When most people think of car maintenance, they usually think about the engine. The tires. The air filter system. All of the components that make a car go forward.
But what’s equally important as ensuring that your car can move forward is ensuring that it can stop on a dime! Consequently, make sure that you never forget to do basic brake maintenance on your vehicle as well.
In this article, we’ll take a look at one of the most common brake-related maintenance tasks: changing brake fluid. We’ll explain how to change brake fluid to enable you to do this simple DIY job.
Getting Old Brake Fluid Out
The first step in changing brake fluid is to get the old brake fluid out of the system. There are two different places where the brake fluid is currently in your car. The first is obviously the brake fluid reservoir.
To get fluid out of the reservoir, you will have to use a turkey baster or some similar mechanism that can reach into the container and suck up the old fluid.
The other place where brake fluid is stored is in the brake fluid lines themselves. To get the fluid out of this location, you’re going to have to flush the brake fluid out with the new fluid.
Putting New Brake Fluid In
When selecting the right brake fluid for your vehicle, be sure to consult your owner’s manual. You should only use brake fluid that has been recommended by your manufacturer in order to ensure maximum performance.
To get access to the brake fluid lines, you’ll have to take the wheels off your car. Once the wheels are off, take a look at the hub of the wheel. On the hub of the wheel, you should be able to spot a connection to the brake fluid line, which allows fluid from the reservoir to enter the brake calipers.
The pressure created by the input of this fluid is what compresses the distance between the brake pads, which in turn touch the rotors and cause the wheels to stop rotating due to friction.
On the brake fluid connection, there will be a valve used to bleed the brakes. Pour the new brake fluid into the reservoir, then bleed the brakes out using the valve until you can see that the old dirty fluid has stopped coming out and has been replaced by new fluid.
You’ll have to repeat this process for each of the four wheels on the car. Once that Is done, top off the reservoir, put the wheels back on and voila! You’re all done.
How to Change Brake Fluid Made Easy
There you have it. Now that you know how to change brake fluid, you should be able to ensure that you keep your car’s stopping power where it needs to be. There’s no reason to call in an expensive mechanic for a simple job like a brake fluid change — you can do it yourself in your driveway.
For more auto advice, check out the rest of the articles on the website before you leave!
