Z06Vette.com - Corvette Z06 Forum

pmontelo · 07-12-2002, 07:33 AM

My new Ate Typ 200 Brake Fluid came the other day

I did a partial brake and clutch fluid change with my vacuum extractor and took some pics to share.

I wouldn't recommend vacuum extracting (a partial fluid exchange) over bleeding the brakes. I wanted to get some new fluid in there before it started getting real nasty and didn't have the time to bleed. My brake pedal is still nice and firm.

My car had 5,943 miles on it at the time of the change.

The clutch:

Old Clutch Fluid

Squeaky Clean Reservoir after wipe down with a paper towel. It hold's a whopping 2oz of fluid!!! I'm going to change this much more frequently now!

New Clutch Fluid

The brakes:

Old Brake Fluid

Empty Reservoir, you can exchange around 12oz of brake fluid at a time this way.

Terry S · 07-12-2002, 07:55 AM

I haven't gotten under the car to look yet but I believe I read where the clutch fluid may be affected by heat from the exhaust.

If so is it possible to get to the line that goes from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder and put a heat resistant sleeve over it?

Would this help the clutch fluid contamination?

pmontelo · 07-12-2002, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by terry schulze
I haven't gotten under the car to look yet but I believe I read where the clutch fluid may be affected by heat from the exhaust.

If so is it possible to get to the line that goes from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder and put a heat resistant sleeve over it?

Would this help the clutch fluid contamination?

Terry I think that makes sense. It would be worth checking out. From what I understand it's a major pain to get near the slave cylinder to bleed the clutch.

I think a big part of the heat problem is that the clutch reservoir is just so damn small, it literally only holds a shotglass of fluid. It would be nice if a larger reservoir was available.

VettTheRipper · 07-12-2002, 08:55 AM

Partial fluid exchanges can keep your fluid very clean if done often enough. I do my clutch once a month and brakes every 3 months. Heat is a huge issue with the clutch and shielding the lines is next on my list of things to do.

pmontelo · 07-12-2002, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by VettTheRipper
Partial fluid exchanges can keep your fluid very clean if done often enough. I do my clutch once a month and brakes every 3 months. Heat is a huge issue with the clutch and shielding the lines is next on my list of things to do.

Ripper,

I agree; Since I don't road race and really heat up the brake system, I'm not planning to bleed frequently, but I will exchange the fluid more frequently.

1 month and 3 months sound like a pretty good intervals. I think I'll try that out. I used a little less than a half a liter of fluid ($5 worth) and ten minutes of my time isn't bad.

I plan to swap my clutch fluid one more time tonight when I get home after it has mixed with the remaining old nasty stuff in the system.

MXRACER · 07-12-2002, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by terry schulze
I haven't gotten under the car to look yet but I believe I read where the clutch fluid may be affected by heat from the exhaust.

If so is it possible to get to the line that goes from the clutch master cylinder to the slave cylinder and put a heat resistant sleeve over it?

Would this help the clutch fluid contamination?

Terry, I hope that Thermo Sleeve will help it. I have a SPEC Stage III clutch being installed with a new steel Master and Slave. On the line from the Master to the Slave I am having the mechanic install Thermo Sleeve from Summit Racing.

I also have him putting in Castrol SRF brake fluid. I am using this because it has a DBP of 590 and a WBP of 518. Also it is not a synthetic. I was told by Dave at SPEC Clutches that you should not use synthetic fluids.

Man that Castrol is expensive.

I will keep you up to date on how the fluid holds out.

CrazedZ06 · 07-12-2002, 10:26 AM

I think the Castrol fluid is corrosive to some of the metal used in the brake system...

Not sure but check it out to play it safe...

gmblack3 · 07-12-2002, 10:55 AM

If you look at this link you will see where the clutch bleed screw and lines are located:

http://97vette.com/howto/clutchbleed/index.html

They are above the Driveline Tunnel Closeout Panel and the exhaust sits right below the panel. I'm sure it gets very warm in this area.

Here is the bottom of Woosch's clutch reservoir after 16K miles:

Born_Again · 07-12-2002, 11:23 AM

Great thread!

I've got about 7,000 miles on my Z, and my clutch resevoir is starting to look pretty grungy.

How are you guys cleaning the resevoirs (what is the process)?

ZO6/Les · 07-12-2002, 11:48 AM

I went to WalMart - housewares isle and got a small turkey baster - works like a champ. I get all the fluid out that I can see and clean up with a paper towel (being careful not to leave any stuff behind), then top off in my case with Vavoline Synthetic (exceeds DOT 3 and 4, fairly high dry and wet boiling point). My plan is to do the clutch resevoir every month and the brakes every other month. Cheap insurance IMO.

Les

Quote:

Originally posted by Born_Again
Great thread!

I've got about 7,000 miles on my Z, and my clutch resevoir is starting to look pretty grungy.

How are you guys cleaning the resevoirs (what is the process)?

woosch · 07-12-2002, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZO6/Les
I went to WalMart - housewares isle and got a small turkey baster - works like a champ. I get all the fluid out that I can see and clean up with a paper towel (being careful not to leave any stuff behind), then top off in my case with Vavoline Synthetic (exceeds DOT 3 and 4, fairly high dry and wet boiling point). My plan is to do the clutch resevoir every month and the brakes every other month. Cheap insurance IMO.

Les

We "borrowed" gmblack3's wifes baster...

She didn't want it back after we finished

The actual bleeding of the clutch was a pain in the a$$, unless you have a good friend willing to crawl around under your car to help

You have to take the exhaust system off and remove like 40 screws and panel to get at the bleeder screw. Then you need to be a contortionist to get to the screw.

Chris

ZO6/Les · 07-12-2002, 12:19 PM

Chris,

I would have used my wife's but it was a BIG baster, the small one worked better for me

Hope to meet you next Friday for the Avanti run.

Les

Quote:

Originally posted by woosch

We "borrowed" gmblack3's wifes baster...
She didn't want it back after we finished

The actual bleeding of the clutch was a pain in the a$$, unless you have a good friend willing to crawl around under your car to help
You have to take the exhaust system off and remove like 40 screws and panel to get at the bleeder screw. Then you need to be a contortionist to get to the screw.

Chris

Born_Again · 07-12-2002, 12:27 PM

Thanks for the info . . . this weekend we'll do it.

woosch · 07-12-2002, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZO6/Les
Chris,

I would have used my wife's but it was a BIG baster, the small one worked better for me

Hope to meet you next Friday for the Avanti run.

Les

I think the one we used was kind of medium, worked ok. Had to get your finger over the end to hold the fluid in.

Yes I'll be at the tour, last time I talked with Manatee we were talking about going together so I may not drive my beast. We'll see. Have to talk to him about a meeting place and get that posted.

pmontelo · 07-12-2002, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Born_Again
Great thread!

I've got about 7,000 miles on my Z, and my clutch resevoir is starting to look pretty grungy.

How are you guys cleaning the resevoirs (what is the process)?

My brake reservoir was nice and clean. The clutch was a mess.

You can use a turkey baster or just suck the fluid up with a bunch of paper towels (less kind to the environment).

I have a Tempo Oil Boy fluid extractor (you can get them from www.BoatersWorld.com) and I have my son pump it while I vacuum out the reservoirs. It gets 99% of the gunk out of the clutch reservoir (the bottom was clean even before the paper towel). Note: I don't try to vacuum out the fluid in the middle "nipple" of the reservoir because I don't want to get any air in the system.

Then I use a paper towel or two to wipe the remaining slime out, mostly off the sides of the reservoir. You do need to be extra careful when you wipe the bottom of the clutch reservoir because the center nipple has 4 slots cut into it that will shred the paper towel.

After wiping with the paper towel, I wiped the reservoir with my finger to pick up any paper towel fibers that may have been left behind.

I also wiped clean the black rubber insert that keeps the fluid from aerating.

Then I used a shot glass to refill the reservoir to keep from spilling brake fluid. I put in exactly 2oz of new fluid which brought the fluid level around 1/8 of an inch above the step in the reservoir. The factory fill was just a tiny bit higher than that. Don't put too much in or it will spill out when you replace the black rubber insert.

FYI - The Tempo fluid extractor is a great tool to have around the garage for doing ATF fluid exchanges on automatics, power steering fluid exchanges, differentials (without drains) etc. It makes it very easy to collect the old fluids for recycling.

For power steering systems I usually disconnect the low pressure return line and vacuum fresh fluid through the entire system.