Author |
Message |
Kevinfromwebb
| Posted on Saturday, May 14, 2005 - 04:07 pm: |
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I was out in the garage last weekend and noticed I couldn't see the front brake fluid in the sight glass. I checked it and the level was good. It was just the light color of the fluid was hard to see. So I thought I'd check the rear fluid too. The level was good but the fluid was a dark brown. I bled it and kept adding fresh fluid until I got most of the dark color out. Would that have been heat causing that??? I wondered if it could have been contamination also but with the level being good, Hmmmm... Anybody got any ideas??? Kevin |
Bbstacker
| Posted on Saturday, May 14, 2005 - 04:25 pm: |
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Same thing from mine. Just gravity bled it and it still stops, so I figure I'm good. Front is a little touchier, but I attribute that to the new pads up front. |
Odinbueller
| Posted on Saturday, May 14, 2005 - 09:54 pm: |
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The nature of DOT4 fluid is that it absorbs moisture out of the air more than other fluids. The fluid will grow clear with age, and may discolor somewhat with use. If you boil the absorbed moisture in the fluid with hard braking, that may cause discoloration too. If the brakes feel good and you haven't cooked the fluid with hard prolonged braking, then you're OK. The factory always recommends that you bleed out the entire system and refill with fresh uncontaminated DOT4 fluid every 2 years. After the refill, you should notice that the brakes are firmer than before, as long as they were bled correctly. DOT4 has a low compression value, but that value goes up the older the fluid get as it absorbs moisture, hence the need to flush and refill at every 2 years. You also keep the master cylinder & caliper components nicely lubed by doing this. Otherwise your master cylinder, caliper pistons, or both may run into problems. |
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