Green gel in front caliper. Poor Brake Fluid??

[Fordiesel69]

I am a firm beleiver in doing brake fluid every year as it turns brown / black in about that time. However I replaced a sticking front caliper and when I compressed the piston found a gel that came out with the fluid and it was a green / blue color. Does this mean I should pull all my calipers and compress the [censored] fluid out of them?

Could this gel be from water entry from the faulty caliper or is the fluid faulty.

 

[Chris142]

Assembly lube from the re builder.

 

[Fordiesel69]

It was a factory caliper judging by the compression washers and rust.

 

[MrBeachcomber]

Haven't seen any DOT 3/4 glycol-based brake fluid form a gelatin when exposed to heat or water so I'm guessing that the stuff was either some type of assembly lube (most manufacturers use brake fluid as a lube though) or possibly anti-squeak material that was forced past the junction of the dust boot into the piston and then eventually past the piston seal in the main body of the caliper.

It wouldn't hurt to check the other caliper to see if this stuff was in both calipers. I would pressure bleed the system with fresh fluid just to make sure. Good luck!

 

[Trav]

In some parts of the world brake fluid does begin to take on a green tinge before turning very dark, its seems more common in southern Europe.
I have read it is a bacteria, algae, microbes or some such thing.
I have no idea which of these it is exactly but the way i understand it is it forms in moisture saturated fluid.
It's claimed 3 or 4 short brake fluid exchanges followed by regular fluid changes will get rid of it.

This is all from reading something years ago, i have seen brake fluid turn green but not form the slime so take it for what it is and do some research.
I would think pushing the pistons back in would expel a good bit of this stuff.

 

[artificialist]

I have seen plenty of cars turn brake fluid green. However, I have not seen them turn to gel.

I hope the gel is not caused by degrading brake components getting in the fluid. That gets costly if that is what happens, and extremely costly if your car has ABS brakes.

 

[EricF]

Permatex makes a synthetic caliper lubricant that's green like what you described. I wouldn't be surprised if it was used when the brakes were installed?

 

[CBR.worm]

I had an '04 Audi A4 that the brake fluid in the reservoir turned green and had gel lumps in it. I noticed it at 40K (probably around '07) miles, the services at that point had been included in the free maintenance and done at the dealer. I sucked it all out and power bled everything. I assumed that at some dealer visit they put added the wrong fluid and it reacted with the OE stuff.