Brake fluid change.

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jimmy

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 8, 2002
Messages
2,316
Location
Northamptonshire
Car
Discovery 3 TDV6, Discovery 300TDi - Plaything!
I had a busy weekend and spent most of Monday doing jobs on the car. I changed the front brake discs and pads but before I removed the old ones I painted the calipers with Hammerite very high temperature paint as they were looking a little tatty.

I used the black paint and any overspray did'nt matter as I was changing the discs and pads anyway.;)

I also changed the brake fluid in the whole system as I am not sure if it had ever been done. It is quite an easy job, you bleed each caliper but keep pumping the pedal to remove the old fluid and keep topping up the resevoir with new fluid. I borrowed one of those one-man bleeders that makes the job very easy. I used synthetic DOT4 as I have some in stock and it is supposed to be better than mineral DOT4.

Brake fluid absorbs moisture, mostly through the rubber flexible hoses that connect to the calipers, this moisture then affects the braking performance by lowering the boiling point and makes the brakes feel spongy. The moisture also corrodes the internals of calipers and wheel cylinders.

The fluid that came out of the front calipers was very murky so I think it was well worth doing. Altogether I used 3 Litres of fluid, probably much more than I needed but at least I know it has been done properly.
 
My fluid is changed every year. But MB reckon every 3 years. In fact my fluid was changed this weekend.

Have you seen the stainless steel brake hoses made by goodridge? www.needforspeed.co.uk
 
mercedes benz recommend every two years for brake and clutch fluid and 3 years for coolant.
bet you noticed a difference in the brakes if the fluid was that dirty.
 
Originally posted by zerocool
mercedes benz recommend every two years for brake and clutch fluid and 3 years for coolant.
bet you noticed a difference in the brakes if the fluid was that dirty.

Yes, they certainly feel 'sharper' and the pedal feels less spongy, don't know if that is because of the new discs, pads or fluid though.
 

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