How much brake fluid to flush v70

[smarkc]

Hi there - typically what quantity do you need to replace the brake fluid? many thanks.

[Luxobarge]

When I did mine I used about 1.5 litres - but I did do it thoroughly! You may be able to do a decent job with 1 litre I reckon.

I used a pressure bleeding system and flushed a quarter of that amount through each bleed screw. Brakes were brilliant after that, and the fluid that came out initially was a bit "dark" to say the least....

Cheers

[capt jack]

Bear in mind that you can get this done at a good garage for around £25 to £30.

Saves a lot of fuss!

Cheers

Jack

[ash0t5]

i wouldnt recomend doing it yourself, the pressure bleeder is the best way to do this job, if you do it by loosening the bleed nipple and pumping the foot brake there is a chance you can turn the seals in the master cylinder inside out and then the only way youve got of turning them back is by stripping the master cylinder. find a garage near you that is ATA qualified would be my suggestion.

You can find your local ATA garage at www.okwithata.com

[JimDay]

Originally Posted by ash0t5

i wouldnt recomend doing it yourself, the pressure bleeder is the best way to do this job, if you do it by loosening the bleed nipple and pumping the foot brake there is a chance you can turn the seals in the master cylinder inside out and then the only way youve got of turning them back is by stripping the master cylinder. find a garage near you that is ATA qualified would be my suggestion.

You can find your local ATA garage at www.okwithata.com

Well thats a new one on me in twenty years of being in the motor trade I never managed to turn the seals in a master cylinder inside out when bleeding brakes

[Luxobarge]

Originally Posted by capt jack

Bear in mind that you can get this done at a good garage for around £25 to £30.

Saves a lot of fuss!

Cheers

Jack

True, but: I stand to be corrected here (as ever!) but I've never yet come across a garage that actually does this job properly. All I've ever seen is for them to suck out the fluid from the reservoir and replace it. Now the problem with this is that the bit of the fluid that really needs changing is the stuff in the slave cylinders in the calipers - and that of course will not move! With the best will in the world, it takes a bit of time to flush it through each caliper in turn, and I don't see how any garage could do that for £30, so I'm confident that it wouldn't get done.

As with so many things, that's why I do it myself - not only to save money, but to get it done properly!

Anybody ever had a seized caliper piston? That's why - the fluid in the caliper never gets changed, it absorbs water and the piston rusts. Change your fluid properly and regularly and you will NOT get seized pistons. Oh, and it also saves the fuid boiling under heavy braking, losing all your brakes and killing you, which is nice.

Agree with the bit about using a pressure bleeder - not sure about reversing seals, but a pressure bleeder is cheap and does a great job, much easier IMHO.

Cheers!

[SHI]

Copy that Luxo.
I start with the nearest wheel and pump through till I think the new stuff is coming out the bleed nipple. So prob two topups in the reservoir. Then you know clean stuff is in the master cylinder, so pump the other wheels through.
It's got to be good for the ABS unit as well, after all there is a motorised pump & valves in there so they must love the clean fluid.
I have heard comments about "not damaging" the seals in the master cylinder - can't quite believe it though. It's got to be pretty stuffed in the first place to do that...

[Chesh740R]

One way you can damage the master cylinder is on a car thats been standing for a long time thats lost its fluid.

The first time you pump the pedal and go full stroke to the floor (which normal doesnt happen when you have bled brakes) you can push the seals past any pitting or rust in the cylinder and then cause the cylinder to leak.

The way round it is to put a block of wood under the pedal, so you can still move the pedal and pump the breaks, but you dont take the seals past there normal stroke.

I did this recently on a friends spitfire that had been laid up for several years as i didnt fancy changing the MC.

If this is your every day car in regular use, then as mentioned above it is extremely rare that pedal pumping will damage the seals.

Another brake seals being flipped over theroy thats banded about is when changing pads and pushing pistons back in calipers, in rare occurances as you push the piston back the fluid going back will flip the seal. So simply crack the caliper bleed nipple open whilst pushing the piston back.

[beaconsman]

GArages dont do this properly, thats why my motorbike and car is serviced by me, only thing that got done was the cambelt and fuel pump belt and even then they couldnt get it going, dynamic timing was out.

I always start off with the brake caliper furthest away from the master cylinder..still, each to their own..Alsso, just bought some new brake niples for my zzr1100 (kawasaki) they were a tenner a side (one caliper has 2) but they are have tip valves in them, so u crack them off quarter of a turn, and just press brake lever, it does it for you! for 30 quid a set, saved a lot of hassle! Once done, tighten up niple and hey presto, leathers on and off I go!