jserio

You definitely should consider this. Nowhere in my maintenence history does it mention the brake fluid being changed. I changed it today. The WSM says that it should be changed every 2 yrs for Pre GTS and 3 yrs post I believe. Anyway I thought I would share. The left side very bad, the right side new.

deliriousga

Mine was the same. 103K miles and it was black. I had ABS flutter sometimes from what I think was condensation mixing in the fluid and giving it a lower boiling point. Flutter is gone now and stops on a dime.

FlyingDog

Rixter and I found out the hard way what happens when you don't change your brake fluid. His boiled going down a mountain on NC 80 at SITM. Luckily he got it stopped before going around too many more turns.

jserio

The twisties should be a little more interesting .

Bill51sdr

Hey Joe, are you going to try out your new brake fluid on the beautiful mountain roads of the Tahoe Valley??

hacker-pschorr

I recently bled the brakes on the 79 track car I bought (with 4-piston S4 brakes). I am pretty sure it's been 5+ years since its last flush. Using the power bleeder from 928 Specialists pumped up to 20psi there was almost no fluid coming out, it was very thick. I needed a friend to pump the brake pedal many times per valve on each caliper to get the new fluid flowing at all. Took 2 1/2 bottles of super blue before every valve flowed at a normal rate with the power bleeder.

Is there a rebuild kit for the Brembo calipers? A few of the pistons were very hard to move to install new pads (with the old fluid). This being a track car I don’t want to skimp on my brakes.

jserio

Call 928 Intl. THey would know for sure.

Bill, update on that shortly on the tahoe thread.

Bill51sdr

Erik, I know for sure that you can get a rebuild kit for S4 calipers at the dealer if the Big 3 do not. The kit I got from a local dealership had nwe pistons, o-rings and seals, along with some assembly grease. Getting the old lip seals out was a b*tch tho...

Thaddeus

When I put the Super Blue in my car last month the old brake fluidwasn't bad. Couldn't have been more than a couple of years old. And THAT, my friends, looks like about the ONLY thing the PO's have done right. But if you're going to do only one thing right, brakes would be the place to go...

dr bob

This is a great subject for those that might want to drive their cars a littel harder during summer months. Water in the fluid causes some suprising short-term problems, as Rixter discovered at SITM, and also risks longer-term damage from corrosion i calipers and master cylinders. Get the old fluid out and get new dry fluid in, and avoid both of these problems.

Easiest change method is with a power bleeder. The Big Three sell the Motiv bleeder, a quart-size plastic bottle with a small pump and a cap adapter for the ATE master cylinder on the 928. The biggest part of the job is getting the car up on stands with the wheels off. You were going to pull the wheels for a little spring cleaning and brake pad inspection anyway, right?

The Super Blue fluid in either blue or gold color makes it real easy to see when your new fluid is coming out at the caliper. For street cars, any premium DOT-4 fluid will do fine. I buy Castrol LMA at the local parts place and it works great for my street-only car.


If you can look at your fluid reservoir and see fluid that is anything darker than water-clear, it's time to get that old stuff out and new stuff in. The darker color is the result of water-induced corrosion in your brake system parts. Get the old wet fluid out and get new dry fluid in!

This is a too cheap and too easy maintenance item. Porsche recommends a fluid change no less than every two years. If you like to do DE's, ORR. or other serious track events, you'll find that one year or less is recommended.

In the process, you'll find a firmer, higher pedal, better feel under your toe, and a little more peace of mind.


For those in the Los Angeles area, feel free to borrow my pressure bleeder if you don't care to own your own.