Brake Fluid Flush Was Big Mistake

iRV4FUN · 06-20-2008, 01:33 PM

Went to pickup my 2003 P32 and the brake pedal traveled an extra 5 inches to the floor and an alarm sounded. I never left the lot and luckily my hydroboast kicked in and stopped my rig. This was after the mechanic handed me the keys. I'm so glad they test drove my vehicle to make sure it was safe

before handing me the keys!

I thought I was doing the right thing. You know, preventative maintenance. Just following WCC and common sense. Now I wish I had left it alone.

Part of my brake service was a flush and the other part was a cleaning and dry lubing of my slides.

After working on it for an additional 8 hours they have the brake travel corrected. They can't figure out why the brake alarm keeps sounding. What is going on?

iRV4FUN · 06-20-2008, 01:33 PM

Went to pickup my 2003 P32 and the brake pedal traveled an extra 5 inches to the floor and an alarm sounded. I never left the lot and luckily my hydroboast kicked in and stopped my rig. This was after the mechanic handed me the keys. I'm so glad they test drove my vehicle to make sure it was safe

before handing me the keys!

I thought I was doing the right thing. You know, preventative maintenance. Just following WCC and common sense. Now I wish I had left it alone.

Part of my brake service was a flush and the other part was a cleaning and dry lubing of my slides.

After working on it for an additional 8 hours they have the brake travel corrected. They can't figure out why the brake alarm keeps sounding. What is going on?

iRV4FUN · 06-20-2008, 02:04 PM

OK now they claim that my Auto Park Brake needed adjustment and this corrected the alarm. Strange thing is that it was fine before the service. I only have 8,500 miles on my rig. Why would it need adjusting?

oemtech · 06-20-2008, 06:23 PM

I can only assume that your brake flush was done due to age.

The fact that the pedal went to the floor after the flush procedure tells me that there was air in the system. Also, I am not sure that the Auto Park system would cause this problem.

What year, make, model coach do you have?

NeilV · 06-20-2008, 06:39 PM

Sorry to hear of your trouble finding a qualified brake mechanic. You however did not make a mistake in having your coach maintained, just in choosing the right guy to get the job done.

Sometimes I feel like a Greek Philospher trying to find an honest man when it comes time to find a good/competant mechanic to help with the things that I am no longer up to.

Did they charge you extra for not doing it right before they handed you the keys?

Was it a Workhorse Authorised repair center? If so fill out the survey with Workhorse describing your experience.

Again you did not make a mistake trying to maintian your coach in a safe and prudent manner. Just consider choosing a different facility if possible for future services.

**Petro** · 06-21-2008, 04:22 AM

Irv4FUN;

You did the right thing in flushing your brake fluid. I have had it done on 2 different motor homes with no problems. A machine was used that is designed to do the flush with out introducing air.

As others have said I believe air got into the system.

Don

iRV4FUN · 06-21-2008, 05:02 AM

Thanks oemtech for offering to troubleshoot.

I have a some prior personal experience with brake flushing and was thinking of doing this one myself with a former Navy Seal hydraulics's repair specialist. Oh well!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I can only assume that your brake flush was done due to age. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, age and plus I had to really bear down on pedal.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The fact that the pedal went to the floor after the flush procedure tells me that there was air in the system. Also, I am not sure that the Auto Park system would cause this problem. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This was my first thought -- they left air in the line and that the Auto Park was not the issue. Now I'm concerned that they have opened up a new can of worms.

Air in the line caused excess brake travel and thus the overtravel alarm sounded... this is supposed to sound when the system is not applying enough pressure to the brake..... as in worn linings... Again, I only have 8,500 miles and prior to my brake service had NO AutoParkBrake issues.

So why the need for an AutoParkBrake adjustment after a brake cleaning/lube and fluid flush?

The AutoParkBrake horror stories have always played on my mind and I would love to trash it in favor of a manual system. But, how in the world could we upgrade to a system that would have to be a custom fit for each coach manufacturer and model? Has anyone figured this out? Maybe WCC should offer this part on their Website!

2003 34' Damon Daybreak P32 Workhorse Custom Chasis (Chevy Vortec 8100)

Joe Gilbert · 06-24-2008, 10:33 AM

I expect a few members will not agree with my method. I syphoned all of the fluid from the master cylinder reservor. Refilled it with fresh fluid, than blead some from each wheel. Perhaps not a 100% flush however, the old fluid was clean. The object is to replace most of the old fluid which may have absorbed water. This is so easy to do almost anyone could do it.

And!!! For those who doin't like this procedure I do the same on my antifreeze. I snake a 3/8" tubeing through the filler, push it past the "S" turns in the filler and it will than drop to the bottom of the raditor. I syphone this dry (about 5 gals), and replace the fluid with new Dex-Cool. Again I don't remove 100% of the old fluid but again, it is clean. The objective is to replace most of the fluid with new, correct PH, antifreeze. There is nothing wrong with Dex-Cool if you keep the PH where it belongs and don"t add non-Dex-Cool fluid. This works for me and you need not spill a drop.

oemtech · 06-24-2008, 11:35 AM

Joe,

I have flushed/purged my share of brakes. I always remove as much brake fluid from the master cylinder and refill with fresh DOT 3 fluid before I bleed each wheel starting with the furthest from the master cylinder. If you top off the master cylinder after each wheel you should have 100% fresh fluid in the system and all the air should be purged. This procedure is documented on my web site.

I take a little different approach to the coolant change. But the en results are the same.
This also documented on my web site.

DriVer · 06-24-2008, 01:12 PM

Bleeding your brakes is never supposed to be a bad thing. I would recommend that everyone consider having it done at least every 2 ~ 3 years.

iRV4FUN · 06-24-2008, 01:57 PM

DriVer [quote]Bleeding your brakes is never supposed to be a bad thing. I would recommend that everyone consider having it done at least every 2 ~ 3 years.[quote]

Is bleeding the same thing as flushing? How often to flush?

In follow-up to my original posts: I looked at mechanics notes. The brake pedal travel was corrected by bleeding off air in the lines. He noted a significant amount of air found in the front right side and then he bled both rears. He stopped there and didn't bleed left front. Not sure why? Travel 3 miles for refrigerator repair and all seemed OK. We will see how we do on big trip next week

DriVer · 06-24-2008, 02:12 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by iRV4FUN:
Is bleeding the same thing as flushing? How often to flush? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>iRV4FUN, "Bleeding" is the process and "Flushing" is the result.

One of the best practices is to bleed brakes using a powered bleeder device. It has a large reservoir of brake fluid and it'll flush out everything.

The key to successful anything is getting a competent person to do it right the first time.

iRV4FUN · 06-24-2008, 02:33 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The key to successful anything is getting a competent person to do it right the first time. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Good point. My nearest WCC repair facility is a 100 mile round trip. So I went to my local certified Ford Truck repair shop thinking this was a piece of cake. It was a piece of work. "Shift Work"

jdsr · 06-25-2008, 10:26 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DriVer:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by iRV4FUN:
Is bleeding the same thing as flushing? How often to flush? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>iRV4FUN, "Bleeding" is the process and "Flushing" is the result.

One of the best practices is to bleed brakes using a powered bleeder device. It has a large reservoir of brake fluid and it'll flush out everything.

The key to successful anything is getting a competent person to do it right the first time.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>Driver, does larry have such a device and If so what does he charge?