Changing brake fluid, clutch also?

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Darwin1138

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Hello everyone, I am unfamiliar with hydraulic clutch systems and I want to ask you guys some questions.

Do you change the fluid of the clutch when you change the brake fluid?

Do you change it at the same interval?

If you don't change it, does this old fluid contaminate the new one? Since they share the same reservoir.

Does a pressure bleeder also works on the clutch? Meaning I just open the bleed screw until new fluid comes out, or there is another step I'm missing?

And do you bleed the clutch after or before the brakes?

Thanks in advance for all your help,
 
I would change it, since there is fluid in the line and the slave cylinder yet. I had heard that some vehicles used a shared reservoir, though many use separate ones. Not sure on the before/after sequence, but my gut says it probably doesn't make much difference.

I did the clutch fluid at the same time as the brake fluid, even though it was a separate system. In your case, yes, I would do them at the same time.

Boiling point isn't so much an issue on clutch hydraulics, but you don't want the moisture corroding things.

Usually not too difficult, it's the same kind of procedure as the brakes. I've used vacuum bleeders and the two-person method, both work fine.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
what vehicle shares the reservoir?


Don't most of them share the reservoir? I've seen that on most manual transmission cars where the brake and clutch share the same fluid. Honda and Toyota definitely do this a lot.

OP, what kind of car do you have?
 
My MG Midget, 2004 CR-V, and my '97 Saturn all had separate reservoirs. Older Midgets had combined ones, but since they split them later I assumed they had become obsolete. Apparently not.
 
My ECHO does.

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Don't most of them share the reservoir? I've seen that on most manual transmission cars where the brake and clutch share the same fluid. Honda and Toyota definitely do this a lot.
 
The Camry has no "in-engine bay" reservoir. It's under the engine...you stick your finger in the upper of two bolt holes and if you feel it it's fine...

When I bought the 8-year old Kitacam at 97k miles I did a drain and fill, replacing whatever was in there with synthetic gear oil...Redline MT90.
 
Say what? The brake/clutch fluid?

Originally Posted By: KitaCam
The Camry has no "in-engine bay" reservoir. It's under the engine...you stick your finger in the upper of two bolt holes and if you feel it it's fine...

When I bought the 8-year old Kitacam at 97k miles I did a drain and fill, replacing whatever was in there with synthetic gear oil...Redline MT90.
 
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Don't most of them share the reservoir? I've seen that on most manual transmission cars where the brake and clutch share the same fluid. Honda and Toyota definitely do this a lot.

OP, what kind of car do you have?


My car is a Peugeot 207, and I think VW also shares the reservoir.
 
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I replace brake and clutch fluids every two years. Pressure bleeders work just as well on clutch hydraulics as they do on brakes. I pressure bleed the clutch.

All the vehicles I maintain have separate clutch and brake reservoirs, so the two bleeding operations are independent of one another and it does not matter which one you do first.
 
I flush out the (stand alone/separate from the brake master cylinder) clutch reservoir/master at least 3 times a year, since I had a (Tick Performance) remote speed bleeder installed at the last clutch change, and it is a VERY easy, QUICK procedure to flush it out even MORE THAN once.

I could only WISH the (ABS) brakes were this easy to do, 'cause IF they were, I would do them TWICE a year!!!
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Say what? The brake/clutch fluid?

Originally Posted By: KitaCam
The Camry has no "in-engine bay" reservoir. It's under the engine...you stick your finger in the upper of two bolt holes and if you feel it it's fine...

When I bought the 8-year old Kitacam at 97k miles I did a drain and fill, replacing whatever was in there with synthetic gear oil...Redline MT90.


Tranny fluid....there IS a reservoir for brake fluid....When I got Kitacam, I bled the brakes too, removing all the brake fluid in there (likely there a LOOoooooooog time).

The clutch HAD been replaced when I got the Cam, but I had no idea whether they replaced/replenished the tranny fluid...so did that and as I said, with synthetic.
 
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Originally Posted By: KitaCam


Tranny fluid....there IS a reservoir for brake fluid....When I got Kitacam, I bled the brakes too, removing all the brake fluid in there (likely there a LOOoooooooog time).

The clutch HAD been replaced when I got the Cam, but I had no idea whether they replaced/replenished the tranny fluid...so did that and as I said, with synthetic.


The topic here is NOT transmission fluid, It is DOT3 or 4 brake fluid used in the hydraulic clutch system.

IMG00554.jpg
 
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Originally Posted By: dailydriver
I flush out the (stand alone/separate from the brake master cylinder) clutch reservoir/master at least 3 times a year, since I had a (Tick Performance) remote speed bleeder installed at the last clutch change, and it is a VERY easy, QUICK procedure to flush it out even MORE THAN once.

I could only WISH the (ABS) brakes were this easy to do, 'cause IF they were, I would do them TWICE a year!!!


Why wouldn't the ABS brakes be easy to do? The only exception I know of is early 90s Hondas that have a separate ABS reservoir.

Pretty much all you have to do is take off the wheels and you're 80% there. So when you rotate your tires, you can do it then
smile.gif
 
Both MT cars I've owned had a separate reservoir for the clutch and brakes.

My '95 Integra GS-R even had a separate reservoir for the ABS. It was weird too. I had a factory service manual. Flushing it was easy according to the instructions. Take the cap off an outlet and connect a hose to route the fluid to a collection container. Then cycle it several times until it was dry. Finally replace the cap and then pour in fluid in the tiniest filler hole I've ever seen. The catch was that it would have to be reset via some sort of scan tool, and only dealers had access to these. I remember asking a Japanese car specialist shop if they could do it, and they said mechanically it was easy but they couldn't get the electronics to do it. I took it to a dealer to get this done. They even used my brake fluid. Cost something like $45.
 
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
I flush out the (stand alone/separate from the brake master cylinder) clutch reservoir/master at least 3 times a year, since I had a (Tick Performance) remote speed bleeder installed at the last clutch change, and it is a VERY easy, QUICK procedure to flush it out even MORE THAN once.

I could only WISH the (ABS) brakes were this easy to do, 'cause IF they were, I would do them TWICE a year!!!


Why wouldn't the ABS brakes be easy to do?

Some brake systems require you to actuate the ABS pump in order to release the fluid. And to actuate the ABS pump, you need specialized software. Many current VW/Audi cars are like that.
 
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