Brake Fluid

[CorollaD4D]

don't worry i will be graduating this summer and after that i've saved about £1500 to drop on my car. new clutch and flywheel, some suspension work, bits and bobs of bodywork/spraying, coolant change, gearbox oil change, brake fluid change....etc you get the picture lol!

[Parts-King]

whilst I appreciate what Parts King has said.

I will point out that if you go and take your car around the nurburgring on a hot day, you will notice the difference between DOT 5.1 and DOT3. Once the brakes get hot and I mean seriously hot the DOT 3 will start to boil and the pedal will get a bit longer until it cools down.

Well i think even the most non technical minded of people will understand taking your car around the Nurburgring is not quite the same as pootling down to Asda or picking up the kids from school if you don't mind me saying Mr nrgizerbunny, you are stating the obvious there!

So that is why I said for 99% of people, 5.1 will be perfectly acceptable

and NO, the average Joe Egg would not know or feel any difference between old and new fluid in the system. lets face it, the majority dont even know why it needs topping up every now and again so I dont expect them to know the technicalities of brake fluid

Kingo

[Parts-King]

Lol is 6.5 years overdue enough for you? the old man who had my car from new looked after it like a baby, yet there is no documentation to suggest any brake fluid changes having been done...

There you go! another customer who has been perfectly happy with his brake fluid until this point in time, I rest my case

kingo

[mr-p]

you should never actually top up your brake fluid if its low it means your pads are low or you have a leak, when you change the pads and push the piston back in because its been topped upit will ***** out of the brake resovior and ruin any thing painted it touches.

[Parts-King]

Low fluid is a sign pads are wearing but fluid should ALWAYS be topped up

Anybody fitting brake pads will know it pushes fluid back up into the reservoir and will draw some off accordingly. So it should never spill out and ruin anything!

Kingo

[CorollaD4D]

tbh Kingo if you speak to my mechanic he will say i like "wasting" money on my car doing stuff which doesn't need doing however i take the view that it will need doing at some point and there's no time like the present lol. so i am not unhappy as such with my brakes, i mean they could be stronger but i'm just going to change brake fluid for the sake of doing it.

incidentally do you think worn ball joints/track rod damaged or track rod ends damaged would cause a knocking when turning left and also sometimes in a straight line? my illusive knock hasn't really got much worse over time and it's been to 3 mechanics all who say they can't definitively say what the problem is...

[mr-p]

Low fluid is a sign pads are wearing but fluid should ALWAYS be topped up

Anybody fitting brake pads will know it pushes fluid back up into the reservoir and will draw some off accordingly. So it should never spill out and ruin anything!

Kingo

why? its a waste of brake fluid and money, if your car is serviced on time and properly it should never ever need topping up, only removing the old fluid on the brake fluid change, if its low and theres no leak then the pads are low and will get changed on the service so no need to add any brake fluid doesn't evaporate so there is no real need to top it up except for instance you have a brake problem like a burst brake pipe, have this replaced but the pads are ok and the system is topped up then yes syphon some off as long as it dont go below the minimum line then it will pass an mot and the low level light will not come on

incidentally do you think worn ball joints/track rod damaged or track rod ends damaged would cause a knocking when turning left and also sometimes in a straight line

yes they can mate lower arm ball joints definatly, what kind of knocking is it though dies it knock with the speed your going or is it random knocks?

[CorollaD4D]

incidentally do you think worn ball joints/track rod damaged or track rod ends damaged would cause a knocking when turning left and also sometimes in a straight line

yes they can mate lower arm ball joints definatly, what kind of knocking is it though dies it knock with the speed your going or is it random knocks?

knocks when going round corner and when i brake the brakes grab and release almost like the discs were warped but they are not. knocks even at a slight turn.

[Parts-King]

knocks when going round corner and when i brake the brakes grab and release almost like the discs were warped but they are not. knocks even at a slight turn.

Wonder if you have a capooted drive shaft CV joint?

Kingo

[Parts-King]

its a waste of brake fluid and money

Wrong. It will cost you next to nothing for the fluid and even less in time

if your car is serviced on time and properly it should never ever need topping up

Wrong. Your brake (and clutch) fluid levels ARE topped up at routine service, it is good engineering practice

brake fluid doesn't evaporate

Wrong. Anything that has a smell is in itself releasing a gas that IS evaporation, I would conceed evaporation is minimal, especially on anything with a high boiling point such as brake fluid, but still, you were wrong

long as it dont go below the minimum line then it will pass an mot and the low level light will not come on

Ah so that makes it all OK then, thankfully you wont be looking after any of my cars and with a bit of luck nobody elses either. Brake fluid levels should be topped up when needed and it should be changed every few years as it absorbs tiny amounts of water. It is called routine maintenance, check out any owners manual and you will find what is and is not required, I don't think you will find anywhere where it says fluid of any description does not need topping up

Kingo

[Mistermena]

its a waste of brake fluid and money

Wrong. It will cost you next to nothing for the fluid and even less in time

if your car is serviced on time and properly it should never ever need topping up

Wrong. Your brake (and clutch) fluid levels ARE topped up at routine service, it is good engineering practice

brake fluid doesn't evaporate

Wrong. Anything that has a smell is in itself releasing a gas that IS evaporation, I would conceed evaporation is minimal, especially on anything with a high boiling point such as brake fluid, but still, you were wrong

long as it dont go below the minimum line then it will pass an mot and the low level light will not come on

Ah so that makes it all OK then, thankfully you wont be looking after any of my cars and with a bit of luck nobody elses either. Brake fluid levels should be topped up when needed and it should be changed every few years as it absorbs tiny amounts of water. It is called routine maintenance, check out any owners manual and you will find what is and is not required, I don't think you will find anywhere where it says fluid of any description does not need topping up

Kingo

I think very well put Kingo. All these things are a "Must do" on a car for safety resons if nothing else! Well said

[mr-p]

Wrong. Your brake (and clutch) fluid levels ARE topped up at routine service, it is good engineering practice

but do they i have friends in dealers and have heard horror stories about them! heard cases that a car has has been brought in for a service and they haven't even changed the oil filter just dropped the oil and re filled so you cant trust that always

Wrong. It will cost you next to nothing for the fluid and even less in time

still costs though does it not?

Ah so that makes it all OK then, thankfully you wont be looking after any of my cars and with a bit of luck nobody elses either. Brake fluid levels should be topped up when needed and it should be changed every few years as it absorbs tiny amounts of water. It is called routine maintenance, check out any owners manual and you will find what is and is not required, I don't think you will find anywhere where it says fluid of any description does not need topping up

should be changed every 2-4 years depending on the type of fluid and car manufacture, and its hygroscopic yes but if like quite a few of us and you brake hard quite a lot you will end up with watered down brake fluid and vapour lock , just topping it up wont put it back to its original boiling point so is pointless if you want 100% performance from your brakes

I think very well put Kingo. All these things are a "Must do" on a car for safety resons if nothing else! Well said

what is unsafe? like i said as long as it dont go below the minimum line then no air will be drawn in to the system so braking performance will not be compromised and if it is low then your pads are shot and this is even worse than having low brake fluid(even if a car was to dump all its fluid its a dual system so the driver will still have brakes), what happens when someone who has no idea about cars gets his/hers serviced and the mechanic fills up the fluid but the pads are low and he does not mention this, the customer will never know and by the next service instead of needing just new pads will need new discs too

[Parts-King]

mr-p I really don't have too much of a problem it what you say, but you seem to take everything I have said out of context

but do they i have friends in dealers and have heard horror stories about them! heard cases that a car has has been brought in for a service and they haven't even changed the oil filter just dropped the oil and re filled so you cant trust that always

Yes and Harold Shipman was a well liked Doctor until they found out he was bumping off his patients and forging their wills Things happen at dodgy dealers, back street garages and dare I say it, you friendly Doctors!

still costs though does it not?

Yes, an egg cup full of fluid will have a value, but it is a requirement as per your handbook to top up all fluids, not my idea, Toyota's, but I think they may be right

should be changed every 2-4 years depending on the type of fluid and car manufacture, and its hygroscopic yes but if like quite a few of us and you brake hard quite a lot you will end up with watered down brake fluid and vapour lock , just topping it up wont put it back to its original boiling point so is pointless if you want 100% performance from your brakes

I never said it should not be changed, it should, it should also be topped up, check your owners handbook and don't rely on your "friends in dealer" to tell you

what is unsafe? like i said as long as it dont go below the minimum line then no air will be drawn in to the system so braking performance will not be compromised and if it is low then your pads are shot

You really have no idea do you? I will repeat it for you so that you can be sure of what I mean. Brake fluid should be topped up if low, as per the manufacturers instructions and for "Good engineering practice" Yes the pads will be wearing down, but they need not be "shot" because the fluid level is low. if your car is maintained regularly, as it should be, then the pads should not get to the point where they are "shot"

what happens when someone who has no idea about cars gets his/hers serviced and the mechanic fills up the fluid but the pads are low and he does not mention this, the customer will never know and by the next service instead of needing just new pads will need new discs too

Oh dear, have you not heard of a customer advisory notice or VSR? If the customer is not informed the pads are low the dealer has not done their job, you are making up issues to suit your argument. You obviously do not work in the motor trade or I doubt are qualified to make any of these judgements about brake fluid. At the risk of repeating myself, let me refer back to the OP. 5.1 Brake fluid is more than acceptable on your car, no need for racing fluids.(UNLESS you are taking it on a circuit??) Brake fluid should be topped up between services when low, and brake pads should be inspected for wear at each service. Brake fluid should be changed at the manufacturers recommended intervals

I've said enough on the subject now me thinks

Kingo

[mr-p]

lol i like that

Yes and Harold Shipman was a well liked Doctor until they found out he was bumping off his patients and forging their wills Things happen at dodgy dealers, back street garages and dare I say it, you friendly Doctors!

not taking it out of context at all mate i just disagree. oh im more than qualified having tech status imi level 3, nvq level 3 in light veh mechanics, nvq lelel 3 in heavy vehicle mechainics and a city and guilds in light and heavy recovery, 4 years serving in the forces and a lot of other experiance and im only 25! so your presumption of me not being qualified was way off and i now work on things like this

and am hoping to do a hnc/hnd in mechanical engineering soon

a good mechanic will notice that the brake fluid is low and not just top it up but inspect the brakes it is just uneconomic to top it up and then advise the customer that the pads need changing wasting there money/time and the mechanics time if they even notice it, when i say low i mean below half way because if its over half then no point topping it up, ,manufactures dont put a min and max on the reservoir for fun. even with all 4 sets of pads gone the system will retain above minimum to keep braking force and to comply with the law/mot - reason for fail "has dangerously low fluid level eg significantly below the minimum level indication when this is shown" and "shot" means 1.5mm or below at any point as per mot standards and 1.5 mm is quite a lot on some pads of course toyota will say that it needs doing to keep all the loonys happy lol but saying that my toyota has a full toyota service history till i brought it 6 months ago and it is 7-8 years old yet no mention anywhere in the docs about a brake fluid change? im just saying that its not necessary not that you are wrong your quite right, you may as well wait and do the pads and fluid if your pads last that long in 1 hit its much more cost effective there is noting unsafe and has nothing to do with engineering standards its good ol common sense

[CorollaD4D]

knocks when going round corner and when i brake the brakes grab and release almost like the discs were warped but they are not. knocks even at a slight turn.

Wonder if you have a capooted drive shaft CV joint?

Kingo

lol firstly thank you to Kingo and everyone who has replied to me. my mechanic reckons it's wheel bearing but i don't want to get that changed as he said it was the driver side bearing and this obviously has not cured the problem. he has checked my driveshafts and claims mine have "the normal amount of play" for a car of the age of mine. Personally I think that's BS and because the problem isn't too bad yet I think the mechanic is fobbing me off to give time to let it get worse so he can diagnose it properly. I've been to 3 japanese and particularly d4d specialist garages and none can absolutely say what the problem is.

I don't fancy paying the stealer £50 or whatever they charge to diagnose the problem because my thinking is if a 20 years experience mechanic working on toyotas cannot diagnose it then how can a 25 year old "kid" fresh out of mechanic school do it? my normal mechanic started at toyota aged 16 and worked there until he was 30 at which point he setup and still runs his specialist garage until this day. the guys knows toyota's inside out i am really stumped as to why he can't figure it out lol??

If it helps then to me the left side cv has slightly more play than the right which i discovered by wiggling the drive shaft while wheels were off getting new rubber on.