Brake Fluid Change

AdrianC

iltisman wrote: »

I never see any mention of Silicon brake fluid in any of these "change brake fluid" threads.

DOT5 (as opposed to 5.1, which is just better glycol) might not be hygroscopic, but it has a whole raft of problems of its own.

ratrace

garcon6 wrote: »

Due to have a full service on my Peugeot 3008 1.6Hdi 2010 I did ask about having a brake fluid change though it would be an extra £30. As I got my car from auction there is not a great deal of service history but recently passed MOT. Is it best to get a brake fluid changed when brake pads are to be replaced what difference does it make.

You also might want to get the gearbox fluid changed (depending on miles of course) defo worth it did mine last weekend made a difference changes are a lot smoother now

£30 seems fair for a brake fluid change it is important

arcon5

It's unlikely your breaks will completely fail with carp fluid, but will reduce your brakingeffectiveness.
'Nothing bads happened to me yet'. Just what a lot of long term smokers say to justify their addiction.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Total brake failure might be rare but it's not unheard of, i had it once in someone else's Wartburg, complete failure descending a slip road, fortunately i'm not one of those who leaves braking to the last moment and the handbrake was very effective.
After a few minutes the brakes worked again, changing the fluid saw that never happen again.

Never ceases to amaze just how many totally neglected vehicles there are running round on our roads, presumably the owners of many of them must assume the MOT test is some kind of full in depth service, seeing as thats the only time anyone gets under the car.

AdrianC

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Never ceases to amaze just how many totally neglected vehicles there are running round on our roads, presumably the owners of many of them must assume the MOT test is some kind of full in depth service, seeing as thats the only time anyone gets under the car.

A friend's posted one on his FB feed today. Car came into his workshop, with one front brake pad COMPLETELY missing, for long enough for the caliper to grind the disc very, very thin. The owner was warned that the brakes would need doing soon last time it was in, last summer... But, no, they knew best...

gilbert_and_sullivan

AdrianC wrote: »

A friend's posted one on his FB feed today. Car came into his workshop, with one front brake pad COMPLETELY missing, for long enough for the caliper to grind the disc very, very thin. The owner was warned that the brakes would need doing soon last time it was in, last summer... But, no, they knew best...

Incredible arn't they, how can they drive oblivious to the noise and graunching that they must feel through the brake pedal.

In my previous life had a 2CV type Citroen come in with one pad missing, the piston had been doing the braking and resembled a little boys baseball cap almost fully out of its caliper, another time a Reno had fron pads down to metal all 4, wore the unvented discs to less than 1/32", how they didn't shatter i shall never know, again how can you not hear/feel that happening, terrifying.

Maybe some of us are a trifle OCD but brakes on my cars are nothing short of as good as they can be, annually fully stripped cleaned lubed etc, tyres similarly as good as they can be, last time i looked the tyres were the only things in contact with the road and the brakes responsible for stopping me, maybe our brethren here use The Force or prayer..

EdGasket

forgotmyname wrote: »

Why bother changing the brake fluid.. Brakes are not that important. Spend money on a decent stereo system instead.

At least you can listen to the stereo when your brakes fail.

Definitely agree! If you gotta make an exit, might as well go out with a good tune.

daveyjp

On modern cars with hydraulic clutches the 'brake' fliuid is actually hydraulic fluid for both systems.

Not changing it can lead to issues with the clutch mechanism.

Lorian

£5 for the fluid, £8 for a bottle, pipe and one-way bleed kit, and about an hour of messing about on the 4 corners to do it yourself.


£30 seems pretty good for someone else to do it, especially in the winter.

garcon6

It seems worthwhile I will probably get it done as I don't know when it was last done. Thanks for the advice.