Brake fluid change help please
 

HI Guys,

I want to do a brake fluid change and complete flush. I have four questions, I know these are answered in threads before but I'm just too lazy to search through them all :)

1. Is there a tool that makes the job easy? (like the Airlift I have for water change)
2. How much fluid do I need for a complete flush/change?
3. What is the best fluid to use? (I do track days and currently have race fluid)
4. Depending on the answer for question 1, where can I find the best instructions for the process of flushing and changing?

thanks in advance!

I just embarked on this myself last month after my first track day where my brakes slowly started getting close to the floor lap after lap...should have done this before heading to the track!

The procedure is actually pretty easy with the right tools. I installed speed bleeders (from Pelican parts), used a Motive pressure filler, and the motive catch bottles. I only needed 1 liter of fluid to change the whole system.

I followed these directions:
Porsche Boxster Brake Bleeding - 986 / 987 (1997-08) - Pelican Parts Technical Article

It takes longer to get the car lifted up on jack stands and the wheels removed than doing the fluid change.

Well you said your were to lazy to read, perhaps we could send some over to read for you!
If your that lazy you have a Mechanic do the job or you and then spend more of your lazy
money, you wouldn't have to deal with any implements of labor!

I'm just too lazy to answer.

A noob talking smack LOL

At least the OP is honest about being lazy

In any case, its an easy job except for maybe bleeding the clutch (don't forget to do that)

1 liter should be fine. If you are going to be tracking, look at Motol 600, otherwise, ATE TYPE 200 Amber is fine as you can no longer get the Blue.

It is a little hard to tell when the old is flushed and the new is in.

If you do some searching, you will find a thread that specifies how much is needed for each wheel to flush by volume

Personally i would not use the speed bleeders as they are not needed if you use a Motive Power bleeder. Just the bleeder and the collection bottle are needed as well as a flare wrench for the bleeder nipples.
Also the Black/Deluxe model is worth the few extra $

This raises a question I've had ever since the government, in its infinite wisdom, banned the use of blue (and any color other than amber, I gather) brake fluid. Would it be harmful to add a few drops of food coloring to the amber? Say, blue, for example? I can't imagine it would hurt anything, but I'm chicken to try. Any gamblers out there?

Oh, the Rennlist'ers would have had a field day with this one....

My exact thoughts as I read the OP's excuses......
He would never have the balls to post again, but we are tame in comparison to Rennlisters!

I thought the same thing myself.
IIRC, I did some research about putting coloring in the brake fluid and it was not a good idea. I could be wrong YMMV

especially the 996 forum dogs

Wonder why? I would think that stuff would be pretty inert. Oh, well...I'm not tryin' it.

Wonder if the makers of ATE Superblue would reveal what they used to use to color it blue? I suppose probably not. Or if it would be illegal for them to offer small dropper bottles of the blue concentrate that the end-of-the-line consumer could add himself? A pipedream, I'm sure.

I notice it (the blue version) is still, for the moment, available online..

Okay let's re-phase if that's acceptable? Lazy is perhaps the wrong word as I am far from lazy especially when it comes to my cars! It's just nice to have opinions of choices and methods on one thread incase something is missed on all the other threads that cover the topic.

Thanks for all the answers so far!

Okay so Mr Lazy has been doing a little reading, I have a few questions now that I understand the process better

1. Would replacing the brake hoses with braided hoses be a worthwhile exercise to do while I am at it?

2. besides basic tools and fluid, does list look right in terms of what I need?
-Motive power bleeder
-speed bleeders (4x needed but these are optional)
-catchment bottles, they come in a pack of two, I assume I need 4x ?

3. Is a special spanner for the nipples worthwhile buying or not?

thanks guys!

Yes and no. They can help if your existing lines are old or in poor shape. If your hoses are in good shape you may not notice much of an improvement. But they aren't horribly expensive so this is probably a worthwhile upgrade.

The Motive power bleeder is the key component. I didn't use the speed bleeders and one catch bottle was fine since I did one caliper at a time.

I bought a closed end specialty wrench but then found that its stuck on there as long as the catch bottle tube is attached, so I ended up using a standard open end wrench anyway. Maybe there is a better approach or technique to avoid this issue?

Thank you for all the great advice and help. I have read the pelican parts instructions on how to do the process a few times and have just a few questions or rather observations I would like to confirm.

They talk about cars with traction control needs to use a different bleeding process (non traditional) I assume this does not apply to a 986 S that does have TC?

When using a power bleeder as I am planning to use, the speed bleeders are not necessary as far I can understand, they are only needed to make life simpler if you don't have a power bleeder and am I correct in saying, they replace the standard nipples, in other words they stay on the callipers once you are done, this is just as a matter of interest.

Generally speaking food coloring is water base. And the reason you are flushing the brake system is to rid the bake fluid of the water it has absorbed over time. Brake fluid is pretty much hygroscopic and absorbs water, water lowers the boiling point of brake fluid and allows it to attack the inside of the brake system

I have used the Pentosin Brake fluid which is yellow, but I heard today from a employee that works for a vendor we all know, that 1 (one) drop of food coloring in a liter of brake fluid would not hurt anything. It's quite inert I hear. I questioned it and was told many that race cars do it all the time. I hate the fact that ATE, which is pronounced AH TAE no longer makes the blue fluid. My Nissan pickup is due, and I plan on trying a drop of red food coloring in Prestone's dot 3 fluid.

Just curious if anyone will admit what they do with old brake fluid.

It's nasty ****************, and the places that take oil, ATF, etc won't touch it. I've asked before and all I get is crickets. I'm just sitting on a couple quarts of old fluid and want to dispose of it properly.

You have to pass the law to know what's in it! LOL..... Here on the LEFT coast there is a hazardous waste collection day at the local landfill. They accept everything. Try calling your local waste management to find details. I would think Washington would have something similar.

flaps 10,

There is a home depot on center st in the Fircrest area there is this big county recycleing center open Mon-Sat which will take anything, motor oil you have to dumo yourself, everything else is drive up and they take it.