Doing some long overdue maintenance that often gets overlooked. This morning I exchanged my power steering fluid. It hasn't been exchanged in eleven years. Super easy to do, use the same method as my AT transmission fluid exchange (in how to section) except I use a 1 liter water bottle to collect the old fluid.

Below is a picture of the old fluid, and the new fluid. I simply use a paper coffee cup to measure what was taken out and what to put back in. Look at the color difference.

I will probably do this again in a week, and then a final time the following week, to ensure the maximum amount of old fluid is replaced.

Outstanding Mike.

Next thing you need to work on is the headlight fluid reservoir.

Actually just did the supercharger snout. Next will be the brake fluid, which I am dreading. Also with the brake fluid will be a stop rust coating on the brake lines under the hood. They are looking very tired, but i don't want to replace them. Hoping for two more years out of this Bonny. Attached are the pictures from the supercharger fluid exchange, and also show the corrosion on the brake lines.

like, damn.

i bet that smelled wonderful.

Turkey baster works good for the master cylinder.

And a syringe with a piece of aquarium tubing works well on the snout too.

Just finished flushing the brake lines. Took out super old DOT 3 and now has fresh DOT 4. One thing I learned, is that brake fluid collects moisture over time, and the moisture will eat at the steel brake pipe from the inside, while the salt eats at the outside.

Now only have to flush the coolant, will do that this summer and replace the heater and radiator hoses. It is good to get a lot of this done in one day, as I made quite a mess, but only have to clean up once.

Wow, that is a real difference in the fluid, I really need to do this myself, as I think my fluid is about as old as yours was, if not older, to my knowledge mine is the same fluid that has been in there since day 1, I did not know the importance of changing out the fluid before, it should have been common sense I guess, but when things don't seem to pose a problem many average owners overlook such things.

My brake lines are not as bad as those, but they could use a coating of some sort, I was considering using Rust-Oleum 7585838 Professional Cold Galvanizing Compound Spray Paint, what did you plan to coat yours with?

I thought about replacing my break fluid with Motul 3364HL Dot 5.1 100 Percent Synthetic Non-Silicone Base Long Life Brake Fluid, it is supposed to be compatible with Dot 3 & 4, but Dot 5 cannot be mixed with 3/4/5.1 since Dot 5 is silicone based, I may still go Dot 4 to save money, but I like that the Dot 5.1 has about a 40 degree Celsius difference in wet, and dry boiling points.

Thanks for sharing Michael, I'm sure this will get a few of us maintaining our fluid like we should.

William,

I have two products on the shelf to stop the rust, not sure which one I will use. Like you, I have the rustoleum brush on product, and also have a can of spray on CSP Corrosion Stop, from the makers of PB Blaster. I likely won't get to it till this summer, will let you know if either was a good choice.

I researched DOT 5.1 pretty extensively. It is a super product, but I did not go with it because it is not sold locally (have to mail order it), and if I run out during a flush, I would be stuck. It is pricey, so when I analyzed it, went with DOT 4 instead. If money and strong fluid wasn't a concern, DOT 5.1 would of been my choice. On my F-350 I may go with the DOT 5.1, as the brakes can get super hot towing or hauling. For my Bonny, the DOT 4 was fine. Another thing is, once a can of brake fluid is opened, anything unused is supposed to be thrown away, so any time you need to top off requires a new can (in theory).

Unless you were able to vacuum off the container. Then, in theory, the fluid would last forever if the vacuum held.

Mike, could you elaborate more on the difference between DOT 4 and DOT 5.1 for us? I could Google it, but since we are already talking about, I'm sure other members could benefit from the extra info.

Mike,


A few notes on DOT 5.1 brake fluid:

* It is not compatible in any way with DOT 5 brake fluid. AutoPart stores may stock DOT 5, which is sometimes required for certain motorcycles. Do not put DOT 5 in your car

From Wiki:
DOT 5.1 is one of several designations of automotive brake fluid, denoting a particular mixture of chemicals imparting specified ranges of boiling point.
A brake fluid'* dry boiling point is the temperature at which the pure fluid will boil. Wet boiling point concerns the boiling temperature when the fluid contains water.
In the United States, all brake fluids must meet Standard No. 116; Motor vehicle brake fluids[1]. Under this standard there are three Department of Transportation (DOT) minimal specifications for brake fluid. They are DOT 3, DOT 4 and DOT 5.1.
DOT 5.1, like DOT 3 and DOT 4, is a polyethylene glycol-based fluid (contrasted with DOT 5 which is silicone-based). Polyethylene glycol fluids are hygroscopic and will absorb water from the atmosphere, which is necessary to prevent sheer and undiluted water in the braking system, which is very corrosive, also water droplets can freeze in the pipes, thus blocking the system.
As of 2006, most cars produced in the U.*. use DOT 4 brake fluid.

Boiling points
Minimum boiling points for these specifications are as follows (wet boiling point defined as 3.7% water by volume):
Boiling point ranges [2]

Dry boiling point Wet boiling point
DOT 3 205 °C (401 °F) 140 °C (284 °F)
DOT 4 230 °C (446 °F) 155 °C (311 °F)
DOT 5 260 °C (500 °F) 180 °C (356 °F)
DOT 5.1 270 °C (518 °F) 190 °C (374 °F)