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Hi - any Honda techs out there? I took our car in this morning for a brake fluid change and asked the service writer how it was done. He said they "vacuum" the fluid out. I asked if they bleed the calipers afterward and he said "No", it's not necessary. Hey, I'm old school and always did it that way on the driveway. But with the advent of new power bleeding equipment and ABS, is there anything I need to worry about? I'm thinking in order to vacuum the old fluid out, what replaces the fluid? It must be air - then how do you get the air out if you don't bleed the calipers? Can someone get me up to speed on this? Thanks for your help.

80ttop

 
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When they say "vacuum" they are pulling old fluid thru the bleeder valves(same as you would bleed the brakes)

You have to keep pouring in fresh brake fluid into the resivoir so air is not present.

As long as fresh fluid is kept in the resivoir, no air comes in. Easy as that.

Hope this helps,
Brad

 
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how often should I change the brake fluid?

 
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every three years, not dependent on mileage.

 
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Thanks much Brad!

Lee

 
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damn! i'm at 100k miles on an 02 and i've never changed it.

 
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Brad:

I do all the fluid/lubricant maintenance on my 1997 Civic, and would like to change the brake fluid. What's the best way to do this, being that I don't have any specialized pro equipment.

Do I just drain & add fluid at each wheel bleeder valve, starting with the rear right, until the brake fluid looks clean?

Barry
Los Angeles

 
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Gravity -

Open all bleeders, take top off master cylinder, let gravity feed all fluid out.

Pressure-

Open all bleeders, hook up pressure bleeder to master cylinder, & use pressure to replace fluid

Vacuum -

Open one bleeder at a time, stick vacuum pump on bleeder, & pump. Use vacuum to get fluid out. If you use just a regular hand pump from auto parts store this will work. What I use at home

 
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The best way is suck out all old fluid from the master cyl . Then fill with new fluid then either drip at the bleeders until clean and clear and or pressure/vacuum bleed per preference. untill no air and clean fluid.

 
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You can gravity bleed, but a pump gun will get all of your old stuff out much better. A hand operated vacuum bleeder is about 30-40 bucks from the auto zone. Pick up a big *** bottle of brake fluid cause you'll need it. Start with the right rear wheel,then left rear,right front,then left front. This way you will work furthest from the master cylinder to the caliper closest. Get all that old junk out. If you got the loot get some royal purple dot4, but if you're unsure just go with the dot3 and be happy that you've done something nice for your car.

Hope this helps,
brad

 
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Usually this is true, but for the Civic it is wrong. The correct order in the manual is Front Left, Front Right, Rear Right, Rear Left.

Don't forget if you have a Manual Transmission to change the clutch fluid, too. It is the same brake fluid as in the cylinder and it gets water in it as well over time. Admittedly it doesn't have anywhere near the stress as your brakes do, but I'd rather not have to replace a clutch master or slave cylinder, thanks very much.

For both bleeds, I usually use a vacuum bleeder pump in combination with a foot on the pedal. I change the brake fluid every 18 months or thereabouts.

If you can find it, go with ATE SuperBlue DOT4. stuff lasts quite a while AND they make the same formula in a gold color. Alternate between blue and gold fluids when you bleed and you know for sure when its all out.

 
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was about to point out those incorrect bleeding directions

 
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Usually this is true, but for the Civic it is wrong. The correct order in the manual is Front Left, Front Right, Rear Right, Rear Left.

Which manual?

Reddawnman your info is correct on 1998 and up civic,integra,and cr-v's

I was off on my last post for the correct sequence. Thank you for noticing.

94-97 CIVIC & INTEGRA

start with the caliper FURTHEST FROM THE MASTER CYLINDER!

Right rear,left front,left rear,right front.

A lot of this depends on what manual you get your info from.

Reddawnman was also right to point out the clutch fluid (+1 for him)
If you've got the pump gun and brake fluid, put it to good use.

Let's remember that this thread was started because someone wanted to know how this whole process works,hmmm...

Hope this helps,
Brad

 
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The Factory manual someone posted on rapidshare... there's a link in the forums somewhere for it.

Thanks for the rep. Back atcha :-)

 
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Here ya go.....
http://www.geocities.com/tomnaaf/images/bleeding.pdf

 
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Without equipment (the vacuum bleeder at Canadian Tire was $80 - not in my budget at this time), could you just suck the old fluid out of the reservoir, pour in new fluid, then pump brakes with the bleeder open to force the new fluid in/old fluid out?

 
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^you dont need to suck out all the old fluid from the reservior.

the proper way to do it w/o a vac is pump ur brakes to build pressure, then open the bleeder valve a bit (holding pressure on the brake pedel depressing it all the way. once it is depressed all the way, you can CLOSE the bleeder valve and pump the brake a few more times to build pressure and do it all over again...


ORRRRRRRR


go buy some "speed bleeders"

they replace ur old bleeder valves, but the cool thing about them is that they only allow brake fluid to flow out when they are open. so they wont let air back in.

i can FLUSH my entire civic's brake fluid system within 5 mins w/o any air bubbles in the lines.

here is a better image of them for you guys to get an idea:

 
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Russe...Q5fAccessories

its these ones.

 
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So you leave the old fluid in the reservoir, pump the brakes open the valve in the back let it bleed, refill reservoir w/ new fluid, pump bleed refill until clean? then repeat for each wheel? Following the order posted earlier?
Would it be wise to change the brake pads before or after changing the fluid?

 
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will this video work?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwQ-f...2C805F&index=3

 
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Basically , yes

 
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caliper bolt
I got the left caliper off fine, the right one gave me trouble and the bottom bolt on it wouldn't budge.....I am real close to stripping it so I quit. What advice can anyone give? take it to the dealer hand them my pads and ask them to put them in?
upon inspection my brake pads still have life left so if it is too much trouble I will just leave them in and sell the car within a yr or two

 
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Hey i found this link it pretty good read so here you go...http://www.superchevy.com/technical/...uid/index.html

 
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Just a quick add-on to my post here is a highlight from the link...

6) Silicone fluid is functionally incompatible with systems that have held glycol-based fluids for any length of time, requiring flushing and seal replacement (there are counter opinions on this, which state that the modern silicone formulations are in fact compatible with only a flushing, rather than a complete reseal). The actual DOT specification requires chemical compatibility, so as far as that goes, the two fluids won't cause reactions if used in the same system, but they certainly won't mix, either.


7) It's pretty much incompatible with anti-lock brakes because the silicone fluids tend to be more viscous, which can cause problems with the timing of the pulses that are intended to work with the thinner glycol-base fluid. This sometimes leads to damage of the ABS valving. The rapid pulsing necessary to anti-lock functions tend to cavitate the fluid, as the tiny bubbles collapse and coalesce into larger ones, and then collapse and reform into smaller ones. This tends to counteract the ABS effect and can diminish the actual effective braking. This condition also heats the fluid and can lead to even more sponginess and possible damage to the ABS controller. Thirdly, silicone brake fluid tends to foam when expressed from a small orifice under pressure, reducing its hydraulic effectiveness greatly.

well have a day peace...