[ds968]

It was time to replace the brake fluid and coolant, so on the way to the mechanic I stopped by the auto parts place and got two cans of the orange phosphate-free stuff, and and a 32 fl. oz. bottle of Brake Best Select DOT 4 fluid, which was the only brand of DOT 4 they had on the shelf.

It's not that my mech does not stock enough coolant or brake fluid, or that he could not get those things delivered in a matter of minutes, but I just like to get it myself and bring it with me..

Anyway, I pick up the car, he tells me to let it cool after I get home and then check the levels of both fluids again just to make sure they don!t need to be topped of a little.. and as I'm looking at the brake fluid reservoir, there' nothing in it. So after a 1 to 1.5 second WTF happened here panic moment, and looking under the car to see where it all leaked, I unscrewed the cap to find that the reservoir is full..with completely colorless fluid !! Seriously, Brake Best people ?!! What could possibly go through tneir mind to make this fluid essentially transparent ? No way to ever check the level at any given time, and no way to tell in case you do have a leak, what the heck it is..because it may look like water condensation on the ground, if even that.. I thought of adding a drop of food dye to it but am concerned that it might stain the plastic container permanently .. What a PITA .. Arrrrgh

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[flash]

lol - they probably figure that it will mix with water anyway, so why confuse things?

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[ds968]

I might syphon a few oz. out of there and top off with a colored brake fluid , that could work...right ?

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[DaveN]

I would think that would be sufficient to provide a visible level. After all, it's a reservoir and not likely to exchange any fluids unless there is a path out of the reservoir like a leak.

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[gbarrier]

Give it a couple of months and it will yellow enough to be seen.

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[ds968]

I was looking for a small container of ATE blue ( race fluid ) to use just for that purpose but : 1) I can only find it online in the 1 L size, and 2) read on the site that it's not available for shipping / sale in California anyway due to some b.s. regulations..

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[flash]

interesting. i got my last can at the dealership near me.

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[ds968]

Porsche dealership ? Mercedes one ? I have all of those nearby so I can go see what they have in stock..

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[ds968]

I mixed a drop of blue food coloring with some brake fluid in a plastic container, left it for a day and it does not seem to stain the plastic so I'll probably go ahead and dye the whole brake fluid blue. While I' m at it, I might as well color the PS fluid to red so everything will have a different shade now ; coolant is orange already, brake fluid will be blue, steering fluid red and oil...well, oil will be oil. That's just in case any of them leak , and if they all do at once, it'll leave a rainbow on the garage floor.

But after 110,000 miles and never the slightest leak anywhere, I don't think I'll reap the benefits of this coloring scheme..hopefully.

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[DaveN]

Don't do the washer fluid black, could be trouble <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/laugh.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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