Tips & Tutorials
What do you know about automotive brake fluid?
Automotive brake fluid is the fluid used in hydraulic brake systems. It must not work chemically, is not affected by high temperatures, and does not corrode, soften, or expand on metals and rubber.
Change the brake fluid regularly.
The volume of brake fluid will change with the change of temperature, so the brake fluid reservoir is equipped with a ventilation hole, and the air sucked in from the hole contains moisture or impurities, and the moisture will be absorbed or dissolved by the brake fluid, so the boiling point of brake fluid containing moisture will be lowered. When the car brakes for a long time, the temperature of the braking system rises, the brake line is prone to air resistance, the air is compressed, resulting in a possible decline in braking power or brake failure. Therefore, for the sake of your driving safety, the brake fluid must be replaced regularly.
Caution
- If gasoline, diesel oil, or engine oil is accidentally mixed into the brake system with synthetic brake fluid, the incompatibility between the fluids will also reduce the braking effect.
- When the vehicle is driven generally for 40,000 km or the brake fluid is used continuously for more than two years, the brake fluid will easily deteriorate due to the prolonged usage time, so pay attention to timely replacement.
- Vehicles equipped with brake fluid level alarm devices should always observe whether the alarm indicator light is flashing, whether the alarm sensor performance is good, when the brake fluid is insufficient should be added in time, the stored brake fluid should be kept between the minimum capacity scale and the maximum capacity scale of the calibration.
- The vehicle in the normal driving, if the brake light and heavy, to the brake fluid timely replacement, before replacing the brake system cleaned with alcohol.
- When the vehicle brakes appear to run off, the braking system should be thoroughly inspected. If you find that the sub-pump bowl expansion is too large, there may be problems with the brake fluid quality. At this time, you should choose a better quality brake fluid to be replaced while replacing the leather bowl.
- When the season changes, especially in winter, if you find that the braking effect decreases, it is possible that the brake fluid level does not adapt to the winter climate. Therefore, when replacing the new brake fluid, you should choose a brake fluid with a small viscosity at low temperatures.
- Do not mix different types and brands of brake fluid. For brake systems with special requirements, specific brands of brake fluid should be filled. Since the formulations of different brands and types of brake fluids are different, mixing brake fluids will cause a decrease in brake fluid index. Even those brands with good inter-solubility and are marked to be mixed or replaceable are not satisfactory in use, so do not use them for a long time.
- When water is mixed or inhaled in the brake fluid, or when impurities or sediments are found in the brake fluid, it should be replaced or carefully filtered in time. Otherwise, it will cause insufficient brake pressure, thus affecting the braking effect.
Characteristics
Auto brake fluid role one: the freezing point of auto brake fluid is very low, and it has good fluidity in low-temperature conditions.
Auto brake fluid role two: the boiling point of auto brake fluid is very high, and it will not produce air resistance in a high-temperature state.
Auto brake fluid role three: when auto brake fluid is used, you will find that its quality changes very little and will not trigger the erosion of metal and rubber.
Replacement time
This situation is a matter of opinion; many people say that the car brake fluid is changed once in 60,000 km if driving in tropical areas. Others say that it does not need to be changed if it is not dirty. However, in general, the brake fluid needs to be replaced every two years. After a long time, the brake pump will have different degrees of wear and tear, so it is better to change the brake fluid.
Replacement methods
There are many ways to replace the brake fluid. The old native method is to lift the car with a lift, one person is responsible for stepping on the brakes in the cab, and one person is responsible for draining the brake sub-pump at each wheel under the car. When the brakes were applied, the brake fluid was sprayed out by opening the pump’s sub-exhaust screw. Discharge the old brake fluid like this, add new oil to the brake oil pot in the cabin above, discharge the old oil, and the new oil will enter the pipe, wait until you see the color of the new oil, make a good sub-pump and repeat for another wheel. This method is very troublesome; the brake fluid pressure is very high when braking, so the brake fluid is everywhere on the wheel after discharging.
The improved method is to set a hose on the bleeding screw, put the oil-catching disc underneath, loosen the exhaust screw, brake fluid slowly out, not urgent, slowly put, about ten minutes on it. In this process, pay attention to replenish the brake fluid to prevent air from entering the pipeline. This method is feasible, but the four wheels put at the same time are not scientific. The rear wheel’s brake fluid pipeline is longer than the front wheel, the front wheel pipeline is short, the fluid brake priority from the pipeline with less resistance, so the front and rear wheels can be used to drain the oil separately. After releasing the new oil, tighten the exhaust screw and start the vehicle. One person presses the brake five times and then does not move. The other person loosens the exhaust screw and tightens it immediately, repeat two times for each wheel, the exhaust is completed, and the brake fluid replacement is finished.
The more advanced oil replacement method is to use the brake oil replacement machine, or to use the exhaust screw of the four-wheel sub-pump, with the machine’s receiver docking, brake oil jug screw cap mouth, by the machine’s filling tube docking, so that the brake line and the oil changer become a closed system, the filling machine while injecting new oil while sucking the old oil in the pump. Its advantages, needless to say, it is more advanced, and there is no leaking oil.
Manual oil drainage has to observe the level of the brake fluid pot during the old oil discharge, such as insufficient must be immediately replenished, once emptied is very troublesome and must be solved after several exhausts. Regarding brake fluid flowing to metal parts and tires, you remember that it must be flushed immediately. Is brake fluid highly absorbent? That’s right. Because it dissolves in water, it will disappear when rinsed with plenty of water. Without rinsing, brake fluid has a corrosive effect on metal and paint. Of course, it is also best for the human body to try not to come into direct contact with it.
