[bobdotorg]

Along with new pads and rotors, I'm flushing my brake fluid next week. I did a quick search (glad I did - didn't know to avoid DOT5, but DOT 4 and 5.1 are OK) and only found reference to capacity once (about 2 liters).

Does anyone know, definitively, how much I'll need?

Also, any tips on doing this, or potential snags I might run into?

Thanks,

Bob

 

[earthworm]

Several liter, if you do not mind some left over.

The snags will be the possible rusted in place bleeders.
Use some quality penetrating oil a hour or more before-hand..

Place a two by four under the pedal to prevent cylinder damage, if you use the old(traditional) method.

I use a time consuming gravity method now - open the bleeder and walk away.. a one man job..Takes an hour or more...
Power bleeders are much faster, but another expense.

 

[PMI]

My '96 SET took about 1.5 quarts, with some fluid wasted to make sure the rear brakes were flushed. To do a decent job, you have to waste some to make sure all the old stuff is out.

I used a little PB Blaster on the bleed screws a couple days before, and they loosened right up. The three original bleed screws on my car took a 9-mm flare nut wrench. Work right wheel to left, front to back (from shortest to longest brake line).

The rear calipers are dual piston, so more complex inside, and for best results you have to tap them with a wrench or screwdriver to loosen any bubbles (don't hit the bleed screw). Siphon out whatever is in the reservoir, then fill it up with fresh fluid first, so the old fluid that absorbed moisture from the air does not get needlessly pumped through the system.

Get some replacement caps for the rear bleed screws unless they look really nice and tight (I forgot this last time).

 

[GaryG]

If you go with the DOT4 fluid, you should bleed the lines more frequently than DOT3. DOT4 starts out with a higher boiling point than DOT3 but over time, absorbs water faster and eventually has a lower b.p. If you flush every year or two with DOT4 you maintain the higher performance. I'm not sure about the 5.1 fluid characteristics.

When I do my fluid change, one liter usually works, but you never know if you will need more should something go wrong. I don't like to buy big containiers of brake fluid because they absorb water after being opened, even if you re-close them tightly.

 

[PMI]

When I do my fluid change, one liter usually works, but you never know if you will need more should something go wrong. I don't like to buy big containiers of brake fluid because they absorb water after being opened, even if you re-close them tightly.

That is a good point, keeping a half-bottle of brake fluid on the shelf for a year is worthless. In the past I think I used only about a quart. This time the fluid came out pretty cloudy on one side, so I continued to flush until it looked clean. I suppose we still do not know how much the system holds, just how much we use up flushing it...