harraid5711

can someone point me to a good one? I do most of my own maintenance/mods, but i've never attempted this. I'm a little hazy on the bleeding part. At 52k miles, i think it's about time.

Thanks!

Fort LiquordaleGT

Why are you risking hurting your car by changing your brake fluid at 52k miles? Bad idea, don't do it. This board has officially gone off the deep end with unnecessary maintenance.

harraid5711

You know, this is the second post I've seen you on today, and the second time you've left a negative comment. Are you having a bad day or do you just like busting *****?

Personally, my maintenance manual says to change it every 30k miles or 24 months. If that's incorrect, feel free to disagree.....but it wouldn't hurt to be respectful first.

Please remember that most of us use this board to teach one another new things and share our love of our cars.

Fort LiquordaleGT

Bro, 99.99999999% of all cars still on the road have the original bake fluid in them. I'm trying to prevent people from ruining their cars. You are not a mechanic working on brakes that don't need to be worked on. Ford does not recommend changing your brake fluid at 52k miles.

Casey4s

I would install a set of Russell (or Earls) speed bleeders to make this whole thing a lot easier and a one man operation.

Just open the bleeders in pairs and pump the old fluid out into a catch can of some kind. I used some 1/4" (ID) vinyl tubing from Lowes over the bleeder nipple to simplify this part.

Then just fill the resovoir and bleed them just keep an eye on the resevoir level and don't let it get too low at this point. I would do the refill bleeding one wheel at a time, but some people do them in pairs.

OR:

You could buy a vacuum system to do this but I feel for the average weekend mechanic it is an unecessary expense as opposed to the Speed Bleeders.



EDIT:

BTW, I flushed my brake fluid at 22K miles because I installed a Line Lock which required bleeding. I went ahead and flushed the whole system because the fluid, which is clear when new, looked like CocaCola in my catch jar.

scorpio333

Feel free to Exit ------>

Brake fluid is hygroscopic. This is the second time I've asked you a question, I have no expectation of getting a detailed fact based answer, I like to humor myself. Why should you not maintain brake fluid every 2 yrs/24K?

Back to the topic...is the brake fluid change different on ABS and non ABS systems?

deekum1627

one of the most important things is your brake fluid so changing it is not a be deal no need to get all bend outta shape if you wanna keep your brake fluid forever then go ahead

Derf00

+1

And yes the brake fluid change IS different between ABS and non ABS. With ABS it's critical to not let air bubble get trapped in ABS unit. They are difficult to remove. In a non-abs system it's not as critical since the bubbles will easily come out the other end (bleeder valve).

There are two ways to flush a system. One is the tried and true way of geting as much out of the resivour out as you can, filling it with fresh fluid then proceeding to bleed out each line (wheel) until the fluid runs clean. A quart and two pints is plenty for this. You remove the fluid in the resivour to avoid pushing it through the ABS system.

The other way is a pressurized system that most shops have. A full system flush runs about $125 from a dealer and it's mainly labor.

Bleeding is easier with two people, but I've done it just by myself. Just get some 3/16" tubing from home depot and a a check valve. Install the line on the bleeder and the check valve at the other end of the tube with the flow arrow pointing away from the bleeder. The Check valve keeps the bleeder from sucking air back into your system each time you release the peddle.

Art161

For some reason, the domestic manufacturers do not include flushing the brake system as routine maintenance. Just about every book and TV show dealing with generic car care recommends flushing every two years. It is more important to do this with ABS brakes. If water gets into that mechanism, the cost to repair can be quite high.

No disrespect to OP, but the brake system might not be something you want to tackle by yourself if you are not familiar with it. If you can find someone with experience in this area to work with you the first time, then that would be an excellent start.

Me? I took my car to the dealer to have the brake system flushed after 2 1/2 years.

Fort LiquordaleGT

Ford has been building cars for over a 100 years. They don't recommend it! What else do you need to know? Who in the right mind would crack open a perfectly good braking system to change the fluid? What exactly is the purpose of this? To prevent what?

I saw my brother put a line lock in one time, he never got those brakes the same had to take it in. He's mechanically inclined, example he could swamp an engine. Anyone attempting to mess with brakes when they don't need to is going to ruin their car, kill themselves or someone else.