Brake and PS fluid change questions

[VaderSS]

The master cylinder, proportion valve, and ABS actuator on my Impala are all made of nice chunks of aluminum.

 

[BeltwayBandit]

elwaylite,

To give you one data point, Honda recommends changing the brake fluid every three years or 45,000 miles.

Most brake fluids get darker when they absorb water. Dark brake fluid is definitely a sign that it is time to replace it.

Power steering fluid is the one fluid that Honda is mum about on a recommendation for changing.

Stay safe.

 

[olympic]

I flush the brakes and PS system on my cars every year. It's only $10 worth of fluid and an hour of my time. Pumps, racks, calipers and master cylinders are not cheap nor easy to replace anymore so it's well worth it IMO.

 

[james1]

A couple of years ago a buddy showed me an article he printed out regarding break fluid changes. As I recall, the biggest problem with break fluid was water contamination. This contamination creates two problems. Obviously, water is heavier than the glycol based fluids. The article went on to say that the water works its way down to the lowest points in the system (next to the calipers). The two problems are: 1)The water will cause rust and sticking and more importantly 2)The water can turn to steam in severe breaking situations. Enough water and the break fluid boils easily causing compressable bubbles and lack of breaking power.

 

[labman]

quote:

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Originally posted by BeltwayBandit:
elwaylite, snip....
Most brake fluids get darker when they absorb water. Dark brake fluid is definitely a sign that it is time to replace it.snip...

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http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf50412.htm

This was posted here once aleady.

 

[Virtuoso]

I just did both of these on my SHO today. I have no idea how old the brake fluid was in the car; the stuff that came out of the rear calipers was a little dark. The front's seemed to fare better.

I will probably change the brake fluid in this car every 2-3 years.

I used a turkey-baster to siphon out as much ATF out of the PS resivoir as I could, and then fill it back up; turn on the engine to assist the bleeding. Bleed one wheel; slap the wheel back on, let the car down and exersise the PS system for a bit. Shut her down, move on to the next wheel, siphon another resivoir of ATF and repeat.
I'll probably do at least another quart through it later; I did 2 of them today.