flushing brake system

[richroberts 0]

After just getting my rado, i first noticed the brakes were awful. Took it to a garage and they said something had been put in the brake fluid, they thought power steering fluid. They said its a write off. Is there no way of flushing the brake system to remove what ever it was? they quoted for brake lines, servo, calipers, pads etc. Whats the minimum cost i would be looking at?

[steveo29 0]

sounds a bit strong ...surley its worth £15 and run a gallon of fluid through it and see how it improves

[VR6 South 0]

It sounds suspect to me. I would deffo go some where else for a second opinion.

[richroberts 0]

are kwik fit any good? i want a big company so they dont screw me over! i love this car but wouldnt get another corrado so want to fix this one really! Just had all the electrics sorted aswell!

[Toad 0]

are kwik fit any good? i want a big company so they dont screw me over! i love this car but wouldnt get another corrado so want to fix this one really! Just had all the electrics sorted aswell!

 

Think they are ok for the average person, I wouldn't be in a hurry to use them though. Where are you? There might eb a good specialist nearby that someone could recommend.

[richroberts 0]

in worcester, west midlands. I cant really drive it though to be honest. Theres an ati place think they specialise in brakes, tyres and exhausts.

[plateletboy 0]

are kwik fit any good? i want a big company so they dont screw me over!

 

Ha HA HA HA HA HA Ha HA HA HA HA HA Ha HA HA HA HA HA

Ha HA HA HA HA HA Ha HA HA HA HA HA Ha HA HA HA HA HA

 

please don't take it to kwik fit.... they try and do ANYTHING to increase their profit margins on any job

 

pb

[coolrado 0]

what colour is the contaminant in the brake fluid?

if it isnt a strange colour it could just be moisture as that will cause spongey brakes.

unless some of the seals are leaking there is no reason you cant just flush the old crap out of the system, just get a 5 litre trade tub of cheap brake fluid and run equal amounts through each caliper, then get a decent quality fluid, and flush a small amount of that through and it should be fine, DOT 5 seems to be the more popular choice as its not meant to absorb moisture as much as DOT 4.

 

Oh and like he said^^^^ i would steer clear of kwikfit, they will use any excuse to rob you blind for unrequired work, i took the company van to them for two new tires and they told me it needed new front brake disks and pads and they could supply and fit them for £200, which i thought was quite odd considering they had been replaced 3 days earlier during its service. :?

[steveo29 0]

any garage should be able to bleed a gallon of fluid though it for cheap

 

or get a easy bleeder and try it yourself

 

if it really is contaminated , and the flushing yields a improvement i think i would flush it again after a month to be sure its all ship shape

[davidwort 0]

woah, hang on, he's breaking it already, can't cost that much fix with s/hand bits, shame to sell for parts.

[coolrado 0]

woah, hang on, he's breaking it already, can't cost that much fix with s/hand bits, shame to sell for parts.

shouldnt cost anything in parts, even if it is power steering fluid the seals in the brake system shouldn't be effected by it should they?

[davidwort 0]

I wouldn't have thought so, but we don't really know what's up with it.

Was it just a scary bill from garage for 4 new calipers, a master cylinder and all the labour that did it???

[richroberts 0]

ha ha, im flushing the system over the weekend and if i have no luck its breaking time! i was just puttin the advert up in advance! where can i get the brake fluid from cheaply other than halfrauds? And also, how do i flush the system, where the best place to flush from?

[davidwort 0]

ha ha, im flushing the system over the weekend and if i have no luck its breaking time! i was just puttin the advert up in advance! where can i get the brake fluid from cheaply other than halfrauds? And also, how do i flush the system, where the best place to flush from?

 

I'd siphon it out of the reservoir first, but don't suck on a hose, use a pump action liquid soap dispenser top or similar rather than getting a mouthful of brake fluid!

 

then fill the reservoir up and open each bleed pt in turn, including the clutch slave circuit, topping up the reservoir when your drained a 50-100 mil or so from each point, GSF or ECP will do fluid probably less than halfords.

[davidwort 0]

ha ha, im flushing the system over the weekend and if i have no luck its breaking time! i was just puttin the advert up in advance! where can i get the brake fluid from cheaply other than halfrauds? And also, how do i flush the system, where the best place to flush from?

 

I'd siphon it out of the reservoir first, but don't suck on a hose, use a pump action liquid soap dispenser top or similar rather than getting a mouthful of brake fluid!

 

then fill the reservoir up and open each bleed pt in turn, including the clutch slave circuit, topping up the reservoir when you've drained a 50-100 mil or so from each point, GSF or ECP will do fluid probably less than halfords.

 

if you spill any fluid anywhere wash it away with plenty of water quick

[richroberts 0]

well i got it back today. What ever is in there is starting to eat away at the seals! can i put water through the system or not? i need to make sure its all out so it doesnt get contaminated again!

[Skimask 0]

Water is the worst liquid you could put in your system. It's like trying to put a fire out by throwing a gallon of petrol on to the flames.

[richroberts 0]

so how do i flush it?i need to make sure all the residue has gone completly as it might react again!

[steveo29 0]

id just roar loads of brake fluid through it

[yeti 0]

if you know of a friend with a halfords trade card, the 5.1 goes from £10 down to £2.90 so it makes flushing the system out a very cheap if time consuming process, where abouts are you based?

[richroberts 0]

its too late now, car is being broken which is ashame as its one less on the road! But i need a reliable car and this is just to much work and probable expense to fix.

[Critical_Mass 10]

its too late now, car is being broken which is ashame as its one less on the road! But i need a reliable car and this is just to much work and probable expense to fix.

 

 

Seems a bit extreme for the sake of 2-3 litres of brake fluid and some seals.

[Jim 2]

But i need a reliable car and this is just to much work and probable expense to fix.

 

To be fair, if you wanted a reliable car, the Corrado was a bad choice! Its not like they break down a lot, but little jobs like this are standard fayre on most Corrado's now as they're just of that age! I've done so many little £50-£100 here and there jobs on my car now i've lost count!

[richroberts 0]

Its not a bit of flushing and some new seals. Its all new seals, calipers, pads and very likely pipes aswell. Dont really call it a small £50-£100 job either. The work to be carried out was over £500 from two different garages and that was if the pipes were ok. I could do it myself but cant be without a car.

[vwdeviant 0]

Its not a bit of flushing and some new seals. Its all new seals, calipers, pads and very likely pipes aswell. Dont really call it a small £50-£100 job either. The work to be carried out was over £500 from two different garages and that was if the pipes were ok. I could do it myself but cant be without a car.

 

 

So another early Rado bites the dust.. and not a single accident damaged panel in sight.. :(

 

Rich sorry to say but breaking a perfectly good Rado that some-one else could have put right is the wrong decision mate...

 

I hope this doesn't put you off owning a good one in the future...

 

BTW friend of mine had water replace her Brake fluid by some W@nker mechanic and even after a while we managed to get off with replacing just the master cylinder.. Personally I think the garages were pulling your plonker... But you live and learn.