I am about to change all my brake fluid. How do i go about a complete flush of my old fluid and adding all new fluid? What are the advantages/ disadvantages of changing from a Honda dot 3 fluid to a Motul Dot 5.1 fluid?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kornerk12 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am about to change all my brake fluid. How do i go about a complete flush of my old fluid and adding all new fluid? What are the advantages/ disadvantages of changing from a Honda dot 3 fluid to a Motul Dot 5.1 fluid?</TD></TR></TABLE>

You need a second person to do this job (or a speed bleeder system).

First, get the car on jack stands, wheels off, etc etc.

Next, pop the hood, open the brake fluid reservoir, get a turkey baster and suck out all the fluid in the tank. replace this fluid with new fluid. This isn't necessary, but it'll save you a ton of time.

Now, have your friend sit in the car, and be ready to communicate. get a 10mm wrench and find the bleeder screw. Attach a 3/8" ID clear vinyl hose to the bleeder nipple, which runs into a catch can where you will dump your old fluid.

Have your friend pump the brake using short strokes to build up pressure in the system. on his last stroke he should keep the pedal compressed and that's when you open the bleeder screw. He is to keep the pedal compressed until you close the bleeder screw. Now, have him pump again and repeat the process.

Fluid will flow out of the bleeder, through the hose, into the catch can. Through the clear vinyl hosing, you will see your murky/grody old brake fluid. When the fluid looks to be the clean, new fluid you topped off the reservoir with, you can stop bleeding that corner. Periodically check the level of fluid in the reservoir, and make sure it's full.

There is a prescribed bleeding sequence for preludes that i can't seem to remember right now, but i always go from the caliper furthest away from the master cylinder to the closest. So i go RR, LR, RF, LF.

Also, make sure your pedal man doesn't use big, deep strokes when he's pumping the pedal since older master cylinders can be subject to fubar'd seals if he does.

OEM dot3 fluid is fine for street cars. it's cheap enough, and unless you live on top of a very windy mt. road, should be fine. however, i don't see a problem w/ running a better brake fluid like motul or a dot 4. it's just a little harder on your wallet. In my street cars i use the valvoline synthetic dot4 fluid, because it's readily available, and good enough for driving to work. it's cheap too, at least compared to RBF600.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Have your friend pump the brake using short strokes to build up pressure in the system. on his last stroke he should keep the pedal compressed and that's when you open the bleeder screw. He is to keep the pedal compressed until you close the bleeder screw. Now, have him pump again and repeat the process.
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When you say repeat the process that means your done for that brake and to continue and do the same thing for the next brake? BTW good post it helped alot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kornerk12 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When you say repeat the process that means your done for that brake and to continue and do the same thing for the next brake? BTW good post it helped alot. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Repeat it on the same brake until the fluid comes out clean. It'll take a while to get all the old fluid out of the line, so you'll be spending about 10 mins per brake, just repeating that process.

np, glad i could help.

 

Good post. I was wondering the same thing.

Is the idea to bleed the corner of the car that is farthest from the brake pump to the closest?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AndyD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good post. I was wondering the same thing.

Is the idea to bleed the corner of the car that is farthest from the brake pump to the closest?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, though to be sure, you should consult the helms to see what the proper sequence is.

i just keep forgetting it...

and you know what? it's actually 1/4" ID tubing, not 3/8". my bad.

 

sorry if i am hijacking, will remove my post if so . well, i recently found a leak in my front driver side brake line . i was wondering if i only replaced that one brake line, would i still need to bleed all of the brake lines, or could i just bleed that one front driver side line ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Have your friend pump the brake using short strokes to build up pressure in the system. on his last stroke he should keep the pedal compressed and that's when you open the bleeder screw. He is to keep the pedal compressed until you close the bleeder screw. Now, have him pump again and repeat the process.</TD></TR></TABLE>
This is a little confusing. You don't have to build up a lot of pressure to flush the fluid. Basically, just open the bleed nipple, press the pedal, close the bleed nipple, release the pedal, open, compress pedal... etc, until it's through. Make sure your friend doesn't bring up the pedal with the bleeder open or it will suck air back into the system. It will take a while to bleed the rears but the fronts will be quick.

You can use high-temperature fluid, like ATE super blue (what lots of track drivers use), but it absorbs moisture quicker and you have to replace it more often. I believe you have to replace the high-end Motul stuff more than once a year. That's the disadvantage.

tonezilla: you can bleed one corner by itself.

Dan

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LudemanDan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This is a little confusing. You don't have to build up a lot of pressure to flush the fluid. Basically, just open the bleed nipple, press the pedal, close the bleed nipple, release the pedal, open, compress pedal... etc, until it's through. Make sure your friend doesn't bring up the pedal with the bleeder open or it will suck air back into the system. It will take a while to bleed the rears but the fronts will be quick.

You can use high-temperature fluid, like ATE super blue (what lots of track drivers use), but it absorbs moisture quicker and you have to replace it more often. I believe you have to replace the high-end Motul stuff more than once a year. That's the disadvantage.

tonezilla: you can bleed one corner by itself.

Dan</TD></TR></TABLE>

the stroke and hold method works, but it's too hard not to get too deep on the brake pedal w/ that method in my experience. esp after you've been at it for 45 mins and are sick of the process.

but there's more than one way to roast a pig, so if it works, it works

 

Dont use 5.1 unless you heavily track your car. the 5.1 fluid holds more moisture than the street use fluid. Its also more expensive and it WILL NOT give you more braking performance on the street. The only advantage of it is it wont boil as easily as regular dot 3.

neil

 

If you have ABS don't use DOT 5 Brake Fluid.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ofthesun93 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you have ABS don't use DOT 5 Brake Fluid. </TD></TR></TABLE>

dot 5 won't work, but dot 5.1 works with modern brake systems.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ofthesun93 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you have ABS don't use DOT 5 Brake Fluid. </TD></TR></TABLE>
It's important to distinguish between DOT 5 and 5.1. I don't believe you can even buy DOT 5, but if you do find it, keep it away. 'Nuff said.

 

Spend a few bucks on some speed bleeders. It's a ton easier

Just open the valve and pump brakes until clean fluid comes out.

 

As you're bleeding don't forget to check on the fluid level in the master cylinder every few open/close cycles just to be safe. If the level drops too low, air will be sucked into the system and that's not good. Also as you're bleeding if the fluid coming out is clean you're in good shape, but if there's bubbles in it keep going until there are no bubbles, just to make sure that there is no air in the lines.

This all sounds harder than it is. Have fun.