Super Blue

Well In preparation for the Wake The Dragon S2KI meet coming up, I went ahead and changed my brake fluid. My old fluid was dirty, so I had picked up a liter of ATE Super Blue Dot 4. When fluid shopping remember you can go up in DOT from 3-4 (DOT 3 and 4 also mix), and so on but to go from a 5.1 to a 4 will require draining and cleaning. So why go from a 3 to a 4. DOT 4 has a higher boiling point, and attracts less moisture. However moisture has more of an effect of 4 than it does on 3. Brake fluid attracts moisture, so the longer it's in your car, the more water builds up in the fluid, the more water you have the more decrease in boiling point. This is where the "My brakes quit working" comes from. Something got the brakes hot, then in turn, boiled the fluid because of the lowered boiling point and the brake pedal went to the floor. It's a good idea to change your fluid often throughout the year, some people will recommend every time you change brakes or open the brake system up. I normally just stick to a few times a year (to prevent corrosion) or when its looks discolored. Now lets move on the ATE Super Blue fluid. It's blue and they also sell a brown color so that when you change fluid you can change colors, so that you are always able to tell when all the old fluid is out. ATE is also not expensive $12.00-$15.00 for a liter and it will be plenty. Lets get into the process of doing this, it's very easy. It could be easier with a bleeder pump that pressurizes the system but I don't have one.  any way took about 15 minutes start to finish.

Tools required are a 

10mm box wrench 

10mm deep well 

Ratchet

Clear tube bleeder valve

Bottle for old fluid

Clean Funnel

Jack 

4 Jack Stands

Start off buy jacking the car up and placing it on 4 jack stands and remove all the wheels. Start at the right rear, the furthest from the reservoir. Something I normally do is use the 10mm socket to just crack the bleeder port because I don't like to break these. After I initially crack them the wrench works good. You may also have a dust boot over the cap you can just pull it off by hand. As you can see I customized an empty bottle of transmission fluid and stock the hose in that to catch the old fluid. Now place the box end wrench on the bleeder point, attach the clear hose over the port and then loosen the bleeder with the wrench a quarter turn. That way you can easily tighten it back up. Now with the bleeder, open fluid will start to move out, have a person sit in the car and pump the pedal, stopping from time to time, close the bleeder and add new fluid to the reservoir,  once you start to see blue fluid or clean fluid come through the tube, close the bleeder, top the reservoir off and continue to the rest. Make sure not to pump the brake pedal with the Reservoir Cap removed, now continue to the Left Rear, Front Right and Front Left. Once I have blue or clean fluid at all four corners, I have the person pumping the pedal pump it ten times and hold it to the floor, then I hook my tube up to the bleeder and crack it if I see no air bubbles, I close it and move on to the next, if I do, then I close the bleeder, pump the pedal hold the bleeder open and repeat the process. Also if you are using a dual piston caliper I always do the outside bleeder valve first and then the inside. And the last bit to add when you start to drive the car be cautious at first, incase the brakes have air in them. 

You should have a ton of fluid left over so before you lower the car its a good idea to change the fluid for clutch, that happens to use brake fluid. The reasons to change this are the same as before. This is also very easy. 

Tools Needed 

Funnel 

8mm box end wrench

Drain Pan

Under the car on the left side of the transmission you will find the clutch slave cylinder, atop of it on the side you will see a familiar bleeder valve, but it requires a 8mm wrench this time. I am never patient enough to try to get a clear hose to fit on the bleeder valve so I will just put a drain pain under it and let it go where it goes, then clean it up afterwards. So the steps are the same, open the bleeder port have a person pump the pedal, close the bleeder port, add fluid and repeat until you see the blue or clean fluid come out. Once you have done this you can bleed the slave cylinder, by having the person pump the clutch ten times hold the pedal down, open the bleeder port, and then close it. If you see air repeat the process until its all gone.

Remember that the feel of the brakes will be tough to truely judge until you have the vacuum from the engine running, going to your brake booster and car on the ground rolling. Also some good upgrades prior to doing this would be stainless steel braided brake lines and and stainless steal braided clutch line, and of coarse some Mugen reservoir covers in case the system ever boils.  One last thing I like to do is take a paint pen and write the milage and date of the fluid change on the brake reservoir, you will be able to scratch it off with your finger nail when you replace is next time.