• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Changing Brake Fluid & Engine Oil

Share this page

W

why

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
I thought I would follow up my $1.98 plastic fuel filter comment with two other issues I would like to hear others thoughts:
1, I have owned '49TC, '61Elite,'65Healey,'67Etype for at least 15 years and never changed brake fluid. Due to constricted flex hoses, at least that wheel bled once on most cars. In that time the rear calipers on the E leaked and fronts on Healey, other than that I have never experienced any braking system problems. Rebuilt Healey rear cylinders for fun recently and they showed 0 signs of leakage/corrosion. We are talking the 15 years I owned plus however many years prior owners. Why the slavish pursuit of yearly bleeding.
2,Use to change oil/filter 1/yr about 700 miles, oil looked so good, for past 7-8yrs doing it every 2 yrs, 1000-1500mi. No smoke nor any other sign of oil related issues. Why the often repeated rec. of changing every 6mos?
Caterham 7 daily driver now 10 years never opened a bleed screw, may drive out old and refill just cause alls been quiet lately and need an activity.
Any hard evidence on these issues, have no interest in damaging my family or putting their health at risk.
Thanks all, Jay, Laguna Beach
 
Re: more blaspheme

The brakes should be bled every couple of years, because brake fluid is hygroscopic, absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. Water in the system reduces the efficiency of the brakes, impercepibly maybe, but after a few years renewing the fluid will produce a dramatic improvement in the feel and response of your brakes.

The regular oil changes are to purge contaminants. The oil will look clean and will still be doing its job, but because it has been doing its job it will have some nasties suspended in it. On a car that does a very low mileage, such as yours, the oil won't get dirty but frequent short trips as are usually made in a hobby car, will produce more contaminants than if you drove the wheels off it. Changing the oil and filter once a year before storing the car should be sufficient.
 
Re: more blaspheme

Hi Jay,

You and Dave Russell are on the same page with not changing brake fluid. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Perhaps the longevity you both find is from living in places with a fairly dry climate. I've read that brake fluids will absorb about 3 percent water over a few years and they have additives that keep the moisture from causing corrosion problems. Unfortunately the corrosion inhibitors wear out over time.

On my BJ7, the wheel/master cylinders and caliper pistons were corroded so I opted to have the cylinders sleeved with brass and replace the pistons with SS material. I will still flush the brake fluid every couple years because the brakes need all the help they can get (performance wise) and I don't want the lines to corrode on the inside.

Cheers,
John
laguna beach too!
 
Re: more blaspheme

guys,i let my oil and break fluid attain the consistency of ripe yak schmeg,it helps stop the leaks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazyeyes.gif
 
Re: more blaspheme

Whooooooo Wheeeeeeeeee yall boys got to much free time on your hands to worry about all that stuff. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thirsty.gif
 
Re: more blaspheme

If you don't change the brake fluid you will some day have to replace the brake lines, period. I change even my daily drivers brake fluid and can actually tell the difference. On new cars with anti-lock brakes it's even more important to change the brake fluid.
As for as engine oil goes, it's easier to change the oil than replace the bearings.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: more blaspheme

[ QUOTE ]

1, I have owned '49TC, '61Elite,'65Healey,'67Etype for at least 15 years and never changed brake fluid.
Any hard evidence on these issues, have no interest in damaging my family or putting their health at risk.
Thanks all, Jay, Laguna Beach

[/ QUOTE ]
Hi Jay,
A while back there was a discussion about "sealing" the brake system. On the Healeys, it involved using a generic (HELP #42072) master cylinder gasket in place of the standard cork ring. This is a diaphram type gasket that completely seals the master cylinder lid from outside moisture. Just like all modern cars. This should reduce possible moisture contamination of the brake fluid to nil. I guess living in a dry climate helps also. I do use the brake fluid contamination test strips as an occasional check, but they don't show any problems.
---------------------
"Phoenix Injector Strip Dip™ Brake Fluid Test Strips, 100/pk.

FASCAR®, which stands for "Fluid Analysis by Stimulation of Contamination Alpha Reactions", is a simple visual test to determine the condition of your brake fluid. To test, immerse the new Strip Dip® into vehicle’s brake fluid for 1 second and within 30 -120 seconds the reaction zone will change colors depending on the condition of the brake fluid. Use the FASCAR® color scale to compare the reaction zone color to determine the FASCAR® rating.

Easy to read, bright color results.
Measures "virtual age" of brake fluid.
Test is accurate and repeatable.
Provides a precursor warning to active corrosion.
Reaction Zone is designed to react with corrosion inhibitors in the system to effect color reaction time.
It is virtually impossible to achieve a color reaction in new brake fluid.
FASCAR® Rating correlates to brake fluid buffering.
Measures the oxidation of organic compounds (Buffering agents).
The test supports the TIME/MILEAGE recommendation of 70% of the world’s auto manufactures.
Test is founded on scientific data and can be confirmed by the use of high tech lab equipment.
Test provides a "RECOMMENDATION" for service and the strip can be given to the customer for visual proof."
------------------------
D
 
Hi Jay
It's nice to see someone who feel the way I always have re the brake fluid business. When I was a young man about 50 years ago I worked many years in service stations and never had anyone want to change their brake fluid.
I have had a 66BJ8 for 21 years and have never changed the brake fluid also have a 54 Chev pickup that I have owned for 30 years and also have never changed the brake fluid.
Just flirting with disaster to hear some folks discuss this.
 
Re: more blaspheme

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif

Hi John, Jay,Dave,Greg and Keoke are all on the same page now cuz I just HATE bleeding brakes so I am now running the sealed sytem too-seems to work a treat. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif-Fwiw--Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
Re: more blaspheme

Oils aint oils as the castrol ad says!, have been advised to replace synthetic oils on a time basis not a mileage basis, as they break down over time
 
Re: more blaspheme

[ QUOTE ]
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
so I am now running the sealed sytem too-seems to work a treat.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Keoke,

I bought the HELP cap seal too. Found there is a slit in the top that should be sealed .. I used a dap of RTV gasket sealant. One problem I ran into and haven't heard anyone else mention is the overall dia. is too large for the cap. Maybe my cap is a little different but I will need to trim a bit around the edge to get it to fit flat inside the cap.

Cheers,
John
 
Re: more blaspheme

Hi John,
I had a little trouble initially getting the seal past the threads, but after that it did seat nicely.
 
Re: more blaspheme

Greg ... I bought a new cap because the original one had been mangled over the years (that's dern tight .. hand me those channel locks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif ). Tolerances must be different with the new cap (that's dern tight .. hand me the exacto knife /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

Cheers,
John
 
Re: more blaspheme

This has all been very interesting. Many years ago a mentor said "a difference that makes no difference is no difference" which has been of great value in my business career as I see so many people spending so much time and effort on things that have no or minimal effect on goal. So dire warning about brake lines--so far 40 year old cars not a hint of brake line weakness (visual inspec and manual manipulation) and brake performance excellent--I will replace 7 fluid soon (in for 10 years) and see if I notice difference in pedal feel. I use the system based on spare tire pressure to bleed, sometimes have to do mods to get one of caps in kit to fit/seal resevoir but otherwise works great (use about 15lbs in tire).
Jay Glass
Laguna Beach
 
Re: more blaspheme

Hi John,
Just a thought, I sometime use a drum sanding attachment on my Dremel to trim rubber bits.
 
Re: more blaspheme

Jay,

I'm glad your brake systems are in such good shape .. really! Unfortunately, mine had some corrosion in the master cylinders, wheel cylinders and calipers when I bought the car so it's not some urban myth that brake components can become compromised over time. Replacing the brake fluid every few years doesn't cost much and as you noted, is quickly done with a pressure bleeder (I use the same Eezibleed that you describe). To me it's like replacing antifreeze and falls into that category of 'preventative maintenance'. Not that you really need good brakes in Laguna Beach /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Cheers,
John
 
Re: more blaspheme

[ QUOTE ]
Hi John,
Just a thought, I sometime use a drum sanding attachment on my Dremel to trim rubber bits.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep the out side Diameter will require a bit of trimming John and as Greg indicated the dremel with a sanding drum makes short work of that. But this slit is first I have heard of,mine do not have a slit in them.??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif---Keoke
 
Re: more blaspheme

No slit in my cap either. Seems like it would defeat the whole purpose of the sealed system. I guess it would be a good thing to check though.

At first, I thought the seal was going to be too big in diameter also. After getting it into the cap & screwing the cap down tightly, the seal formed into the cap recesses & fit perfectly.
D
 
Re: more blaspheme

[ QUOTE ]
But this slit is first I have heard of,mine do not have a slit in them.??? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif---Keoke

[/ QUOTE ]

You can't see the slit unless you flex the material. It looks to be a slit cut in as a post-op as opposed to something molded in.

Cheers,
John
 
Back
Top