People in general tend to do that ...

While flushing the brake and clutch fluid today I made a mistake. As I was bleeding the last bleed point (LF inside fitting) I apparently ran the reservoir empty because a whole shot of air came through the bleed line. I immediately cut the pressure to the motive power bleeder. I noticed the waste fluid bottle definitely had more than liter in it so I ran it too long. When changing from ATE blue to gold I have the hardest time recognizing when all the blue is gone. Luckily I had another liter of fluid so I put that in and started where I left off with the LF inside bleed point, my thought was that line is full of air and no point in pushing it farther along. I let it run a long time and I think I got all the air out. I then did the LF outside point and went back and started over at the RR, then clutch, LR, RF,LF again. I never saw any more shots of air so I took it for a test run ....started gingerly and then worked up to spirited braking. Everything seems good. The brakes worked fine and the clutch was great. Is there anything else I need to do to make sure I got all the air out?

... running the fluid too long and then running out.
If the brake pedal is firm when you depress it and doesn't travel to the floor you got all the air out.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

PS: It's easier to see when going from gold to blue.
So, next time, get a clear plastic bottle (at least 1 liter in volume) and start the bleed.
When the first corner (RR) is done, mark the level with a permanent marker.
Do the same for each corner.
You now have a graduated bottle and you can replace your brake fluid with the same color and be assured that all of the old one is flushed.

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

...and thats a great idea about marking the bottle!

Take care,
newt

on the first wheel. That removes the guesswork.

Grant

Since they are the same capacity, I can always see exactly how close I am to running out.

As does Grant, I bleed the most on the farthest-away bleeder.

When I'm done, I screw the cap on the capture bottle, throw it in the trunk, and take it for recycling.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Quote
grant
on the first wheel. That removes the guesswork.

Grant

That's my "system" too--my catch bottle holds a pint and came with lines on it, but I just eyeball, so that around 3/4's of the bottle from the first wheel and paying attention to the fluid coming out the end of the drain tube, and less from wheels 2-4. I stopped using the ATE blue to gold alternating, after doing my first brake fluid flush on my first Porsche years ago. The blue dye just stains everything that's plastic, and still wasn't all that helpful frankly.

Through some experience (from when I was doing 20+ DE's per year and flushing brake fluid more times than I can count), even with my "old" eyes I can see the gold to gold change colors (it's subtle but visible) on brake fluid that was in the car for one DE. These days, it's real easy to see on a street car that gets changed every two years. The existing brake fluid is a darker gold than the fresh fluid.

And when still in the novice/learning, it never hurts to over buy fluid (buy two liters the first time you do it and if using a motive power bleeder keep an eye on the bleeder tank as you go). 1 liter is plenty but if you goof and drain too much at one wheel, it's nice to have a spare liter (as the places near me that carry ATE Type 200 are typically closed on weekends).

Current Porsche: PCA Club Coupe 2 of 50

Past: 02 986 S

01 996 Turbo

00 Millenium Coupe

99 996 C2

99 Boxster