steve_b_wales Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 After reading on another thread about brake fluid absorbing moisture after time, I realised that mine has not been changed since I bought my vehicle new, 8 years ago. Is it easy to change yourself with the kit's available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 If you are competant and confident then yes, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonmick Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 It is a relatively easy job.however if you have never done it and are going to buy one of the auto type bleed kits I would say take it to a local garage.not an expensive job.and they will have the rollers to check all brakes are working correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_ox Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 If you mess it up it can get very expensive. I know of a mate who had a mk4 golf he tried doing his brake fluid himself, he let the fluid level go too low in the master cylinder and subsequently got air in the abs system. Resulted in a trip to the dealers as they had to plug in their software to cycle the abs pump to purge the air out as you can't do it otherwise. Some dealers and independents have a menu price for a brake fluid change, when I last looked it was for a BMW and was only £45 at the dealers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Has the car not been properly serviced by the dealer or garage or was it second hand and you've done it yourself? Can't be certain, but would be very surprised if tucked away in the servicing schedule this isn't specified on a frequency basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Has the car not been properly serviced by the dealer or garage or was it second hand and you've done it yourself? Can't be certain, but would be very surprised if tucked away in the servicing schedule this isn't specified on a frequency basis. Very few cars, almost none after a certain age, get serviced according to the schedule. They just get put in for 'a service' and that is oil and filters and not much else . Things like changing the brake fluid, transmission fluid etc just gets ignored. At a lot of service centres they don't even check the fluid levels Unless the garage is short of work of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert 888 Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 If you buy a pressurised kit,make sure you don't give it to much pressure. The job is way better if you have a helper on the brake pedle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebarrels Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Halfords are pretty good on price Steve,and they display all prices in reception so u know what it's going to cost you lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Had this done by a local garage as part of a replacement ABS pump in sure they said it was £20 on top of the 1.3 hours to change the pump ( I supplied the pump as they wanted silly money ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 (edited) Very few cars, almost none after a certain age, get serviced according to the schedule. They just get put in for 'a service' and that is oil and filters and not much else . Things like changing the brake fluid, transmission fluid etc just gets ignored. At a lot of service centres they don't even check the fluid levels Unless the garage is short of work of course. Think I'm getting old! Fortunately, the owner of my local garage and I served the same apprenticeship so he knows what I expect. Edit: PS If you're just changing the oil, check the fluid level first and if acceptable only refill to that level when finished. You'll find out why when you come to change the pads and it's nasty stuff. Edited October 25, 2016 by wymberley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted October 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 Has the car not been properly serviced by the dealer or garage or was it second hand and you've done it yourself? Can't be certain, but would be very surprised if tucked away in the servicing schedule this isn't specified on a frequency basis. The vehicle was bought new by myself. Didn't take it to the Land Rover dealership for servicing, but had it done locally every year, purchasing L.R. parts, which enabled me to keep the warranty. The brake fluid was never changed, but probably only topped up if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted October 25, 2016 Report Share Posted October 25, 2016 The best way to change the fluid is to use one of the pressurised kits. Alternatively you could use a Mityvac or similar vacuum pump. The pressure kits allow for simple one man operation. You can't go wrong with them. The job itself is simple in theory, but you need to be able to sort out any problems that may arise. For example, what do you do if you shear off a bleed screw? You need to have the tools, knowledge and confidence to drill the old screw out if needed. Until you get a replacement the car cannot be driven. Using tghe old two person method with ine loosening the bleed screws and the other pressing the pedal can cause problems. Master cylinder seals can flip, ABS modules can airlock etc. The cost of a proper tool to do the job as well as the brake fluid itself would be roughly £50 in most garages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ph5172 Posted October 26, 2016 Report Share Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) for 'one off' jobs like this i always price the bits and my time, my usual conclusion is for the extra few quid i may as well take it to a dealers! I had to replace the bulb in our Audi..... the bulb was £30 odd, supply and fit at Audi was £34. Rear Pads needed a caliper rewind tool, so with the cost of that and me faffing around i let the local mechanic do it (i supplied the (brembo) pads as they wanted a fortune for them) On a side note maybe we need a directory of PW members who are handy with spanners and want a bit of beer money of a weekend / evening? Edited October 26, 2016 by ph5172 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scutt Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Never had brake failure due to brake fluid not been changed failure caused by over heating the brakes mostly because a calliper or cylinder was seized .Brake fluid change was never a practice carried out years ago just saying like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Never had brake failure due to brake fluid not been changed failure caused by over heating the brakes mostly because a calliper or cylinder was seized .Brake fluid change was never a practice carried out years ago just saying like Back in the early 70s I had a proper Rover in which I hurtled around Europe. Not only did the servicing schedule include periodic brake fluid change but also the cylinder seals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scutt Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Didn't state it wasn't in service schedule just hardly ever carried out and when I served my time in BLMC garage we never changed any seal unless they leaked.Having said that we constantly replaced leaking brake cylinders so the fluid did get topped up with new stuff in around about way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Didn't state it wasn't in service schedule just hardly ever carried out and when I served my time in BLMC garage we never changed any seal unless they leaked.Having said that we constantly replaced leaking brake cylinders so the fluid did get topped up with new stuff in around about way Ah, should have paid more attention to the smileys,perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bb Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 (edited) Land Rover tried to "sell" me a brake fluid change at the three year service, I pointed out that the car had only done 25k miles and they reluctantly agreed that it wasn't really necessary. I've since had the car serviced by an independent who's never suggested this as an option. I'm guessing that it's a manufacturer's ploy to get their dealers more business at service time. That or an *** covering exercise on their own behalf "just in case". Edit: *** = a close relative to a donkey. Edited October 27, 2016 by Chris Bb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Regular brake fluid changes will lengthen the serviceable life of calipers, drum brake cylinders and hydraulic clutch slave cylinders (providing they share the same reservoir and are bled at the same time). Your 8 year old brake fluid may still be working and stopping the vehicle, but it will definitely not be anywhere near as efficient as new fluid. Because it absorbs water, it loses it's ability to deal with the heat generated by braking. This results in brake fade during heavy braking, and assists with the formation of corrosion within the braking system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 Years ago you could have a winter service where they changed the top and bottom hoses, flushed out the radiator and refilled with antifreeze. In those days the hoses only lasted a couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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