Changed my brake fluid with ATE and ... WOW

[par]

What the heck is a 'basketball filler to the oil extractor' ???

 

[Tosh]

quote:

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Originally posted by moribundman:
A General Motors spokesman said Delco Supreme 11 DOT 3 brake fluid contains additives than many other brake fluids do not, so it is essentially a lifetime fluid.

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Well, I'm getting me some of that and increasing my flush interval to three years.

 

[grm386wa]

I did a brake fluid flush on my 96 Taurus using my Mityvac and its brake bleeder attachment.
I can attest to the amount of CRUD that accumulates in a brake system.

During the flush I could see suspended particles of "gunk" hovering in the areas of the clear hose wherever there was a slight bend.

I don't know what those particulates were, but I do know they were present.

As for my brake "feel"?? It improved for a few hundred miles, but then returned to soft and mushy. Guess its time for new brakes huh??

 

[bar1]

quote:

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Originally posted by moribundman:
A General Motors spokesman said Delco Supreme 11 DOT 3 brake fluid contains additives than many other brake fluids do not, so it is essentially a lifetime fluid.

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I have no interest in what a spokesman from GM is saying. I'd like to hear that statement from the person/team that designed that fluid at Delco (or their supplier)..

 

[labman]

quote:

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Originally posted by grm386wa:
snip...

As for my brake "feel"?? It improved for a few hundred miles, but then returned to soft and mushy. Guess its time for new brakes huh??

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What kind of fluid did you put in? I guess gunked up hardware could give a mushy feel. Usually a soft pedal means air in the system, usually from a leak or opening it somewhere. If tired, old boots are letting more moisture in than the corrosion inhibitor in your fluid can cope with, hydrogen could build up feeling like air. 2 Fe + 3H2O -> 3H2^ + Fe2O3 Don't smoke while you are bleeding your brakes. I would rebuild/replace the calipers and refill with a stable fluid. I have found I can go 5-10 years with GM factory fill or Prestone DOT 4 and still have a solid pedal. Don't forget to clean up the hardware good too.

I like to rebuild the calipers myself. If done in a timely manner, it is cheap and easy. You get to see just what was happening inside the caliper. You can make sure the outer part of the piston where problems start has a good coat of silicone grease, not brake fluid or some hygroscopic junk. If you have let the boot go too long, the piston may be shot, in which case a rebuild caliper is about the same and less work.

I am a little uneasy about Prestone that I have had good results with, for the last 40 years, is now owned by Fram.

 

[unDummy]

quote:

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Originally posted by par:
What the heck is a 'basketball filler to the oil extractor' ???

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A 'basketball filler' is the tip that comes with most airpumps. It'll connect easily to an 'oil extractor hose' and reach deeper, when compared to the hose by itself, into any reservoir for fluid extraction.

 

[ChrisW]

I would whole heartedly recommend either Valvoline synpower or Castrol LMA over the prestone stuff. Both are about $6/qt.

The ATE typ200/blue fluid i'd recommend over either if you have a local supplier at a good price, about $12/qt is normal.