algae growing in wet fluid would make sense. Amazing some of the shit that will grow in. Ever see a diesel or heating oil tank that had algae growth? Its full of black slime that will plug your filters. Quite gross.
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Brake Fluid Quality and Changing
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86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley
91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry
1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal
Originally posted by phayzer5
I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers
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I’m starting to buy into the algae explanation. The jar on the right in the photo in post #11 above seemed fine enough, considering that whatever was in the ABS unit would’ve contaminated the fresh fluid. But, here’s a photo after doing a second suck-and-fill using the same jar:
And here’s the same jar after a third suck before another full change:
I was able to get a constant dripping this time around. I think the problem last time was having the end of the hose in the fluid in the collection jar, causing an air lock.
Instead of trying to eyeball the color when doing the recent full change, I decided to mark the collection jar and go by volume. On the third line, I realized I could do both by putting white cardboard behind the jar to clarify the color. A big drawback was that the tip of the hose has been dyed green, but I could still see the change. Here’s a photo of the collection jar beside the other jar:
I used a little over half a quart. I’m going to do another change soon to use up the other half and see what happens.
Incidentally, I didn’t bother with any pumping of the brakes this time around. It didn’t seem necessary.
On a side note, I had about 50mL of brake fluid leftover from the last suck and fill, and the container happened to get cracked, so I decided to leave it outside as an experiment to see how long it would take for the color to change. Unfortunately, the container ended up empty after being knocked over twice, though I hadn’t noticed any change after several weeks.Last edited by IPreferDIY; 11-07-2015, 11:43 PM.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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Having one plastic container and one metal container would be even better, but it's not something I'd go out of my way to try. Too lazy.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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I had planned on doing another brake fluid flush long ago, but that didn't happen. I finally did it last Friday (with year old fluid; yeah, I know), and it was still pretty bad (so even the year old stuff has to be better). I couldn't get a good indoor picture of the fluid tonight, but it was pretty much like in the jar on the right in post #11 above. There's no black or brown quality, but it's still quite green. I guess it will take quite a few flushes before it gets acceptably clear, and I'm planning on doing a couple more in the spring.
There might actually be a chance that the brakes are feeling a bit better, but I’ve only driven it once since that last flush.
The moral of the story is “Don’t neglect your brake fluid.”
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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Did another flush with fresh fluid while swapping out a leaky tire, touching up the oil spray, and changing the oil last Friday while it was a little above freezing. The jar with the black marks is from the latest flush while the other jar is from the prior flush. Using the light seemed the best way to get a good comparison. By the time I did the other photo without the light, condensation was forming on the jars since they'd been sitting outside. I'm figuring on doing three more flushes in the coming months before calling it good.
Last edited by IPreferDIY; 12-25-2016, 09:10 PM.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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Well, the frequency of the flushes hasn't been going as planned, but I have done a few, apparently in May and November 2017, and another just last week. Here's the latest photo:
The jars have been sitting on my porch, and I've lost track of what's what. I'm pretty sure the two on the right are the ones from the December 2016 photos. The two middle ones might have gotten flipped, though I was under the impression that the darker one did indeed come after the lighter one. I do know that the lighter one had initially been green, but after sitting a couple of months, it lightened up. I guess it had enough fresh fluid to have an effect over time. I've been relying on the ABS self-test 'grunt' to circulate the fluid through the ABS unit, so I'm wondering if maybe the darker one was the result of the ABS actually having been used.
The second from the left is from three lines during the latest flush, and the one on the left is the fourth line with lots of fresh fluid for the sake of finishing the bottle. What I started doing was dumping the fluid collected from a particular line into a second jar so that I know what I'm getting out of each line.
FWIW, the gravity bleed goes a lot better on the rears with the calipers removed (I was doing parking brakes) and just allowing it to drip from the bleeder without a hose. That brought the speed up to what I get from the fronts with a hose on the bleeder.Last edited by IPreferDIY; 07-12-2018, 01:43 PM.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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Has anyone tried one of these kits?:
(click to enlarge)
I'm guessing the "free shipping" part is a mistake, but it would be a great deal if a good one arrived even after waiting the roughly two months it would probably take to get here from China. It looks like the most frequent complaint in reviews is loss of vacuum, but that's probably something some zip ties could take care of.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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Originally posted by IPreferDIY View PostHas anyone tried one of these kits?:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]52139[/ATTACH]
(click to enlarge)
I'm guessing the "free shipping" part is a mistake, but it would be a great deal if a good one arrived even after waiting the roughly two months it would probably take to get here from China. It looks like the most frequent complaint in reviews is loss of vacuum, but that's probably something some zip ties could take care of.1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings
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I had some luck finding what seems to be the same model being used on YouTube. I'm not sure that holding a vacuum before cracking open the bleeder is all that necessary. If the pump is working right, it shouldn't be pushing out air before sucking it in. Here's a video showing someone who is apparently applying the vacuum only after the bleeder is cracked (at around 7:30 and 10:20; I myself would advise against using an adjustable wrench on the bleeders):
If I can get that much fluid out with the pump, that would be good enough for me. I would still allow some gravity bleed just to be sure no air got in, but speeding up the process would be great.
FWIW, here's a fellow who uses grease on the threads to reduce the amount of air getting sucked in through them (at around 5:10):
That would be too messy for me to bother doing.Last edited by IPreferDIY; 06-12-2019, 12:14 AM.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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Yes, you want a vacuum on it before cracking the bleeder so that no air is introduced at that moment. It's a just in case maneuver.
+1 no adjustable wrench. Use a box end.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
Originally posted by gadget73
... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
Originally posted by dmccaig
Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.
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long offset box wrench seems to work well, ideally a 6 point one so it won't round off the bleeder.86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley
91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry
1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal
Originally posted by phayzer5
I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers
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I use a 6-point socket for the initial cracking and final tightening. In that context, my basic wrench is good enough for the open/close part.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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From the WAYWO thread:
Originally posted by gadget73Vac pumps are also useful if you want to re-lube a porous bronze bushing. After cooking out the old oil, drop it in a jar of oil and pull vacuum until the air comes out of the bushing. Oil will take the place when vacuum is released. Small glass jars make good vacuum chambers. The metal lids can be drilled and a fitting epoxied in without any fuss.
2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM
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That's sort of how my bleeder kit came (now has been designated to just being a vacuum pump after being beat to crap). The hose went from the bleeder to the "output container" and then there was another hose attachment opposite to the input that you ran a hose to the vacuum pump. (unless I read that wrong... It's stupid late at night right now)
'78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)
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