ABS Flush??

[volavet]

I am going to have my brake fluid changed. The speciality shop I am going to take it to says they flush the whole system to get every bit of fluid out and flush the ABS system clean, rather than the normal dealer simply draining the fluid. However, another shop told me that is a bad idea, and that you are asking for trouble flushing out the ABS system. Any comments or advice you can give me would be appreciated. I do not want to hose up the uber expensive ABS pump which went on my VW and cost $1800 for the part alone.

Thanks.

 

[Vettelt193]

I am going to have my brake fluid changed. The speciality shop I am going to take it to says they flush the whole system to get every bit of fluid out and flush the ABS system clean, rather than the normal dealer simply draining the fluid. However, another shop told me that is a bad idea, and that you are asking for trouble flushing out the ABS system. Any comments or advice you can give me would be appreciated. I do not want to hose up the uber expensive ABS pump which went on my VW and cost $1800 for the part alone.

Thanks.

Did they say how they do it?

It sounds like it could cause more problems than just the 'standard' flush you can do yourself with basic tools.

 

[Rich96c4ce]

The shop manual for '96's says that the whole system should be flushed and that a GM scan tool is needed to cycle the ABS pump to get the new fluid into it while putting in the new fluid. When I got my CE a few years ago at 108K miles, I had that done and it has worked fine since.

 

[volavet]

Thanks for the reply. I told them to go ahead and do the flush. They have the GM tool and do the process you described so I am confident that they know what they are doing. Especially since I had the dealer drain the fluid 2 months ago, and within a 1000 or so, the fluid was dark brown again.

 

[c4cruiser]

My dealer did not recommend a specific ABS bleeding procedure when I had them do a fluid flush for a track day as I didn't have time to do it myself. The ABS unit does a self-test everytime the car is started and moves forward at about 2-4MPH (that's the buzz you hear). Eventually the fluid in the pump itself will recirculate through the M/C.

A GM Tech-II with the brake module is necessary to operate the ABS pump. When I had the flush done, the new fluid stayed clear in the M/C reservoir and after 2 years, it's still clear. IF the new fluid turned dark quickly, it's probably due to junk in the reservoir that was not cleaned out when the oild fluid was sucked out before the start of the flush procedure.

A complete flush should use about a quart of fluid.

 

[volavet]

Appreciate the advice from all of you. I hate dealers and have never had a positive experience with them for any car Ive owned, let alone my pride and joy, whch none of them seem to really have expertise in, more trial and error. They obvioulsy hosed me on the brake flush, becuase I put, at most, 100 miles or less on it before the fluid turned back to the old brown. I didnt check it for several months, or I would have taken it back to complain, but they would not have just offered to re-do it. My mech. is a corvette specialist and explained the whole procedure and did not seem to think there was any risk if done properly. He actually stated that this is procedure is actually the only proper way to effectively flush the entire system and have all areas filled with new, clean fluid. I appreciate all the comments though.

 

[wx briefer]

I have used my $300 'pheonix' injector system (don't waste your money), the old pump up the pedal using a buddy's assist, gravity by letting the fluid drip for an hour or so and finally, today, I used a pressurized container fitted to the master cylinder cap. I have seen THE LIGHT! Use the pressurized method. The Z's pedal has never felt so firm or positive. Just don't let the fluid reservoir run dry and you will be OK, forget the ABS module purge.