In this blog we will talk about the when, why, and how we at Rogers Mobile Lube & Tire keep your vehicle’s brake fluid properly maintained.
Why servicing your brake fluid is important.
Brakes play a huge role in your vehicle’s safety, in fact, brakes are the most important safety feature on any vehicle. Brake fluid is perhaps the most neglected fluid in the average car or truck, it should be changed every other year in normal conditions. If not properly maintained several issues may arise.
- Failure to stop. Brake fluid is hydroscopic so it absorbs moisture from the air. When this happens, the water present in the fluid reduces the fluid’s boiling point. If the brake fluid boils under heavy braking or other conditions, air bubbles will form in the fluid. These air bubbles are compressible and will cause a spongy pedal feel and dramatically increased stopping distances.
- Rust. Water in the brake fluid will also cause rust and corrosion in the internal parts of the braking system. Rust will cause parts to seize such as the pistons in the brake calipers. If these pistons seize, they can cause the brakes pads drag on the rotor leading to the next problem.
- Premature part failure. Dragging brake pads will cause heat, boiling the fluid and causing brake failure.
How to know when you should service your vehicle’s brake fluid
- If it has been more that 2 years since your brake fluid has been flushed and all of the fluid changed. (3 years if you are using our Amsoil brake fluid)
- If you feel a spongy brake pedal.
- If you have performed any repairs that may have introduced contaminants to the braking system.
- If you have a leak anywhere in the braking system. If this occurs, make the repairs immediately!
Our brake fluid and fluid service
At Rogers Mobile Lube we use Amsoil Dot 3 / Dot 4 full synthetic brake fluid. Amsoil’s Dot 3 / Dot 4 full synthetic brake fluid is manufactured with a nitrogen blanket which helps purge moisture and ensure maximum braking performance.
How we perform a brake fluid service is by extracting the old fluid using suction. First, we extract the fluid from the brake fluid reservoir then replace it with new fluid. Starting with the farthest wheel, in relation to the reservoir, we attach our extractor hose to the brake bleeder valve located on the brake caliper or wheel cylinder. Once the hose is attached, we open the bleeder valve and allow the suction to remove all the old fluid from the vehicle’s braking system and cycling in the new fluid from the reservoir. We continue to do this until new fluid is present in the suction hose, then repeat the process for each wheel in order beginning with farthest from the fluid reservoir making our way to the nearest the reservoir. We then install bleeder caps on all of the bleeder valves to prevent corrosion and debris from damaging the bleeder. Our brake fluid service lasts for up to 50,000 miles or 3 years.
Authored by Steven H.