problem on adding brake fluid - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

tommytang · 11-26-2007, 09:02 AM

I bought a 1997 Camry LE this Sep. and I don't know what kind of brake fluid the former owner was using. Now I need to add some brake fluid. Can I buy the brake fluid from Autozone or Wal-Mart and then add the newly bought brake fluid to the old one directly? Or do I need to clear the old brake fluid firstly?

wtftoy · 11-26-2007, 01:35 PM

What color is the fluid now? New fluid should be clear so if its really dark or brown-ish.....just bleed it out and put in new dot 3 brake fluid.

And if you get brake fluid on your paint, make sure you WIPE IT off IMMEDIATELY.

wtftoy · 11-26-2007, 01:35 PM

double post! sry

tommytang · 11-26-2007, 01:53 PM

Sorry for the repeated post. When I posted the first one, there was problem with the network so I thought I didn't succeed. I can't tell the color because I see through the brake fluid reservoir.

wtftoy · 11-26-2007, 02:03 PM

You can open up the cap of the reservoir and take a look.

djb2 · 11-27-2007, 03:13 AM

Use DOT-4 brake fluid such as Valvoline or Castrol LMA. It has much better performance and is compatible with existing DOT-3 or DOT-4 fluids. DOT-4 does cost a bit more more than DOT-3, but brake fluid is inexpensive, you need only a bottle to freshen the system, and it's not consumed.

If you buy a 12oz bottle, bleed about 3oz from each rear brake cylinder and about 2oz from the fronts, reserving the last bit to top off. Refreshing the fluid at every brake pad change, or at least every few years, will keep the system rust-free.