Replacing brake fluid

petermcmillan_uk · 2005-05-12T10:10:33+00:00

I need to replace my brake fluid soon, and want to know the best way todo it. I was looking at a 'proper' bleeding/changing kit from but my dad says it's a complete waste. He believes in asmall pipe with a non-return valve, and a jam jar. Am I right inthinking that a good kit will be much easier to use?On tooled-up there's a draper kit which plugs into an air compressor.It's =A330, and I already have an air compressor. Are there any kityou'd recommend. A standard kit, like my dad recommends, would be justunder =A310. Oh yeah, with the proper kit I think one person can do it,but I think you need two for the cheap one.

May 12, 2005 26 Replies

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petermcmillan_uk 21 years ago

Is it safe to mix them? I've got Tutela Top 4, it says it's for performance cars, probably what Alfas use too.

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Chris Street 21 years ago

As long as it's not the silicone version then it should be fine. It's not a good idea to mix anything of differeng standards but I beleive it's safe to mix 3 and 4.

Usual caveats apply, check yourself etc, this advice is worth what you paid.

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Mad Ad 21 years ago

Dot 3, 4 and 5.1 can be mixed, dot 5 CANNOT be mixed without completely cleaning the brake lines and using non perishable rubbers.

Old liquid is quite brown, it should be clearly seen when the new light amber fluid appears.

I've recently changed a dot 4 system to 5.1 and the whole job took about

750-800ml, (4 brakes with abs plus clutch circuit), and that included a good bit of wastage.

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Pete M 21 years ago

In news:1sozf59f94jk.1t6rackew0hfc$. snipped-for-privacy@40tude.net, Chris Street decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

This is Peter McMillan you're on about, you should be advising him to use a Dot4 / sulphuric acid mix.

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Stuffed 21 years ago

Is there really any truth to this? The only moisture in a done up half used bottle will be the very small amount in the air that got in when the fluid went out. It's not like a master cylinder, where a small amount of fresh airborne moitsure can get in every time air passes through the vent.

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Stuffed 21 years ago

What the hell is Tutela Top 4? And since when have you had a performance car?

Your car has no power, and sod all weight, and you drive like a narcoleptic sloth on downers, so given all of the above, do you really think you're going to boil the fluid?

3 and 4 should mix fine, and at a guess this Top 4 stuff is DOT 4. Which is what might as well go back in, in fact it's been a while since I remember seeing DOT 3 on the shelf locally. He should check the Top 4 stuff is actually just overpriced bog standard DOT 4, and then get a bottle of 5 quid a litre (less in larger quantities, and that's high street prices too) DOT 4 to replace it with.

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Chris Street 21 years ago

If you expell all the air by squeezing the bottle then seal it you won't get any more moisture in than it would sitting on a shelf. However once the foil seal is ripped it's very difficult to reseal it properly - the fuild absorbs water creating a small vacuum, osmotic pressure and vacuum pulls in more air, etc etc.

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