Hello all. I'm pretty OCD about maintenance. For years and years I've been bleeding my brakes every couple of years. Our '09 Mazda 5 has a manual transmission, complete with hydraulically-actuated clutch. The clutch and the brake system share the same fluid reservoir.
I bled the clutch when we got the car back in 2013, but had not since. I figured that having fresh fluid in the reservoir would be sufficient to keep the clutch system happy. Not so!
Heading out of town a few days ago, the tranny was hard to shift, and the clutch pedal felt extremely soft. I turned back, later than I should have, and bled the clutch in the driveway at a balmy -15 C. On the way home, I had to lift up the clutch pedal with the toe of my L shoe, just to shift into N. Repeat to get into the next gear. No fun at all! I had some old DOT-4 on hand. Instant cure!
Anyway, I think I know the answer to the debate as to whether or not brake fluid circulates. I'll say definitely not.
As soon as the weather improves a bit (-36 C this morning as we left our vacation spot in western Manitoba), I'll do a complete flush on all four brake calipers and the clutch! I'll be using DOT-3 as recommended in the owner's manual. DOT-3 vs. DOT-4 can be a whole other thread.
Cheers.
I bled the clutch when we got the car back in 2013, but had not since. I figured that having fresh fluid in the reservoir would be sufficient to keep the clutch system happy. Not so!
Heading out of town a few days ago, the tranny was hard to shift, and the clutch pedal felt extremely soft. I turned back, later than I should have, and bled the clutch in the driveway at a balmy -15 C. On the way home, I had to lift up the clutch pedal with the toe of my L shoe, just to shift into N. Repeat to get into the next gear. No fun at all! I had some old DOT-4 on hand. Instant cure!
Anyway, I think I know the answer to the debate as to whether or not brake fluid circulates. I'll say definitely not.
As soon as the weather improves a bit (-36 C this morning as we left our vacation spot in western Manitoba), I'll do a complete flush on all four brake calipers and the clutch! I'll be using DOT-3 as recommended in the owner's manual. DOT-3 vs. DOT-4 can be a whole other thread.
Cheers.
Last edited: