2000LS1Z28

I admit, stupid question...But I honestly don't know...Anyway, I have an '02 Z28 that I bought brand-new back in July of '02 which now has about 5,700 miles on it (just a weekend/nice weather only car). Never been a daily-driver. However, I've also never had the brake fluid changed either.

I've done some research on what to go with, but I just want to know if you all recommend I change it right away as I'll be taking the car out of winter storage next week? For what it's worth, the brakes still feel very solid (obviously, not many hard miles on them), but I haven't ever checked the fluid to see what it looks like...

Thanks,

Mike

dltaskull

iTrader: (1)

i would check the fluid in the brake resevoir,if it looks dirty just change it,i change mine when i put new pads on. I use a vaccume pump i got at sears and it puts new fluid in while taking the old out.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Mike,

FWIW, I've never fully flushed the brake fluid in my '98 Z28. The car has 14,000 miles on it now.

What I have done is to suck the fluid out of the fluid reservoir every spring since I've owned it and replace with fresh. I did the same thing with my WS6. I know this doesn't replace all the fluid, but I figure at least it mixes in some fresh fluid every year; and one year's worth of driving for this car is only about 1,000 miles at this point.

I figure I'll fully flush the system whenever it needs new brake pads.

2000LS1Z28

Thank you guys (and good to see you still on here Ryan; it has been a very long time!). Your '98 looks incredible, especially in person when I saw it a couple summers back.

So, I'll check the fluid in the brake resivoir to see what it looks like, but would you both still recommend that I at least get some new fluid in there at this point? Because I don't think an entire flush is needed until I replace my brakes (which could be quite a while from now considering I don't drive it enough to wear them down to the point of change).

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Hi Mike,

I posted in another thread after you this morning saying the same thing to you! It's been a long time since I've seen you post as well. Glad to see you're still around and hope all is well.

Thanks for the comments; and I'm sure yours is still perfect as well. Your 5,700 miles makes mine look like high mileage.

I don't have any hard facts about whether or not changing just some of the fluid will make a big difference, but it makes me feel a little better knowing that some of the fluid is fresh every year. I mean, it couldn't hurt. And I too just don't see the need for a full flush at such low mileage.

Just as a referance point, my '96 Bonneville retained the stock brakes and 100% original brake fluid until 2/06 when it had about 54,000 miles. I had the fluid fully flushed at that time. Even after 10 years/50k+ miles, the stock fluid didn't do any harm.

Hopefully we'll see each others cars at some shows this year.

Dom

iTrader: (2)

When I bought my car with about 71K on it I flushed all the fluids. I went with a DOT5 racing fluid. Moisture gets in there and when you break it heats it up and makes it a gas. So now you have air in your braking system. You won't notice a difference since it's very gradual, but when you change to a new fluid you'll notice how much better it is. I would recommend every 2 years. It's very fast once you get the car on ramps and get the wheels off.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

FWIW, after 10 years/54k miles on my daily driver, I noticed only a minor improvement in braking performance with a fluid flush; but then again I also had new pads installed and the rotors cut so I can't really say if the fluid made a significant difference or if it was the pads/rotors.

When 2 years = only 2,000 miles of non-racing use, I don't think a full flush is necessary. IMO. However if you use the brakes hard (road-race, etc.), then I'd agree that fluid maintanence is required much more often.

staringback05

iTrader: (8)

this is gonna sound kinda rednecky....but just smell it....its a fluid just like all the others in your car...

you can tell whats going on sometimes by the smell...ie tranny fluid smells burnt you might have a problem, oil smells like gas youve got a BIG problem....brake fluid smells different then when you installed it...just give it a change

98ws61le

i dont recommend dot 5 fluid... dot 4 or dot 5.1