Should the brake fluid in a Ranger or any car for that fact ever need to be changed? I have 146.000 on my 93 and never been done i know cause im the orig. owner.Someone said that they did not think that it neede changing. If it does need changin how hard is it and what do i need to do????????????

 

As long as the moisture stays out, no it's fine to leave it untouched. If it gets contaminated at all however, a flush is always good for it.

When I did my brakes I used a turkey baster to suck all the fluid out of the master cylinder then replaced it with fresh fluid...hardly a flush, but at least got some new stuff in there.

 

I think this link will answer your question.
http://www.aa1car.com/library/bfluid.htm

 

From posts I've seen here and other places, this question always seems to open a can of worms. My experience on brake fluid is a long story, but I'll just say given the age of your truck, I'd definitely change/flush all the fluid.

One arguement is that by changing the fluid you will stir up contaminants and create a problem where there wasn't one before. To me that's sort-of like the arguement to never change the tranny fluid...however, by not doing it only delays the failure until a critical time when you really need it.

 

I always change my fluid at every brake job.Clean fluid is better on seals. I see alot of brake problems on older vehicals due to bad,broken down fluid.Just suck out the old in the master cyl.with a syring or turkey baster and replace with new.

 

Every 2-3 years 36k or so. I did my wife's Escape at 2 years 45k and the difference is night and day. I did the full flush with Valvoline Dot 4 though so the main difference could of been the fluid. The main difference is pedal feel, takes alot less to stop.

 

So all i do is drain whats in the master cylinder and replace with new, what about the stuff thats in the lines does it need to be drained as well or is the latter good nuff?

 

Yes you need to bleed each wheel till you have new fluid coming out them, but remember to keep topping off your master cylinder to keep it from running dry & getting air into the system....


*Always start with the wheel cylinder furthers from master cylinder...
RR - LR - RF - LF

 

You can remove most of the old fluid from the brake master cylinder, with a turkey baster. Then fill the brake master cylinder with the specified new fluid. Then bleed the wheel cylinders, until the fluid coming out is clean & clear. Be sure to keep a close watch on the master cylinder's fluid level. DON'T let it get low & suck air into the system.

You can get a one man bleeder at your favorite autoparts store, that'll make it easier, if your doing it alone.

Begin wih the RR, LR, RF then LF.

Let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks 4 all the great info. I will try to do this on the weekend and ill keep yall posted.

 

I've always had a brake fluid flush done on my vehicles every 45,000 miles.

 

As a technician, I see some pretty crazy stuff on vehicles, especially when it comes to brakes. You would not believe how nasty the fluid is on some of these hydraulic components due to gross fluid negligence.

Now I'm not saying you need to change your fluid every oil changes or anything.. but I think every 45,000 to 60,000 miles is a pretty safe interval. Also if you ever develop a fluid leak or leave the cap off.. or anything else that exposes the fluid "to the elements" it should be changed as well.

Almost every time I find a frozen caliper or wheel cylinder, once I open the bleeder pure JUNK comes dripping out of there.. usually it's trapped fluid in the component that has never had the chance to.. renew itself. Sometimes it's so bad that it comes out very thick and black or brown (and in a few extreme cases - orange) in color due to eating out the insides of these components.

It's not the fluid itself that causes this, but trapped moisture in the fluid. Brake fluid is designed to absorb a certain amount of moisture... to prevent it from causing rust inside these components.. and also to prevent boiling of the fluid, which causes air pockets and can lead to a mass failure of braking. The problem is that over time the fluid get saturated and cannot hold any more moisture, and that's when the problems start.

Ford is pretty good about sealing up their brake systems (as opposed to some imports that are just horrible about allowing moisture into the system) so obviously the fluid tends to last a lot longer than other makes.. but still.. think of it as cheap insurance.

Whenever a hydraulic component is changed out, the fluid should be flushed. It's not difficult to do the trick is just simply do not let the master cylinder run dry.

Easiest way to do it is to suck all the fluid out of the resevoir, and then fill it with brand new, fresh fluid. Then starting with the RR, open the bleeder and just allow it to drip until the fluid comes out clear... then the LR, then the RF, then the LF. Yes there may be some fluid trapped in the ABS components that will not get flushed, but this fluid is safely sealed away and shouldn't cause any problems unless the system has been run dry.

You have two options to bleed the ABS system... either using a compatible scan tool, tell it to activate the ABS pump and then bleed the system, or go find a gravel road and have fun with it.. then bleed it all again, however again if you regularly maintain your fluid, this shouldn't be a problem.

Another option.. if you choose to go this route, is to simply suck out the fluid from the resevoir and to fill it with fresh new fluid. Just keep in mind this only replaces a portion of the total fluid capacity so if you do it this way you should service the fluid more frequently.. I would say.. every 10 - 15,000 miles.

There are also test strips available to test the moisture content of the fluid.

good luck

 

Yes, I'd never seen those test strips before, but when I had tires put on, they did a complimentary check-out on my truck and taped the strip showing moisture content to my tire invoice. I was impressed.