# Flushing Brake Fluid



## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

Hey guys what's up? So last week I flushed my brake system of the original fluid after almost 51k miles. The next day I rechecked the level and I noticed that the front half of the reservoir was full of new fluid, but the back half of it is still filled with old fluid. Does anyone know why this is, and how I can get the rest of the old fluid out?


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

How did you perform your flush?


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

I went around to each wheel and bled using the bleeder screw until I had fresh clean fluid come from each wheel.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Daryl said:


> I went around to each wheel and bled using the bleeder screw until I had fresh clean fluid come from each wheel.


Did you apply a bleeder ball or have someone depress the brake pedal while opening the bleeders?

Did you apply vacuum to the bleeders?

How did you prevent air from entering the bleeders?

How much fresh brake fluid did you go through?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Is your car a MT or AT?

The manuals use the same reservoir - sort of - for hydraulic fluid for the clutch. As I can recall (I did it years ago and did both in the same day), that reservoir is sort of partitioned off inside to separate the two reservoirs.


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

My car is an automatic. I had my brother lightly press the brake pedal to help me bleed them. I didn't let the reservoir run dry at any point in time, and i ended up going through almost 3 12oz bottles of Amsoil brake fluid.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Daryl said:


> My car is an automatic. I had my brother lightly press the brake pedal to help me bleed them. I didn't let the reservoir run dry at any point in time, and i ended up going through almost 3 12oz bottles of Amsoil brake fluid.


Sounds to me like you went through the right quantity. I'd be concerned about air backing up through the open bleeder. You can place a vacuum on the bleeders to make sure you got it all out. 

I wonder if some old fluid remained in the ABS motor?

Have you noticed a difference in your brake pedal feel?


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Old fluid in the rear half and new fluid in the front? Does your reservoir have a separation between the front and rear?


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

Tomko said:


> Sounds to me like you went through the right quantity. I'd be concerned about air backing up through the open bleeder. You can place a vacuum on the bleeders to make sure you got it all out.
> 
> I wonder if some old fluid remained in the ABS motor?
> 
> Have you noticed a difference in your brake pedal feel?



I was also wondering if the old fluid is there because of the ABS? My brake pedal feel is very firm, I actually believe that it has slightly improved.


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Old fluid in the rear half and new fluid in the front? Does your reservoir have a separation between the front and rear?



Yep I believe it does.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

ABS pump was my next guess...but I didn't seem to have any return when I bled mine via the same method.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Simple solution then would be to siphon it out with a syringe or pump of some kind and refill it. The separator probably only serves to keep a supply of brake fluid in the event that the car drives over a severe incline, but there should be a hole somewhere in that divider that allows the fluid to travel through.


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

Okay. I noticed when I pull the sensor out of the top that I can access the portion of the reservoir that still contains the old fluid so I could probably just siphon it out there. As long as I can get most of it out I'll be happy. I just want it to have as much new fluid as possible.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

I could be wrong, but I believe that the dealer can command that the ABS motors activate via a Tech 2 and in that way ensure a complete flush.


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

Tomko said:


> I could be wrong, but I believe that the dealer can command that the ABS motors activate via a Tech 2 and in that way ensure a complete flush.


No I think you are correct on this. I'm thinking I need to have my dealer look at my waterpump so I may just ask them how much it'll cost me for them to go ahead and do this for me while they're at it.


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