i think this is more of a rant than anything. i usually do my oil change and tranny fluid change (and other fluids) but this is my first time working on the brakes. I have a honda accord 2007 hybrid V6. with fluid changes I use a ramp but this one requires lifting the tires up with a hydraulic jack. my 2 ton one just doesn't cut it. so i went out and spent some good money on a decent motomaster 3 ton ramp (heavy duty). 2 things suck about my car, the damn jack point at the back is too high and the ones on the side doesn't give enough space to fit jack stands once my hydraulic jack lifts the car up.... so i couldnt lift my back wheels unless i use it without jack stands. i thought it should be fine because i dont need to work under the car.... but i didnt want to risk it. long story short i was only able to bleed out the front tires. however i ran out of dot 3 by the end of the front bleeding. i had quite a bit of old dot 3. i couldnt see clear fluid coming from the lines. i only bought 1 bottle of Honda oem dot 3 (i was told its more than enough) so even if i did want to bleed the rear brakes i still didnt have enough. i just said **** it and left the rear tires unbleed.

i guess my question is if thats ok? i mean i guess ill have to change my brake fluid next time a bit earlier instead since it has some old dot 3 mixed it. i mean even if the old fluid was acidic, i've diluted it with a whole bottle essentially which should increase the pH (less acidic). i drove around town and looked at my fluids and it seems clear from the master cylinder. no i dont think i got air mixed my brake lines as i tested the braking and it seems slightly tighter than before. any thoughts haha?

 

If there's no pedal to the floor and brakes seems 'tighter,' than you're good to go in my book.
Worry about it if issues come up. Worry less, drive more.

As an aside, I thought the problem with old DOT 3 brake fluid was the adsorption of water,
not the pH acidity level. Are they related? Shows how much I've kept up with it...

 

Absorbing water makes the fluid corrosive. For a chemist, the actual mechanism for corrosion is probably related to pH changes. Water also lowers the boiling point. So you're kinda both correct.

Diluting like you said will improve things, and the "old" fluid is at the rear brakes which don't get as hot as the front. But if it were my car, I'd buy another bottle(s) & finish the job.

 

And you don't really have to use Honda DOT 3 fluid, IMHO. You can get a quart for less than $7.

Me, I "suck" as much of the old fluid out of the master as I can. Then add fluid and begin the process.

I also follow the process of doing the wheels in the order of the manual.

It does take me a while as I use the "newton method".

 

thanks for the replies. i actually asked a couple mechanics and they said its better to stick with OEM with honda because of the additives and processing methods. honestly its an extra $2 difference so its not a big deal.

my only concern is that since ive already started to drive, wont the remaining fluids in my rear brake start to mix with the new fluids near the master? if thats the case i would have to completely change the fluids again?

 

If you half changed it, which BTW good for you as many forget about the brake fluid, I would just cut your normal cycle in half or so and do a full change down the road.