Re: Changing the brake fluid on my '90 100

[Nick Craft <ncc@scr.siemens.com>]

>   I was reading somewhere that brake fluid should be clear. Mine is as 
>brown as motor oil. It hasn't been changed since I got it ~1-1.5 years 
>ago, and it doesn't look like it was changed anytime recently before 
>then. I was going to change my brake fluid, but then I realized, I had no 
>idea on how to do it! 
>   Do people on this list commonly do such a change? Would someone be 
>gracious enough to give me some 'idiots guide to brake fluid changing' 
>text? 
>
>Thanks in advance...
>
>Brooks
>

Change it, soon, before the water it has absorbed rots away your entire
braking system from the master cylinder to the calipers!

Now that I've scared you...the good news is it's dead easy. Simplest way
is to take the wheels off one at a time, connect clear tubing from bleed
nipple on caliper to a big glass jar, with the end of the tube submerged
in some fresh brake fluid. Loosen bleed nipple, using preferably a box-end
wrench, because rounding off the flats on the nipple will make you sad.
Slowly press the brake pedal to the floor repeatedly, until new, clear fluid
starts coming through the tube with no air bubbles. Keep the reservoir topped 
up with new fluid as you work to stop air getting in.

Repeat for all 4 wheels, working from the furthest away from the master cylinder
to the nearest.

Some people like to use a friend to pump the brake pedal, while they open
and close the bleed nipple on each stroke. I find this unneccessary if you
keep the tube submerged in the jar.

Somebody else will now probably post a treatise on how pressure flushing/vacuum
flushing etc. is far superior to this technique blah blah blah. Oh well -
works fine for me.

Good luck,
Nick Craft