Brake and Power Steering Flush?

[hyperboarder]

So I just got my oil changed and they said I was in need of a brake and power steering flush. I figure they might have been trying to screw me (over 100 bucks for the two), but I was wondering if I could do this myself? It can't be too hard, and I'm replacing brakes on Monday, so can I do it at the same time? Thanks.

 

[7plymaple]

$100 ounds really expensive. If you bleed the breaks and change the P.S. fluid yourself your only paying for the fluids. You can totaly do it yourself. It helps to have a friend assist for bleeding the breaks rather than using those self bleeding kits.

If you have the time definitely pick up the workshop manual and read up on how to do jobs like that yorself. Then your saving on labour and ending up with better fluids.

 

[JCell]

i plan on flushing me PS fluid soon, saw some synthetic blend fluid at discount auto parts

 

[hyperboarder]

I have the shop manual, it's in there?

 

[Mmmmmken]

2 years auot mechanics in trade school, and service manager at a Toyota dealership for a couple of years... have NEVER heard of a brake or power steering flush. That's a new one to me! Maybe brake line bleeding if the pedal is soft, but that's about it.

I'd research this one further before spending any $$$. There's not anything in the owner's manual that shows it as recommended maintenance, is there?

 

[7plymaple]

2 years auot mechanics in trade school, and service manager at a Toyota dealership for a couple of years... have NEVER heard of a brake or power steering flush. That's a new one to me! Maybe brake line bleeding if the pedal is soft, but that's about it.

I'd research this one further before spending any $$$. There's not anything in the owner's manual that shows it as recommended maintenance, is there?

Yeah I figured by flush they meant bleeding breaks and changing the PS fluid. But I dont know how often you should change your PS fluid.

 

[Dimitrios]

Brake and P/S fluids absorb moisture over time, making the brakes soft and can even corrode the lines over enough time.

That said, the general rule of thumb is to bleed ("flush") the brake fluid about every 2-3 years (again, it absorbs moisture over time).

 

[7plymaple]

How often should you cange your PS fluid? I changed mine before but that was 4 years ago when I was trying to mod the pump. The stupid 1.6s slow steering rack makes you have to wing the wheel arround so fast in an auto x that the pump cant keep up.

 

[hyperboarder]

So to bleed the system, what do I need (a little noobish, but the car's been mine for only a few months)? I have the help, what hardware do I need to get?

 

[Mmmmmken]

Where do they absorb moisture from? Aren't the systems sealed? I've had cars and been driving since I ws 16 (1976), and I've never done either, never had any problems with either, lines rusting, anything. Not saying you're wrong, just never heard of this.
Also wondering why the dealership I worked at never dealt with this.

Brake and P/S fluids absorb moisture over time, making the brakes soft and can even corrode the lines over enough time.

That said, the general rule of thumb is to bleed ("flush") the brake fluid about every 2-3 years (again, it absorbs moisture over time).

 

[wicked]

Where do they absorb moisture from? Aren't the systems sealed? I've had cars and been driving since I ws 16 (1976), and I've never done either, never had any problems with either, lines rusting, anything. Not saying you're wrong, just never heard of this.
Also wondering why the dealership I worked at never dealt with this.

right there with you
I bleed the brakes when I change pads,caliper,or rotors,but never flush them,unless some thing has happened,(burst line,changing lines,ect.)


as for the P/S,why,you shouldn't need to unless you contaminated it.

 

[Dimitrios]

No, agreed; I've driven cars for years w/o ever changing the fluid, but every time yo open up the master cylinder, you expose the system to the atmosphere, albeit slightly. It's "sealed" to an extent.

A lot of people also tend to adjust themselves unknowingly to braking harder/sooner as the brake pedal gets softer. New fluid will bring back that new car feeling, esp. after a brake pad/shoe change.

 

[wicked]

No, agreed; I've driven cars for years w/o ever changing the fluid, but every time yo open up the master cylinder, you expose the system to the atmosphere, albeit slightly. It's "sealed" to an extent.

A lot of people also tend to adjust themselves unknowingly to braking harder/sooner as the brake pedal gets softer. New fluid will bring back that new car feeling, esp. after a brake pad/shoe change.

you really shouldn't be opening at anytime but when your bleeding it.

it never goes low on it's own,exept when it's time to replace pads,or if you have a problem somewhere.

 

[Jack Daniels]

I bleed the brakes when I change pads. Unless the car was over 100k, I wouldn't mess with the power steering fluid.

 

[Dimitrios]

you really shouldn't be opening at anytime but when your bleeding it.

it never goes low on it's own,exept when it's time to replace pads,or if you have a problem somewhere.

Understood; it's generally considered part of "checking the fluids" though.

 

[wicked]

The fluid reservoirs for brakes and other systems are open to the atmosphere. If you look at the caps, you will see a small opening in it. Unless you have a pressurized system (like from your fuel pump to your injectors) you must have it open to outside pressure, otherwise as your pads wear new fluid will not enter the system to keep it full and operating properly. The opening is what allows your normal contamination to happen as outside air and moisture enters. If you look at a car that hasn't been maintained, you will see the brake fluid in the reservoir is a dark brown color, that is from the moisture contamination from the air. You can get around this some by occasionally swapping out the fluid in the reservoir (my brother used to do it every time he changed his oil), use some small suction device (an ear flush bulb works well) to suck out the old fluid and put in new. As was mentioned before, you should also completely bleed your system periodically to flush it out. I'm not too sure about power steering systems as I don't have much experience with them, but it couldn't hurt to at least change out the fluid in the reservior too.

your kinda off on this,this was true on much older systems,but not on modern ones,the cap on the resivior plays a crucial part in keeping it sealed.it allows air to come in and fill a chamber,yet not allowing the air to ever reach the liquid.

if the brake fluid was open to the atmosphere it wouldn't last long due to how fast it absorbs water out of the air.

 

[chiefmg]

I forgot about the diaphragm/seal that sits under the cap. Thanks for pointing that out, I deleted my previous post so I don't confuse anyone with bad info.

 

[Kansei]

The owners manual suggests a replacement of the brake/clutc fluid at like 60k. I'll have to check my shop manual to see how much it needs and what the process is like though.

 

[the tortoise]

I brought my car to a shop and the say "Yeah, proteges have been know to eat steering racks if the fluid isn't changed". Unfortuntely my girlfriend Ok'd the work before I could say anything. This was also the place that charged me $15 for iridium plugs (part only). Needless to say, I haven't been back.

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Better do both every week just to be safe.