Skibum

Do you folks replace your brake fluid at regular intervals? (Street driven car)

Yesterday was my first time and all I have to say is WOW.
Feels like new brakes.

Amazing what happens to a hygroscopic fluid after a few years.

wwilliams88

Every 20K miles. Just had the 40K service done and this was one of the items

USMC_DS1

Annually on all my vehicles. The Motive brake bleed kit makes it that much easier. All members in the family can fell the difference so I know it's not my own mechanical psychosis.

4ocious

My 07 has 24K on the speedo and I don't think the brake fluid has ever been replaced. I'm out of warranty so my very reliable MB indy is replacing the fluid tomorrow. This shop does not do a lot of Porsche work but they are all highly trained and certified european car master mechanics. Is there anything I should know, e.g., type of fluid, recommend a particular brand, watch out for etc.? Thanks.

USMC_DS1

I've been rotating between Porsche(gold fluid) and ATE Super Blue Racing(blue fluid) so I can tell when enjoy of it has cycled thru the system. Your Indy will need a Durametric tool to flush the fluid in the ABS system but that does not seem to be something that is deemed a necessary action by some. So would not worry about the ABS as much as having them use the right fluid type...

Marine Blue

Manual recommends changing every 2 years due to hygroscopic nature of the fluid. That is what I have done with past cars and it has served me well.

SARGEPUG

I had mine done for the routine 2 yr service, felt same to me, but car had under $5k on the clock!

USMC_DS1

I assume your Indy knows this but there are two bleed nipples per caliper on your car - outside and inside. And, of course, they should start the bleed at the farthest caliper/outside nipple and work towards the driver side front caliper last... so Rear Right(RR), RL, FR, then FL. Also have them inspect and replace if necessary your brake lines. Safest thing to do re use of proper brake fluid is just buy it upfront for them and ask for the empty containers back as proof. Some non-Porsche Indy's have a propensity to use whatever they have on hand vs. taking the time to order/purchase what is recommended by Porsche. So give them two liters of the Porsche brake fluid and ask that they us it all just to make sure the system is completely flushed(note that 1 liter is ok with skill).

4ocious

Thanks, that's great advice. I'm making a copy of this and will take it with me tomorrow.

sullivas

Don't forget this is a good time to bleed the clutch slave cylinder if you have one. Uses the same fluid.

4ocious

Thanks, my car is a Triptonic. Can I assume there is no clutch slave cylinder? BTW, I called my indy after reading these posts to ask if they knew what to do. They do, so I asked them to replace my OEM fluid (I assume its never been changed but who knows?) with synthetic racing brake fluid (I may track this car when I've got all the work done and I also want the higher boiling point). They said I should use Dot 4 and will get the right racing fluid. Their estimate is $400.00 for everything. Is that reasonable?

Frino

$400 is more than double what I pay at the dealer ($170) or an indy ($150) for a full flush. Not sure how much more synthetic brake fluid is as compared with the Porsche-spec fluid.

USMC_DS1

It's $15 per liter from Pelican for ATE Super Blue Racing: http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...ue%201%20Liter

rubber_ducky

Just yesterday, an indy charged me $230-ish to do this.

mjsporsche

My Porsche dealer matched the rate charged by a nearby Porsche Indy and charged $85 to do the brake fluid flush while he was changing out the mufflers to something that makes more noise (Fabspeed).