Brake Fluid Change

AdrianC

Since none of those pre-date DOT3, which is what I was referring to, no - none of those are annual. But I'll bet a rummage through a scanned 1950s or 1960s owner's handbook would show it. I don't have one handy, unfortunately.

Oh, and add 1989 Peugeot 205 service book - 24 mo, 24k miles or 12k miles in "particularly wet climates". Joe's claim that changes were rarely, if ever, required before the "mid 90s" can be considered disproved, don't you think?

Spicy_McHaggis

AdrianC wrote: »

Since none of those pre-date DOT3, which is what I was referring to, no - none of those are annual. But I'll bet a rummage through a scanned 1950s or 1960s owner's handbook would show it. I don't have one handy, unfortunately.

Oh, and add 1989 Peugeot 205 service book - 24 mo, 24k miles or 12k miles in "particularly wet climates". Joe's claim that changes were rarely, if ever, required before the "mid 90s" can be considered disproved, don't you think?

No, sorry it can't.

AdrianC

Spicy_McHaggis wrote: »

No, sorry it can't.

Because, out of the three sources I happen to have to hand, three different types of vehicle from three different manufacturers from three different countries, covering twenty years before Joe's suggested date, all three happen to be the "few" who lie outside the generality?

Spicy_McHaggis

AdrianC wrote: »

Because, out of the three sources I happen to have to hand, three different types of vehicle from three different manufacturers from three different countries, covering twenty years before Joe's suggested date, all three happen to be the "few" who lie outside the generality?

And none of your evidence supports.

AdrianC wrote: »

Yes, they did. Back in the days of red fluid, they used to be annual.

AdrianC

!!!!!!, you've even quoted the bit where I've explained why that is.

Let's ignore that for the moment. Do you accept that fluid changes have been recommended, widely if not universally, for a lot longer than Joe claimed?

Spicy_McHaggis

AdrianC wrote: »

!!!!!!, you've even quoted the bit where I've explained why that is.

Let's ignore that for the moment. Do you accept that fluid changes have been recommended, widely if not universally, for a lot longer than Joe claimed?

I can't disagres with the manuals, however it's only a recent thing for dealers to mention it when you take a car in for service. If say it's only within the last 15 years or so they've activly encouraged you to change the fluid.

AdrianC

Or perhaps it's only been in the last fifteen years that people have become so short-sighted and penny-pinching with their basic maintenance that mentioning it has been necessary?

Spicy_McHaggis

AdrianC wrote: »

Or perhaps it's only been in the last fifteen years that people have become so short-sighted and penny-pinching with their basic maintenance that mentioning it has been necessary?

But before anyone told you it needed to be changed, you didn't know it did.

So why is it penny pinching not to do something you don't know is routine?

Joe_Horner

AdrianC wrote: »

Joe's claim that changes were rarely, if ever, required before the "mid 90s" can be considered disproved, don't you think?

Fair comment, but please bear in mind that "mid 90's" was a very approximate guess based on my failing old age memory and that the actual date isn't all that important to my point that changes "on schedule" are a relatively new thing.

Although, I fully accept that "new thing" is subjective - I still think of points-less ignition as a "relatively new thing" and as for fuel injection - that has no place except on diesels and a few high performance sports cars.

Others of a more tender age may well regard plugging a car into a computer to work out what's wrong with it as a perfectly normal, practical and sane procedure which must have been done since the beginning of motoring time. They probably also change their brake fluid every 2 years because "that's how it's always been".

Personally, I can remember back to when new cars had points, coils that were mostly interchangeale between models (and even makes) in an emergency, and an SU was a high tech way of mixing your air and fuel rather than a large 4wd car with a letter missing off its boot.

Btw, if you're taking this as an argument against changing brake fluid then I'm sorry - that's honestly not what I intended. But failing to change it on schedule is absolutely not the nun-killing safety emergency that many here seem to view it as.

Most drivers will never get their brakes anywhere near hot enough to boil even saturated DOT 4, so any ill effects they suffer will show up as sticky calipers in normal driving (or on an MOT) long before they suffer brake failure.

colino

I see you interpretation of annual is as fluid as your understanding of what red fluid is.