Roger Garnett writes:
> DOT4 (DOT4 should be flushed and replaced at 2-3 yr intervals)
Okay, I have another question about DOT4 now. I've never flushed my
brake system, and since the car is 11 years old I'm sure it has all
sorts of gunk in it. I had been under the impression that one was
supposed to flush the system with alcohol to get out all the water
and gunk and old DOT3 left in by previous owners, then refill with
good fluid (DOT4 or DOT5 according to taste, I think I'll stick with
DOT4 myself). I mentioned this to Sam and he flew into a tizzy and
told me not to do that (because the alcohol would damage my rubber
brake lines, I gathered?) and said I should just bleed the system
thoroughly a few times and that would get most of the water and old
fluid out. Since this is something that I'm going to have to do very
soon, I'm going to have to decide what to do about flushing -- how
do I know when all the old fluid is out? Should I use alcohol?
Should I go by the amount of old fluid pumped out? (That's not very
helpful because my Haynes manual doesn't say anything about how much
fluid the hydraulic system holds.) Should I keep going until the stuff
coming out looks clean (and how clean is "clean enough")? Anybody have
words of advice on flushing a hydraulic system?
--
...Akkana
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