Benton

This is actually related to my dad's 996, but the 993 board has my buddies and some gurus! Anyway, I installed new shocks on his 996 today and while I was contemplating how to do it (no good write-ups), I unscrewed the brake line a little too far while trying to see if I could move it. Turns out I didn't need to do anything with the brakelines, but some numnuts said I did. I figured out a different way to do it. About 3 drops worth of fluid leaked out. This is on the driver's left flex line.

So here are the questions:
1) Did air get in the line most likely?
2) If so, I will bleed the front left, BUT his fluid is some type of yellow fluid (put in by the stealership, ATE gold? beats me)... I only have ATE blue. Could I just bleed out this one caliper without putting in more fluid? I'm new to this brake bleeding business.

TIA.

1999Porsche911

Chances are that there is only air near the end of the brake line on the caliper you disconnected. Bleed just that brake and you should be ok and still have plenty of fluid left in the reseviour.

Benton

Cool cool. That's what I'm thinking. Thanks.

DKP 97 C2 Coupe

Mark,

Although what the previous poster said about only needing to bleed just the afffected line any time you are talking about the brakes you are talking about the most critical and important safety item on the car. Much better off to be sure and bleed all 4 brakes; it only takes a few minutes anyway. No need to worry about the fluid that you lost: only a few drops is insignificant. If you are not sure about this procedure yourself then take the car to a reputable mech. and have it done for you. The chances of a problem are slim but you just can't assume anything when working with the brakes. It will be well worth your peace of mind... Cheers,

Benton

David,
I'm not new to mechanics; I've just never done brakes before. These brakes were bled about 6 weeks ago, so the other calipers should be fine. If I bleed this caliper and I lose too much fluid then I will flush the whole system. The reason I mentioned the fluid was because I do not have the same type of fluid and wasn't sure whether I would need to add or not. Becuase if I had to add, then I would have to flush the whole system... something I am trying to avoid. Just asked the question to reinforce what I was thinking. Thanks for the help.

1999Porsche911

If you need to add fluid, just add DOT 4 type fluid and you'll be fine.

STLPCA

Mark
Although, you'll likely not need to add any fluid to bleed the one caliper, ATE Blue & ATE Gold can be mixed w/o any problem. They are identical products except for blue dye. Just give your mechanic a heads up or he may wonder about the blue tint.

Benton

Thanks, Dan. That's good to know.

Ray Calvo

if you decide to bleed, whatever you do DO NOT USE THE PUMP-THE-BRAKES-AND-HOLD METHOD. I destroyed 2 mster cylinders in about a year on my old '76 911S. Buy a Motive Products pressure bleeder.

Then read the archives articles on brake bleeding.