of the best tools I got, easy to bleed esp after any brake work (esp for peace of mind) eg after change brake hoses, pads etc.

 

Caveats, remember to monitor the fluid level in the bottle. If the level falls and air goes into the reservoir (bubbles caused by low fluid level, or worse, fluid reservoir runs dry, and air goes into system), you will be in for some really fun and games :-(

 

Becareful if you step on the brakes when bleeding. dun overdo it, or you could be in for a master cyl rebuild :-(

 

hope this helps.

Edited April 30, 2002 by Myfocus

[Turbobrick]

I got a picture of this pressure bleeder setup U're talking about....lemme go find it and perhaps a clearer picture can be painted for our members ok?

[Turbobrick]

Here's the DIY pressure bleeder I found on the web

http://au.geocities.com/ozbrick850/brakes-bleed-bleeder.html

[Lester]

Haha... This is how I bleed my bake calipers on my bike. I use a pneumatic hose from my work plc instead of the tire pressure. Cos I did not have a check valve that i can use on the valve opening. It's good and works efficiently if you plan to DIY your own brakes!

 

 

Lester

[Turbobrick]

Neat piece of work eh? I'm thinking whether to built this bleeder or not since bleeding the most once or twice a year only.......

[Mondeo]

So can your bleeder be borrow to MCF?

[Turbobrick]

If I can successfully build one first, this one cannot cxxk up else air will be all inside the brake system!

[Mondeo]

cxxk up?! Then our foots will kenna to de-press the brake pedal.