Brake reservoir sediment removal

I would loosen the hoses on the M/C to drain out that debris and sludge and not let that go through the system.

I would also very thoroughly clean out that M/C as you said and then flow a bit of fresh fluid through it before putting back the hose lines.

Then I would flush that system repeatedly with brake fluid until every wheel cylinder showed new and clean fluid.

You put your life on those breaks. Don't put your life on the line.

 

Vacuum out everything that you can from the dirty reservoir itself first from up top, add new brake fluid in a different color...THEN do your full brake bleed.

In this way you prevent a lot of old debris from going through your system during your brake bleed.

 

I'd be worried where all the sediment came from! It's a closed system (obviously) and needs to be immaculate. If you have corrosion in a brake line, it needs to be replaced immediately. This is a very high pressure system and if you rupture a line you may end up quite dead.

Ken

 

Good post, Ken. It's a critical system.

That being said, aren't the front and rear brakes supposed to be on separate hydraulic circuits to prevent one rupture from disabling all 4 brakes?

I'm asking, btw.

 

Most cars have a duel master cylinder, even mine. I would hate to count on it though, especially if the fronts are the one that gave out at any kind of speed!

Ken

 

Turn the car upside down & shake..........

 

Turkey baster.

(No I'm not calling you names. ) I'm talking about those Godzilla sized eye-droppers sold in the supermarket for sucking sauce from the bottom of the roasting pan.

There's been one in my tool box for quite some time.

Oddly enough, I don't have one in my kitchen.

 

I wouldn't be too worried that the debris is from the brake lines, as I think was implied in some of the cautionary posts above; fluid doesn't move that far. Is it black? Like the color of rubber seals in the M/C?

I like the idea of disconnecting the lines from the M/C so you don't have to pump crud all the way through the system and always wonder how much you got out; then when you reconnect the system you'll know if you're getting crud coming out that was in the lines or not! Of course now you've got to worry about getting the M/C bled well, but I'll bet that fancy bleeder of yours will make that a non-issue! I always worry about making these things bigger than absolutely necessary.... :|

 

Few years back I bought a "Vacula" runs off compressed air. It has a quart sized canister to collect old fluid. Air pressure develops a vacuum in the canister to suck fluid out of the bleeders (Thus Vacula). I use a very small dia tube to scrape off the muck inside the resevoir. If it is really crusty, I pull the resevoir off and wash it out with brake cleaner. the small tube that come with most brake cleaners helps blast out the nooks n crannies.

E

 

I would remove the resivior from the car and thoroughly clean all the crap out of it. Then fit it to the car and then top it up with clean brake fulid,then do a full flush. Start flushing/bleeding the system from the wheel furtherest from the brake master cylinder(the RHR,then LHR,then RHF,then finally the LHF wheel) Flush the old fluid through until the new fluid comes through. Can be done with 2 people very easily,as the 2nd person pumping the brake pedal can also keep an eye on the brake fluid level,making sure that it doesnt get too low and get air in the system as you flush and bleed. But you have the power bleeder,so you can also do it yourself,but just make sure you dont let the fluid level run too low as you do each wheel.

 

I've been bleeding brakes for many, many years and almost always there is a little darkish debris at the bottom of the resevoir. Remove what
you can by suction or paper towel and then bleed as usual.

 

hi --2x things .when was the fluid replaced last .what kind of fluid have you got in there.mineral/synthetic.vacuum out fluid. put some in a glass add a small amount of water and see if it goes milky or if the water settles on the surface.milky its mineral.once you know what you have in there you know what to replace it with because they are not compatible.if you dont want to remove the cylinder suck out the fluid(vacuum or a batteryhydrometer).some containers can be removed with the cylinder body still in place.clean and refit container.replace container seals.when you purchase these seals from your brake supplier get 3 bleeder nipples to suit your master cylinder outlets.bleed into bottle.check for sediment.if anything is in there rekit the cylinder(recommend stainless resleeving).warning the pedal will feel like it is bolted solid with the bleeders in .be careful and apply the brake pedal with your hand when bleeding .brakefluid is a nightmare . show no fear .they know. Tony

 

It's also a good idea to carry a couple of mechanic's rags around (you can buy a whole bag full at Ace Hardware for a couple of bucks), so you can clean off the top of any hydraulic reservoir before removing the cap. That will cut down on external debris entering the reservoir.

If you do that religiously, then any debris showing up is coming from inside the system.

 

I use the Motive Power Bleeder on my early TR and it works great I like to wipe out the interior of the reservoir to remove any film that accumulates. I am not sure of your reservoir design, but the TR has two chambers, and only the rear chamber is accessible through the filler hole to wipe it out. Don't worry about air when you wipe the reservoir clean because you will be sweeping out all air as you do the bleed. EDoug.

 

I don't know about red or green brake fluid, but ATE's DOT 4 brake fluid comes in blue or gold: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007SN6F6/103-9782534-5711841?v=glance&n=15684181

 

You can mix 3 & 4, but I don't understand the need for multi-colors. You can tell when you start getting the fresh fluid out. Or maybe that means I don't bleed my brakes enough!