changing power steering fluid and brake fluid
 

hi my dealer wants to charge me 250-300 to "flush" the brake fluid and change it and change power steering fluid which i really cannot afford now.

my question is if i remove the respective fluids from the resevoirs and replace it with new fluid and do this 3-4 times, is this equivalent to what the dealer does?

will this buy me an extra 25k- miles or will it not make a difference?

do dealers really use some pressure or flushing device to change both of these or are they just draining/replacing the fluids.

thanks

That'll work for the power-steering fluid but it won't work for the brake fluid. What kind of mechanical work have you done on cars before? Bleeding the brakes isn't all that hard, but since brake-failure can be dangerous, maybe that's not for the first-time wrencher.

hi thanks for your reply. i do not have that much experience doing repairs and bleeding brake lines is out of my league.

do any of you get your brakes flushed at the generic muffler shops? i know this would be cheaper than the dealer i think $ 80-90.

I flush my own brakes but I'm sure lots of shops can do that. The brakes aren't anything magic or special just for Honda.

Power steering fluid IS special just for Honda. Procedure is just like you said, suck it out of the reservoir & fill it back up. Use a turkey-baster that's NEVER EVER going back into the kitchen. But the fluid MUST say "FOR HONDA" because the "all makes of car" fluid will NOT be good. I'd get some from the dealer cause it's not real stupid expensive.

I can give a brake flush procedure that if you can turn a screw and fill a bottle you can do it. As you are flushing the system rather than trying to get air out, I gravity bleed. You open a bleeder screw remove the master cylinder cap and just don’t let the master cylinder run out of fluid. You can tell by color when each wheel is cylinder is flushed then tighten the screw and do the next. You would want something to catch the fluid and a oil drain pan will work.

Removing the master cylinder cap uses atmospheric pressure to push the brake fluid out. Every maintenance I have done on a Honda I have use this method.

.02 on the P/S fluid, YES it MUST be for Honda/Acura. Valvoline offers a number (I know it as HPS12) that is specifically for Honda/Acura. It has served me well for many years.
Bad story: I once let a shop replace a rack & pinion, they put trans fliud in....replaced the rack again two weeks later.

hi guys...i got the brake fluid serviced at a generic muffler place for about 70 bucks.

i did have a question though. i was always under the impression that the tires had to be removed and each brake had to be bled.

they basically hoisted the car up and put in new fluid while doing something in the rear. but they did not remove any of the tires.

the guy said that the clips to remove the fluid are in the back and the tires do not have to be removed to flush the brakes on this vehicle.???

is this the correct method for this vehicle?

i have a 2001 accord...thanks

You can get to the bleeders with the tires on but to flush the system you have to do each wheel. I an not sure what you got, but it looks like they may have just done the rears.

The wheels don't have to be removed, but you have to drain fluid from all 4 corners.

When I put the car on stands (raised 12-inches) it's difficult to reach the bleeders so I remove the wheels. But raised on a lift (5 or 6 feet) it's much easier to reach the bleeders without removing the wheels.

Maybe you just didn't notice them doing the front?

My new Honda dealer (i just moved to the Orlando area) told me that they do not replace all of the oil, they (blend ) the oil, by only removing half of both the brake fluids and power steering. I sounded so stupid to me that i bailed out after having my oil changed, cooling system flushed, and trans mission flush. Was i right to bail. The quoted me $79.00 for power steering, and $89.00 for brake fluid at my local Honda dealer.