Ford brake fluid and coolant

paddedjohn

Because in all my years on the spanners and as an mot inspector ive yet to see actual proof that its needed.

AdrianC

paddedjohn wrote: »

Because in all my years on the spanners and as an mot inspector ive yet to see actual proof that its needed.

I repeat - I've had overdue-for-changing, "wet" brake fluid boil on me. Several times.

paddedjohn

And I repeat, I've yet to see any proof. In all my years of owning cars I have never changed to fluid on any vehicle and I sold my last van when the mileage reached 230k (bought at 90k) and I never had any problems with the brakes. My current van has 165k on it and it is going/stopping great.

Hintza

OP you are seriously going out of your way to spend money just now that is probably not needed and is certainly not very MSE.

OddballJamie

Pretty sure the clutch and brake fluid are one and the same on Fiestas, so I would go Ford for that.

Coolant I would do myself, think I paid £6 for 5 litres at ECP last time.

egyptiancotton

Hintza wrote: »

OP you are seriously going out of your way to spend money just now that is probably not needed and is certainly not very MSE.

I thought changing the brake fluid is safety issue. The brake fluid and coolant have never been changed on the car - it is now just over 5-years old.

AdrianC

lloydyyy wrote: »

I thought changing the brake fluid is safety issue. The brake fluid and coolant have never been changed on the car - it is now just over 5-years old.

It is. The brake fluid is now WELL overdue for changing - it should be done at two-year intervals.

It's also long-term sensible moneysaving, since it's cheap maintenance which helps to prevent expensive components from needing replacement.

Ignore the short-term penny-pinchers.

egyptiancotton

AdrianC wrote: »

It is. The brake fluid is now WELL overdue for changing - it should be done at two-year intervals.

It's also long-term sensible moneysaving, since it's cheap maintenance which helps to prevent expensive components from needing replacement.

Ignore the short-term penny-pinchers.

Unfortunately, the previous owners never had this done. Now that I own the car, it's being maintained properly I'll go with the indie garage. They seem reputable and deal with all makes/models.

colino

You do know that most techs (keep that bonus up!) change the brake fluid by extracting all they can from the reservoir and replacing that with fresh fluid don't you? If you do it at home you will purge the system completely and each line will be replenished and you really will have changed the fluid.
Easy check is the next time brake work is done, if cloudy or blackened fluid comes out of the bleed nipple, the car has never had a proper change.

red_eye

lloydyyy wrote: »

Hello!

The brake fluid and coolant is due to be changed on my trusty Ford Fiesta. There's a garage local to me, who have had rave reviews on the Good Garage Scheme's website (they are Citroen/Peugeot specialist) who can change the brake fluid and coolant for me on my car. I mentioned that the Haynes manual for the car and the Ford manual says that the brake fluid and coolant has to conform to a certain Ford specification. The co-owner of the garage quite confidently said that it's all the same stuff and they don't purchase rubbish.

The Day's garage local to me can do the same job but for £10 more. I'll have peace of mind knowing that the proper fluids have been used that conform to the Ford specifications.

I'm tempted to go with the cheaper garage but is it really a case of that all brake fluid and coolant is the same (e.g. all DOT 4 brake fluid is the same, and all coolant is the same)?

Thanks in advance.

good garage scheme Vs IMI's ATA

Good garage scheme run by an unknown organisation, apparently forte

Vs

Institute of the Motor Industry's ATA
http://ata.theimi.org.uk/
A professinal body that offer industry training courses. most mechanics are city and guilds or imi

all dot 4 fluid is the same, dot is a standard. it is the job is carried out some open 1 or 2 nipples and pump the brakes until the res is nearly empty and top up with fresh fluid leaving old fluid in the lines, some open all 4 and empty the res 2 or 3 times


anti freeze is different you get glycol based and organic ....who cares they all prevent freezing as well as lubricating and corrosion protection