Thread: D3 Brake/Clutch fluid flush

Originally Posted by PeterOZ

Most difficult part will be getting somebody to come over to lend a foot!

What brake fluid does the stealer have this it is considered to be "the precious" ?

If you have a clear tube and a bottle with spare fluid in it - bleed the brakes yourself. I also live on my own and have to do things by myself - makes you more inventive on how to deal with things and plan ahead - especially if you only have one vehicle.

i do my own brakes and when looking for the correct brake fluid it was simply cheaper to buy the LR branded product from the dealer. For sure you might get the fluid cheaper from Supercheap or the Shell garage when it is on special but the every day price was certainly cheaper for 1 litre bottles the last time I bought at the dealer.

1-2 m of hose and a glass jar with a lid is all you need for one man bleeding. Put a hole in the lid so the hose is tight and place it as high as possible, open the nipple and pump til the bubbles stop. Tighten nipple and move to the next one.

Originally Posted by garrycol

If you have a clear tube and a bottle with spare fluid in it - bleed the brakes yourself. I also live on my own and have to do things by myself - makes you more inventive on how to deal with things and plan ahead - especially if you only have one vehicle.

i do my own brakes and when looking for the correct brake fluid it was simply cheaper to buy the LR branded product from the dealer. For sure you might get the fluid cheaper from Supercheap or the Shell garage when it is on special but the every day price was certainly cheaper for 1 litre bottles the last time I bought at the dealer.

Ive done that before using a lump of wood wedged on brake pedal once I had it pumped up. Far easier if you can coax a mate over with offers of coffee or beer. In his case Sav Blanc as he is a kiwi.

Got clear tube and a old milk container.

Yes anything is easier if you have a mate over (though sometimes a hindrance) but is not absolutely needed.

Originally Posted by garrycol

Yes anything is easier if you have a mate over (though sometimes a hindrance) but is not absolutely needed.

Hi Garry,
Did you do this with the car running? 2010 RRS. Or just with ignition on?
Cheers

Right, so I finally got around to doing this flush today. At the risk of proving I'm a muppet, I'm going to detail my "lessons learned" in the hope that it saves another muppet in the future.

I used the "dry motive" method, but used the motive adapter on the end of a compressed air regulator set to 20psi instead of the pump up bottle.

Firstly. When I had my indie do a full set of fluids (nearly 2 years ago now) I asked about the brakes. Their reply was they test the fluid and only replace it if it needs replacing and ours didn't. Remember that for later.

Lesson 1 : Need bigger jack stands. Mine were at full extension on the chassis and I still needed an extra 3 inches from the jack on one side to get all 4 wheels off the ground.
Lesson 2 : A D3 is heavy. I know that, but the difference between knowing and feeling is something else. I don't want to be underneath it on stands with the wheels off. It's scary. Maybe I'll buy 8.
Lesson 3 : Landrover wheel lugs laugh at my 1/2" pneumatic rattle gun (the one I used to call the "bolt snapper"). It loosened 2 out of 20. The rest needed a 2ft breaker bar and enough manpower to ensure I'll be sore tomorrow.
Lesson 4 : Landrover wheels are a bit heavier than the 15" alloys I'm used to throwing around.
Lesson 5 : The D3 master cylinder reservoir holds a *lot* of fluid.
Lesson 6 : I need a bigger torque wrench to properly tighten the lugs.

As I couldn't seem to remove the filter and the reservoir is partitioned I drained as much fluid as I could via vacuum in the reservoir, then *through* the system and out the wheel cylinders until it was as empty as I was game to make it on each partition. I didn't do the clutch as there was no way I was getting under that thing on my flimsy stands + jack with the wheels off. I needed a set of steps to reach the M/C as it was!

So that fluid I was told was ok? In the reservoir it was a kinda darker "I've been there a while" colour I'm used to from old fluid. From the rear calipers it was more like "2 year old Volvo transmission fluid" and from the front calipers it was somewhat akin to "4 year old diesel oil". I've *never* seen brake fluid in that state. It was *foul*.

So. 500ml of Penrite ESP in the reservoir and 20psi behind it. Pull a bit from all 4 calipers in sequence until it's looking fresher. Repeat with another 500ml and it looks even better, and then a final 500ml to top up and bleed out from the furthest points to drop the level to "max". I didn't do the ABS cycle as frankly after doing the brakes on a Golf, then the flush on the D3 I was knackered. Plus it was hot, and I could hear a cold beer calling.

I will say with such a large reservoir, using the dry pressure method really makes sense. Having said that, not having to pump up the motive and just turn the valve to apply pressure and pop the connector to release it make it a shedload easier.

Next time I'm under the car I'll do the clutch. I imagine given its location and proximity to heat it'll be somewhere between the rear and front calipers in condition. Probably not nice.

So :
- Crack the lugs while it's on the ground. Trying to chock the wheels to do it in the air isn't fun.
- Use the right sized axle stands.
- Ignore anyone who says brake fluid only needs flushing when it fails a test (I knew that anyway bit I wanted to reinforce it) as while the fluid in the reservoir might be fine, it certainly won't be pretty in the cylinders.
- And finally, pay someone with the right tools to make it look easy (or have a radox bath and a packet of Voltaren on standby).

Oh, and VW Golf screw-in rear caliper pistons are the work of the devil.

any hints on the special air adaptor you fitted to the motive?

Don't blame you not wanting to get under the D3, I'm paranoid about it. I put the wheels back under so at least you have that width in case of something going pear shaped.

I'll probably flush mine over the Christmas break but will depend on how my sore back is coping.

Originally Posted by PeterOZ

any hints on the special air adaptor you fitted to the motive?

Yeah. The motive has a brass coupling between the bottle and the adapter. The adapter has a 1/4" NPT female on it and given the similarity between NPT and BSP below 3/8" a standard 1/4" male quick coupler screwed straight in with a bit of tape. I'll get a photo tonight to make it clear.