Give me a Brake...

I was able to get the brake fluid changed today. It was easier than I thought, and the hardest part was really making sure that I was careful with the fluid receptacles, and didn't make a mess. Brake fluid is a very good solvent, and will eat away at paint, so there's a little bit of pressure to take your time and work through it carefully.

I purchased a brake bleeder a couple of weeks ago, which is a small pressure vessel that you can use to pump fluid into the reservoir. I also got two bottles with a hoses that attach to the bleeder nozzle, which helps with collecting the old fluid without making a mess. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper DIY experience without having to run to the store (again) to get another tool. The bleeder screws are 9mm. It figures that my wrench set goes from 8mm to 10mm, so I got to know the guys at the local parts counter pretty well today. Unfortunately, Kim is away with the kids and the camera, so I don't have any good photos, which would help clarify a lot.

The procedure works like this:

- Cover fender with garbage bag or other plastic to protect it from stray fluid.
- Remove as much old fluid as you can from the reservoir with a turkey baster (note to self: get new turkey baster for the kitchen...)
- Fill reservoir with clean fluid.
- Fill bleeder with clean fluid and attach to reservoir. Pump to 20 psi.
- Working at each tire, starting the furthest away from the master cylinder (Right Rear), remove the tire and bleeder cap. Loosen bleeder screw until clean fluid comes out of the tube (this is easy to see - the old stuff is brown. The new stuff is yellow). Close bleeder screw.
- When all 4 tires are done, leave last tire off. Tilt bleeder vessel so that the fluid tube is not taking in fluid, and you are pumping air into the reservoir. Open bleed screw one last time until fluid level in reservoir is at 'MAX'
- Close bleeder screw.
- Loosen cap on bleeder tank to release pressure (NOT the cap at the reservoir itself, unless you like to spray brake fluid everywhere..)
- Replace cap on reservoir.
- DON'T FORGET! - Torque lug nuts to 81 ft-lb.
- Drive slowly in driveway to make sure brakes work.

Everything seems to be fine. I also got some gas dryer (alcohol that will absorb water in the gas tank) and filled up, with midgrade this time. My last tank gave me 15.5 MPG. Much less than before, but there was almost no highway driving before this fill-up. I think the new tires will make a difference too. We shall see.