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Good answers thankyou, so rather than paying the local dealer to do it and the fact that its winter up here, does Hd sell a pump or kit that will evacuate the system so I can replace it all my self? Up here its going to cost me well over $150 to have them do it.
Randy
All you need is a bottle of new fluid, an old can or jar for the old fluid to run into, a length of suitable small-bore hose and a little patience. The fluid and hose should cost little more than the fluff in your back pocket! The only time you may need fancy kit is when you drain the system for some reason, like replacing a hose, but even then the traditional way can work.
I never used to change the brake fluid on my regular cars or bikes, but on my classics, it's a must do.
This is what the front wheel cylinder looked like on my 64 impala after 20 years of not changing the fluid.
The other side wasn't much better.
I never used to change the brake fluid on my regular cars or bikes, but on my classics, it's a must do.
This is what the front wheel cylinder looked like on my 64 impala after 20 years of not changing the fluid.
The other side wasn't much better.
Good pic.... that's why I think it's a must do on all cars....... Since there are relatively few catastrophic failures, people are unaware of the damage caused from not changing brake fluid, and the degrading effectiveness of their brakes happens slowly, so most unaware their brakes have lost a step. They don't believe changing fluid is necessary.
I remember, as a young guy (8-15yrs old) helping my Dad and our neighbor change drum brakes in the older cars. My Dad & neighbor were both car guys that fixed their own cars, and helped neighbors fix their cars too.
Just about every brake job they did, at least one of the the brake cylinder seals needed to be changed. And every time we opened a brake cylinder, there was always a layer of rust and occasional pitting. We had a honing tool that we used to hone the inside of the brake cylinders... In retrospect, I'm sure the brake cylinders would have been in better shape if people had changed out their brake fluid back then... but nobody did... at least not until they need several brake cylinders repaired, and then the fluid was pretty much flushed as part of the repair...
I have to wonder how many ABS modules/calipers/brake lines, across all types/makes/models of vehicles, are replaced out of warranty... and how many may not have needed replacement if the brake fluid was changed on some kind of regular schedule...?
Last edited by hattitude; Feb 23, 2019 at 05:42 PM.
I never used to change the brake fluid on my regular cars or bikes, but on my classics, it's a must do.
This is what the front wheel cylinder looked like on my 64 impala after 20 years of not changing the fluid.
The other side wasn't much better.
I still have a set of hones that I used many times rebuilding wheel cylinders and clutch slave cylinders. You could buy the rebuild kit for 3 or 4 bucks. I have rebuilt sets that looked every bit as bad as those.
In those days, even if they leaked, you could reach down and pull the emergency brake to stop - with our bikes if you have ABS module failure, you aint got chit!
The mess the MoCo has passed on is not like going back in time - it's just plain effing up!
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