Brake Fluid Change

dicktheleg

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Do BMW have a miraculous way to change the brake fluid (front & Rear) without leaving a trace of fluid in the nipples or under the rubber nipple caps.

Do they simply extract & replace the reservoir fluid or, as I would, pump the fresh fluid through?

Serious question, I had my 2015 RT serviced today and I'm not convinced that the fluid was changed.

Thoughts please?
 
Despite their best efforts i would imagine there would be some trace of it being done, unless the bike was steam cleaned afterwards.
 
Despite their best efforts i would imagine there would be some trace of it being done, unless the bike was steam cleaned afterwards.

years ago I was accused by a customer of not having fitted a new clutch in his car (A GS, A Citroen GS!) He thought this because he could not see anything out of place under the bonnet. I told him that it wa a matter of pride to ensure that it looked that way but I would be more than happy to take the engine out again to show him the new clutch as long as he agreed to pay my labour charges once he had been proved wrong.

If the mechanic doing the fluid change took pride in his work there would be no sign. Brake cleaner around the nipples (oh er misses) and a good clean up but not a bloody steam cleaner!

John
 
DOT 4 fluid absorbs water It can be tested for moisture content if you know someone with a tester. a car one will work fine, or a cheap one can be bought for about a fiver off ebay
My Honda was supposed to have been done at service but it was showing amber meaning it wasn't changed by the useless twats at the main dealers:rolleyes:
 
years ago I was accused by a customer of not having fitted a new clutch in his car (A GS, A Citroen GS!) He thought this because he could not see anything out of place under the bonnet. I told him that it wa a matter of pride to ensure that it looked that way but I would be more than happy to take the engine out again to show him the new clutch as long as he agreed to pay my labour charges once he had been proved wrong.

If the mechanic doing the fluid change took pride in his work there would be no sign. Brake cleaner around the nipples (oh er misses) and a good clean up but not a bloody steam cleaner!

John

Well, he left signs of fluid around the front brake master cylinder but absolutely no evidence of calliper nipples being opened, I would at least expect witness marks from the spanners and probably some evidence of fluid inside the nipples.....I may be wrong and I am by nature very sceptical of garage mechanics as I do most of my own servicing but in order to maintain warranty this had to be done by BMW.
I think I'll have a sensible chat with their workshop manager tomorrow.
 
You are NEVER going to get the fluid out of the inside of a brake nipple, especially the ones on the ABS unit unless you use a compressed air line to blow it out, then there will be sign of that having happened and witness marks on the nipples them selves. I'm not saying it didn't happen but it sounds unlikely to me if there are no signs.
 
I've just probed right down inside all 3 nipples.......bone dry, no way have the fluids been changed.

That could still be down to cleaning but I would expect some marks on the nipples. When I was in the car trade this sort of skipped work was common in main dealers. Mechanics get paid a bonus to do the service in under the book time, corners are cut to get that bonus. I had a fully factory trained mechanic come to work for me (independent Citroen specialist garage) who told me he had been allowed just 10 mins for a short service. The customer was charged 1 hour! That mechanic stayed with me for years because I refused to have a bonus system preferring to pay good wages for a good job.

John
 
That could still be down to cleaning but I would expect some marks on the nipples. When I was in the car trade this sort of skipped work was common in main dealers. Mechanics get paid a bonus to do the service in under the book time, corners are cut to get that bonus. I had a fully factory trained mechanic come to work for me (independent Citroen specialist garage) who told me he had been allowed just 10 mins for a short service. The customer was charged 1 hour! That mechanic stayed with me for years because I refused to have a bonus system preferring to pay good wages for a good job.

John

Thanks for that John, I'm sure if they were that diligent they'd have cleaned the fluid marks from around the front master cylinder, I'm a cynical bugger and I reckon they've either just put some fresh fluid in there or wiped some around the joint seal to make it look like somethings been done.....I may be wrong, but!
 
Dont know if it can be done with bikes,

but I know some oem's use vac filling to do cars, no need to open any nipples

One connector direct to the reservoir, some clever SW and away they go.
 
What about bleed nipple at the master cylinders ? I know that my 997 used to have fluid sucked out and then replaced.

Wouldn't they just get abs pump to displace fluid ? Perhaps steptoe or similar can advise better.

An obvious way to check is boiling point of brake fluid which will show % of water in it.

Can't argue with that !

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk
 
Dont know if it can be done with bikes,

but I know some oem's use vac filling to do cars, no need to open any nipples

One connector direct to the reservoir, some clever SW and away they go.

I can possibly see that working for an initial fill but I'd struggle to understand how you could do a fluid change that way. Interesting concept though.
 
Would the mechanic have used some evaporating cleaner to wipe up any extra spilt.
Some are meticulous with cleaning that stuff up - I bet most are not though !!
 
It wouldn't be the first brake fluid change to involve nothing more than drawing fluid out of the master cylinder, and topping up with fresh.
 


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