Brake fluid!!!

[cardaft]

hiya,

I was just wondering if anyone has changed their brake fluid themselves?

I took the cap off my brake fluid today, and there is loads of big bits of stuff floating around in it and its quite a dark colour. According to the service history its not been done, even though up until i bought last september it had FSSH and its a 2002 TDi, whach also uses the brake fluid for clutch fluid.

The brakes fade so easily now, i braked hardish from 70ish to 0 yesterday and the brakes were cooked! and the clutch was a bit juddery after that. Think thats due to it using the brake fluid for clutch fluid also. But its fine today as the brakes have cooled a bit and ive tried not to use them as much as i do as im generally hard on the brakes.

So i think its in desperate need of doing, i was hopeing to wait until i renewed my front discs and pads to change the fluid but i think they have about another 4-5K left in them so it needs doing sooner really.

SO i was thinking how easy is it to do myself? and would i need to bleed the clutch or anything?

I think ill go to Seat tomorrow and see how much they charge, i think it was £30 last time i asked although VW seems to have put its price up now so im not sure about the Seat dealer. Ill go tomorrow and see, and probably book it in.

I just hope if they do it they dont say my brake pipes are corroding due to all the crap thats now in the brake fluid

This could get expensive!

 

[1litre wonder]

ive not done it myself to be honest but it cost me £26 from the dealers to get it done at my 20k service , money well spent as i wouldnt of liked to do it myself incase i trapped air in the system

 

[cardaft]

Yes actually, i dont want to get air in the system.

Think ill get seat to do it, although do you think they would only do it as part of a service or would they just change it on its own?

It doesnt really need a service yet see.

 

[Boo]

Well done for contemplating doing it yourself I attempted an oil change last week and gave up after I was knackered jacking the front of the car up !!

 

[cardaft]

Well ive changed the oil in my 1.0 before but not my TDi yet, its a bit harder since it has a engine tray.

You need to try harder lol

Mind ive only just finished swapping my front wheels to the back and backs to the front, and im knackered now too lol.

But i did wash the wheels inside and out also

 

[Boo]

It did take several glasses of wine to jack the car up and then I was feeling a little too flushed in the cheeks to do anymore and had a sleep on the front garden lawn !!!

 

[allallyouyou]

Now thats Rock and Roll!

 

[ibizacupra]

brakes cooked as in pedal sunk to the floor or just pedal did'nt stop you as well as normal, but remained hard pedal?

different things. pedal sink is likely fluid hot/boiling, not stopping but firm pedal is pads crying enough. once cooked they've usually burnt off their binder & they will wear disks more rapidly afterwards.

 

[cardaft]

Well i went to my local Seat garage this morning (60 miles away!) and booked it in for Wednesday morning for the brake fluid to be changed.

The lady at the service department was slightly suprised that i just wanted the brake fluid changing and nothing else but never mind. Think it will take about an hour, or thats what they said.

And only for £29.95, and they are so spongey now so im hoping that will cure it and its nothing major

brakes cooked as in pedal sunk to the floor or just pedal did'nt stop you as well as normal, but remained hard pedal?

different things. pedal sink is likely fluid hot/boiling, not stopping but firm pedal is pads crying enough. once cooked they've usually burnt off their binder & they will wear disks more rapidly afterwards.

Hmm thats not good.

Well the pedal was going down more but not sinking to the floor, it was just needing to be pressed harder to stop and seems to have lost the bite on the brakes.

They dont seem to stop as well as they did do, and the get hot so quickly now and then fade, with normal driving.

I think that could be to do with the brake fluid getting moisture in (as far as i know the fluid is as old as the car, so 5 years old) and then the water makes it boil faster?? or so ive been told.

But yes the pedal was firm.

They got worse the other day when i had to brake from 70 down to a stop quite hard. Since then they seem very bad, and have lost their feel quite a bit. Surely they shouldnt have overheated and done damage just because of that.

But the fluid has lots of black bits floating around in it! could that be my brake pipes corroding? i hope not.

I do need new discs and pads before too long, there is about 3-4mm left on the pads but the discs are still quite good but they are quite grooved.

So once the brakes are cooked then they are ruined for ever then?

When the brakes are cold they feel normal, but they soon get hot, i dont think there is a rubbing brake or anything like that either.

 

[cardaft]

Thought id have a closer look at whats floating around in my brake fluid resivoir.

So i took the cap off and pulled the float out and looked in with a tourch, and its just full of small black bits.

What can that be?

Ive had the car a year now, i really should have got the fluid changed before now but i didnt really think changing it was too important and thought id do it with the brakes.

But its really bad i hope the dealer doesnt say i need new brake pipes

 

[ibizacupra]

Well i went to my local Seat garage this morning (60 miles away!) and booked it in for Wednesday morning for the brake fluid to be changed.

The lady at the service department was slightly suprised that i just wanted the brake fluid changing and nothing else but never mind. Think it will take about an hour, or thats what they said.

And only for £29.95, and they are so spongey now so im hoping that will cure it and its nothing major



Hmm thats not good.

Well the pedal was going down more but not sinking to the floor, it was just needing to be pressed harder to stop and seems to have lost the bite on the brakes.

They dont seem to stop as well as they did do, and the get hot so quickly now and then fade, with normal driving.

I think that could be to do with the brake fluid getting moisture in (as far as i know the fluid is as old as the car, so 5 years old) and then the water makes it boil faster?? or so ive been told.

But yes the pedal was firm.

They got worse the other day when i had to brake from 70 down to a stop quite hard. Since then they seem very bad, and have lost their feel quite a bit. Surely they shouldnt have overheated and done damage just because of that.

But the fluid has lots of black bits floating around in it! could that be my brake pipes corroding? i hope not.

I do need new discs and pads before too long, there is about 3-4mm left on the pads but the discs are still quite good but they are quite grooved.

So once the brakes are cooked then they are ruined for ever then?

When the brakes are cold they feel normal, but they soon get hot, i dont think there is a rubbing brake or anything like that either.

Once cooked they're cooked yes pad wise.
grooved disks is the tell tale of cooked pads and overly abrasive once cooked they loose their bite.
If pedal was'nt going long, your pads are what have expired.

seek some better pads.
fluid change wont hurt but you do sound like you've overheated the pads.

 

[cardaft]

Once cooked they're cooked yes pad wise.
grooved disks is the tell tale of cooked pads and overly abrasive once cooked they loose their bite.
If pedal was'nt going long, your pads are what have expired.

seek some better pads.
fluid change wont hurt but you do sound like you've overheated the pads.

Oh thats not good, although they are quite thin anyway so probably in a month or two ill change them.

It will be interesting to know if the fluid change makes any difference at all then.

Although its supposed to be done every 2 years and its now 5 years old.

Would you recommend anyd pad/discs that i should get?

I want something good and doesnt mind use as i tend to be hard on the brakes, but also good value and my insurance is due soon

 

[cardaft]

Well i got my brake fluid changed today at a seat dealer.

The brakes are much better now, and have got their bite back when they are hot, and havent faded.

Before they would fade really easy with normal driving, the pedal also feels much better.

Although they didnt mention the black bits in the fluid so im asuming its ok.

Ive not tried this dealer before, ive been to the two other ones near me which are a bit closer but this one has far better service, and worth the extra drive.

Its also cheaper for work to be carried out too