I just bought some valvoline syn dot 3/4 brake fluid. It's kinda clear and the fluid in the resevoir is brownish black. Are the colors supposed to match?

 

what kind of fluid is in the resevior?

you don't mix DOT flavors. If you don't know whats in there, flush it all out, and fill it up with whatever fluid you want to use.

 

The bottle said dot3 and 4
I think the fluid in the resevoir was just old and black and the new synthetic was clear.

 

The fluid in your MC right now is probably DOT 3 or 4. DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5.1 rated fluids are compatible with each other. The only fluid that is NOT compatible with the aforementioned, is DOT 5, which is silicone-based.

If the fluid in your MC is brown, then you should do a complete flush, which should take 3 pints of the Valvoline Synpower. I would flush all the fluid out the rear-left, then do 10-12 pumps on the other corners, then finish off by going around the car and doing 4-6 more pumps per corner. This should ensure fresh fluid in your entire hydraulic system.

Best Regards, HTH... -Andie

 

Hmmm thanks alot. But shouldn't i just top off fluids instead of replacing them? I thought that by flushing and replacing fluids on a 90k mileage car would hurt the seals. Any opinions?


[Modified by speedymon, 2:05 PM 8/27/2002]

 

With that many miles, you should use a vacuum bleeder, so you won't have to stroke your master cylinder to bleed the brakes.

You are correct, if you used the traditional method of flushing/bleeding brake fluid on a MC with that many miles, you risk damaging the MC seals.

-Andie

 

This is what I did, replaced my nasty old Honda fluid with Vavoline Synpower using a vacuum bleeder. Felt alot better afterwards.

On a semi-related note, while I was doing this I also replace my front pads with Axxis Ultimates that cobalt sold me and they are great. Used them durring two autoX's so far and they perform great!

 

Glad to hear you are having good results with the Axxis Ultimate, Ross. I miss Ann Arbor, buddy...

-Andie

 

axxis ultimates? hmmmmmm. how do they compare to the metal masters? anything else? I've got the MM pads on my car right now and I really like them a lot, but they are starting to get a little bit on the thin side. for a daily driver.