I can't believe the brakes are so picky on fluid! Options

[patssle]

After driving my car last fall and spring with hard brakes that couldn't lockup, my first order of business after bringing it out of summer hibernation was to fix the brakes. They had been rebuilt by Eric and installed by a previous PO.

The pedal was hard to push and could not lock up the brakes. So I bled the brakes today as it had not been done in a couple years. The fluid came out fine, and was discolored, but was not opaque. So I figured this would not fix the problem. Wrong! Took the car down the street and bam, locked them up.

The brake fluid was not that dirty, but apparently just a little can mess up your brakes.


Now I'm just waiting for the cops to come as the neighborhood bitch came out of her house and stared me down for screeching twice. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif)

[speed metal army]

After driving my car last fall and spring with hard brakes that couldn't lockup, my first order of business after bringing it out of summer hibernation was to fix the brakes. They had been rebuilt by Eric and installed by a previous PO.

The pedal was hard to push and could not lock up the brakes. So I bled the brakes today as it had not been done in a couple years. The fluid came out fine, and was discolored, but was not opaque. So I figured this would not fix the problem. Wrong! Took the car down the street and bam, locked them up.

The brake fluid was not that dirty, but apparently just a little can mess up your brakes.


Now I'm just waiting for the cops to come as the neighborhood bitch came out of her house and stared me down for screeching twice. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif)

Ahhhh yes,the Neighborhood Bitch...Every street has one.What kind of fluid did you replace the old stuff with?

[patssle]

Ahhhh yes,the Neighborhood Bitch...Every street has one.What kind of fluid did you replace the old stuff with?

My dad had an unused bottle of Prestone Dot 3 synthetic. I have no idea what was in the car before, so we flushed the entire system.

[Tom]

Since every neighbor has one, maybe it would be the smart thing to do this where there is not one?!
Can't blame her, she senses a threat to her kids.
Our cars don't need a bad rep!! Find a steach of road where you can do this without offending others.
Tom

[patssle]

She has no kids, she truly is the nosy evil women of the neighborhood.

Unfortunately there is no way to get out of my neighborhood without hitting a major street. Not taking a car into traffic without tested brakes, even if only at 15 mph.

[Cupomeat]

Back to the thread, brakes are very picky on fluid.

On my 993, I was getting a sinking pedal as the PC was having issues.
SO, the shop told me to do the following (saving me a $800 MC);

- Flush and Run DOT3 for about 1 month until the pedal stayed hard
- Flush and Run DOT4 for the future
- Flush and Run DOT4 every year.

Amazing, but it worked.

[Eric_Shea]

Better flush very, very, very well. Mixing fluids causes what I call "caliper worms" (pics to follow). Fluid hardens to a black paste and clogs the internal piston adjusting mechanism's on 914's.