Changed brake fluid

[dogdoc]

Got busy and changed my front/rear brake fluid as the front was turning amber, rear was still pretty clear. Bought some prestone Dot 4 at wally world and jumped in. it will surprise you the color of the fluid at the rotor end(BLACK) even though the rear reservoir was pretty clear. Anyway i got both front/rear all flushed out and new dot 4 and bled the lines. Cost: about $2 to do both, priceless. moral is dont trust the site glass color, job takes maybe 15 minutes per. :-)

The caliper seals are where the dirt and water gets into the system. That's why that end of the system is always the dirtiest. A lot of the blackness is black seal rubber wearing off.

[blowndodge]

What process did you use to flush out all the old fluid doc?

[dogdoc]

kept adding new fluid and lots of hand pumping lever/foorpad untill only clear fluid coming out. Time your through the reservoir is clean and the whole lines are clean. 1/4 inch clear tubing works great. home depot 10 feet $2

[coloradontexas]

whats the tubing for?

I bought a vacuum pump and I always use it for bleeding brakes now. I think it gets out more moisture and air if you vacuum bleed rather than pressure bleed.

[ringadingh]

That should be the next maintenance job on my schedule as well. Ive never done it since Ive owned the bike. Its probably overdue.

Every two years, or every year if you often ride in a really wet or dusty climate.

[VulcanE]

That vacuum pump is the "cats meow" when it comes to changing the fluid. When I take my swing arm off, to keep from cutting the metal loops that hold the brake line, I undo the banjo bolt on the rear caliper. when I put it back together, the pump works really great to get the air out, so I suppose I change my rear brake fluid every time I remove the swing arm.

[cactusjack]

That looks like one of those Swedish made "things" Austin Powers had in his bag. ::)

[voyager]

Hey Cad, I agree the vacuum pump is the best way, and a lot less chance of spillage on painted parts. Have you or anyone considered going to synthetic brake fluid much like race cars do? Or would it not be worth the cost?

The cost is irrelevant. The whole bike holds so little that one pint will do both brakes and the clutch a couple times. Buy the very best.

Do NOT switch to DOT 5, whatever you do. That is the "siliconized" fluid & I wouldn't want to put it in a system that has ever had DOT-3 or DOT-4 in it.

I'm using Valvoline Syn Power full synthetic brake fluid, which says it "exceeds DOT-4 & DOT-5" for boiling performance etc. I've used this for 4 years now & it works great and mixes well with DOT-3 or DOT-4.

Again, DOT-5 does NOT mix with DOT-3 or DOT-4. (DOT-3 & 4 mix just fine.)

If you can't get DOT-4, DOT-3 will work fine until you can change it out (though it will boil a little sooner under extreme heat so the brakes might fade sooner) but never, never, never put DOT-5 in a Nomad, or any vehicle, that didn't come with DOT-5 from the factory, unless you first replace every rubber part in the entire system.

The rubber absorbs & holds fluid, so you can never get it clean enough to switch. Even the aluminum & steel parts would have to be cleaned extremely well for it to work. It's not worth the bother, especially when Syn Power works so well.

[VulcanE]

CQ, I run the same stuff as you in mine, and it does work well. When its new, you just about can't see it in the sight glass.

I know! After changing mine, I went out the next morning to check the level, and I almost thought it had all leaked out!

[mako]

I use the cheapy mini vac from HF and as long as I don't abuse it, it seems to keep working fine and makes the job very simple, think it was less than $10. I suspect it won't hold up and someday won't keep a vacuum like Caddmanns but I prefer it to the hand pump (or foot) method.