02 Sebring brake fluid

[urrlord]

I recently bought an 02 Sebring sedan with the 2.7. When ever I get a used vehicle I do fluid replacement as I drive it the first few weeks. This time I am starting with the brake fluid as the brakes feel soft and take most of the pedal to get good action. The fluid was brownish and there is blackish build up on the cylinder walls.
I usually redneck it and use a turkey baster to remove the old fluid. However this time I couldn't find my turkey baster so I looked around for an alternative. Ahhh. Paper towels. Make a small bundle, place in Master cylinder, do some yard work, come back and remove the now saturated paper towels. Repeat. Also spin around the bundle and remove the residue buildup on the master cylinder walls.
Refill the master cylinder with new fluid.
Go for a test drive. Brake pedal now feels firm and engages in the upper quarter of the pedal instead of the last quarter. When I first got the car I thought the brakes were just weak in comparison to the Honda I had been driving. Now I'm happy with the brakes on this car.
While doing a tire/wheel change out I looked at the pads - front were half and rear were about a quarter.(My first car with 4 wheel disc) Lol. I guess sometime next year I will do a 4 disc replacement.
And ask bitog members for advice on what pads to use. That'll probably be good for a little entertainment .

 

[dishdude]

I hate to burst your bubble, but unless you cracked open the bleeders and bled the system, the same fluid is in the lines and calipers.

 

[urrlord]

I'm aware of that .
In a month or so I will repeat.
Some time later I will repeat again.
I've done this a number of times on various ve. It takes a while but eventually it results in a cleaner system. At this point I have better braking than what I had. Which is nice.

 

[Lubener]

I'm aware of that .
In a month or so I will repeat.
Some time later I will repeat again.
I've done this a number of times on various ve. It takes a while but eventually it results in a cleaner system. At this point I have better braking than what I had. Which is nice.

Just bleed them the right way. You are basically accomplishing nothing except having new fluid in the master cylinder.. That new fluid will not make it to the wheels.

I would pay more attention to the coolant , oil levels and oil change intervals on your 2.7. The internal water pump would make me run away fast from that engine.

 

[CharBaby]

Right! ^^^
Brake fluid does not circulate in the system. It is a hydraulic system and it just pushes the fluid like a steel rod hence, working the brakes.
You have already cleaned out the master cylinder and added fresh brake fluid but the brake lines, calipers & cylinders(if a rear drum setup) still have old fluid in them.
Now, you must bleed each brake starting with the:

1) Passenger rear
2) Driver side rear
3) Passenger front
4) Driver side front.

 

[D60]

OEM Tools makes a fluid extractor I like. I first encountered them when AutoZone was blowing them out for cheap (no longer)

I eventually purchased another dedicated for just brake fluid. Something to consider.

Others here have reported improvements from just getting fresh fluid in the master. I wouldn't call this best practice and I'm not crazy about the technique, but there seems to be something to it.

There were even reports of dealers doing this and calling it a "fluid exchange", which seems borderline fraudulent.