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Showerthought: my brake pedal firmed up after I swapped 3 year old fluid, and I owe my buddy a pizza
My buddy kept telling me my brake pedal felt soft on his 2012 Civic, so we flushed the old dark fluid out at his place in Mesa. The pedal went from sinking about an inch to rock hard in maybe 20 minutes of pumping and bleeding. I figured brake fluid was a lifetime thing, but it soaks up water and that water boils when things get hot. Anyone else notice the pedal change right after a flush, or did I just get lucky with the bleed?
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blake8292d ago
I read somewhere that brake fluid has to get changed way more often than people think, like every two or three years no matter how many miles you put on. It pulls moisture right out of the air through the rubber lines, and once it's in there it drops the boiling point a lot. So when your brakes heat up the water turns to steam and you get that spongy pedal because gas squishes where fluid won't. A flush pushes all that junk out and puts fresh fluid in, which is why your pedal came back so firm. The water also eats the lines and calipers from the inside over time, so it's not just about feel. Your buddy was right and that pizza sounds like money well spent.
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