brake fluid flush

[Max HEADVROOM]

hi all... im thinking of doing a brake fluid flush after fitting new disks and pads all round, but the trouble is, iv no idea what fluid would be in it. is there any way i can find out, or do i just flush with whats recommended for it as im doing a complete flush anyway?

tia

Al

[staffy460]

Originally Posted by Max HEADVROOM

hi all... im thinking of doing a brake fluid flush after fitting new disks and pads all round, but the trouble is, iv no idea what fluid would be in it. is there any way i can find out, or do i just flush with whats recommended for it as im doing a complete flush anyway?

tia

Al

dot 4 i think

[green van man]

As said any reputable make dot 4 fluid.
Last I baught from my local factors was mintex at £17 a gallon.

Easiest way I have found is to use a vacuume bleeder that sucks the fluid out. I start by clamping the flexibility hose, remove and grease the bleed nipple, refit and attach pipe to bleeder, remove clamp, pump vacuume into the bottle and while gently pouring fresh fluid into the resevour watch the dirty fluid as it runs through the pipe to the bottle. I start at the wheel closest the master cylinder and work round the car.
My vacuume bleeder is a sealey 6 litre vacuume bottle that cost £46 on eBay modified with 5mm washer tubing to reach all round the car.

A gallon of fluid does both the volvo and landrover with spare for topping up and with the vacuume bottle I can do both cars in an hour and a half by myself with no spillage or dribbles over the bodywork in the engine bay.

The only time I put my car into the dealers for a fluid change they used a preasure bleeder that leaked all over the servo tank and bulkhead which took the paint off to bare metal. I now do it myself.

Paul.

[Thassos]

I would recommend the Sealey VS820 , the only issue with these is checking that the supplied adapter fits the br fluid reservoir on your car, ,makes for a very stress free way to purge the old fluid, dot4 probably your fluid, you can buy it in 4L cans from most ppl like eur cp so no chance of running out. You can also get some low cost pen like testers that will give you an idea what % water in your current fluid, but might be worth drawing aome fluid off from the caliper end as well as the master cyl. Post some info on what car you have or a pic of the br fluid reservoir if you want to check if the vs820 fits yours.

[Marty Dolomite]

Originally Posted by green van man

As said any reputable make dot 4 fluid.
I start at the wheel closest the master cylinder and work round the car.


Paul.

You should start at the passengers rear, drivers rear, pass front then drivers front (assuming master is on drivers side). or at least that's how I was taught.

[Marty Dolomite]

You shouldn't need to flush the system, just replace the fluid by introducing new clean fluid as you bleed the brakes. using a flushing agent can cause lots of issues if you've not done it before and only need doing if the fluid is contaminated with a different fluid.

[Derek UK]

Originally Posted by Marty Dolomite

You should start at the passengers rear, drivers rear, pass front then drivers front (assuming master is on drivers side). or at least that's how I was taught.

This is for a single circuit brake system like the early Amazon. For a dual circuit system, there will be a specific order to bleed from each nipple. This will be in the WS manual, can be found on the net for your model, or someone here with the same car as yours will know the order. Yours is a V70?

[Marty Dolomite]

Originally Posted by Derek UK

This is for a single circuit brake system like the early Amazon. For a dual circuit system, there will be a specific order to bleed from each nipple. This will be in the WS manual, can be found on the net for your model, or someone here with the same car as yours will know the order. Yours is a V70?

It's not me asking the question but yes I have a V70 and when I changed the fluid I done it in the order I described.

The diverter valve is one of the reasons I said not to flush the system.