Brake Fluid
 

Going to order a Motive power bleeder. Is one liter of brake fluid enough to do a full flush, or do I need two?

I used a full two liters and that includes flushing the clutch at the same time.

Mine is an auto, so no clutch, but it sounds like I should get 2 just in case. Don't mind the extra $$, but with alternating colors, it will be a while before I need blue again!

i needed about 1.25 liters when I flushed my brakes the last time w/o flushing the clutch

Also depends how bad/old the fluid is. When I flushed mine I was getting "crud" out of a rear caliper which necessitated more flushing than normal. Buy 2 and have enough rather than buying 1 and coming up short.

The system hold less than .5 of a liter.

On our work on cars days I usually use 2/3rds of a liter, which includes the clutch.

According to the Bentley manual, if you have PSM then the PST2 is needed to bleed the brakes. In other words, not a DIY job.

Would you mind explaining PST2 and why this is not a DIY job?

That's because you're a pro by now. We newbies need the full two cans :)

Well, I did figure out a way to bleed a caliper twice as fast....

From Bentley: "Brake bleeding on vehicles with ABS/TC 5.3 and PSM requires the Porsche System Tester 2 (PST 2) to activate the valves in the hydraulic unit for proper bleeding."

I believe the PST 2 is software/hardware. I've never seen it for sale, but have heard it's in the thousands of $.

Ha Ha!! That's an awesome set-up! :)

What's the best brake fluid to use? ATE Blue?

Thank you. I will investigate. I had hoped to do it myself. :(

ATE blue is what I used and I'm very happy. I think they also offer an ATE gold so that way you can alternate colors. This way you know when the old stuff is flushed out.

For a normal brake fluid change you do not need a PST2 if you have traction control or PSM. You do need it however if you are changing the fluid because those components have been replaced.

The manuals also say you need to hold down the clutch pedal when bleeding the clutch. You don't need to do this unless you have just replaced the master cylinder.

Tool Pants, does this hold true for the 987 too? I thought you needed the PST2 for the 987 Boxster.

PIWIS is the replacement for the PST2 and is needed for the 2005 up cars.

I am not up on the 987/997. I did speak to Peter once about bleeding the brakes on the newer cars and he said he did use the PIWIS. I do not remember the details as it will be a while before the newer cars show up at our work on cars days. Peter said it was a 997 but it might have had PASM or something like that.

How do you do the clutch. Is there a DIY with pictures?

Thanks

Can you elaborate on how you do bleed the clutch then TP? I am doing this soon and need all assistence.