So I've been turkey-basting my brake AND clutch fluid reservoirs for a few years now. I only bled them both with new fluid ONCE when I bought the car 4+ years ago.

So whenever I replace my clutch and brake fluid every few months, I only turkey baste out of the reservoirs and DO NOT bleed them, assuming that since I've been keeping the fluid clean and changing often, the miniscule old fluid in the lines/slave will just recirculate through the reservoir. Fact or fiction?

Question 1: Are my brake lines still full of the old dirty fluid that is a few years (months?) old, or does all of it eventually cycle back through the reservoir?

Question 2: An engineer friend of mine thought I was being a dumbass, so I'm curious how fast/slow the fluid in the actual lines cycles?

Thanks!

 

On the brakes some of the fluid will mix, but the fluid that is at the very end of the line won't mix as much and is best evacuated by bleeding, it will have more contaminants within it. On a street driven car with 5 years on it , I would say it is due for bleeding. Turkey basting is a good idea but it won't get rid of the contaminants that are in the lines where they meet the caliper, the heavier stuff will rest there.

You don't have to bleed the clutch slave unless you get air in the system. Turkey basting the reservoir on a regular basis is a good idea, the fluid does mix and contaminants from the cmc (mostly seal particles) will end up in the reservoir causing the dark deposits to settle there. Bleeding the clutch is pretty easy though, maybe consider it every 5-7 years just for peace of mind, though it isn't entirely needed. I don't think it is on Honda's maintenance schedule, they must assume it would be part of a clutch change procedure, which can be quite a long period of time.

 

I'm pretty anal about maintenance and doing things the right way if I'm aware of them, but I wouldn't bother with bleeding as long as I'm replacing the fluids in the reservoirs regularly (I do mine maybe twice a year). Yes there's "dirty" or "wet" fluid left behind but I don't think the difference matters because there's a lot more clean fluid to dilute the bad stuff.

 

Another vote for a proper brake and clutch bleed.

 

On all my cars,I bleed once and baster every time after that.I baster my brake & clutch fluid at every oil change( 5k).Never gets very dirty.

This clutch protocol applies to brakes as well.

\rlr
Carolina

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Clutch_Care.html

 

I don't baste at all. Full brake flush every year as I run dot 4 in it. Clutch gravity bleed every two years, or so.

Basting is ok, but I don't feel it's a replacement for a full system bleed. If you run dot 3 fluid, I would still do that every 3 years or so.

 

The thing is where you want clean fluid the most is the place getting contaminated the most and seeing the most heat ...and not bleeding it out is the least effective way to flush this. Sure turkey Baster is a great start to a bleed process since you will be limiting how much gunk is being bled through the system from a dirty reservoir

 

When you do decide to bleed show us some pictures of the junk that comes out of the calipers. The volume of brake fluid contained within the calipers, lines, M/C, and ABS stuff is far greater than that contained in the clutch hydraulics. On top of that there is much less mixing occurring in the system.

 

Short answer it works better for clutch than brakes. When changing pads I like to open the bleeder when retracting the piston. This gets rid of the crud pretty well. I change brakes every other year and bleed the system every time.

 

watch this video. i know people who have been doing this for years and never had a issue for the clutch


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBbsy0LjUvE