The DOT 3 fluid in my clutch reservoir is turning a gray back colour and I have not been able to find the cause. I have replaced the Reservoir, Clutch Master Cylinder, Slave cylinder, flexible hose to slave cylinder, flexible hose from reservoir to pipe, the pipe that goes into reservoir (from the hose that comes from Master Cylinder). That just leaves the metal pipes.
So I might try DOT 5 Fluid. Can I just flush it through or do I need a cleaning process like flushing with Methanol?
How dark? Can you see through it? How often do you flush? My fluid always darkens in 6 months ( several cars of different ages) I would just flush more regularly , if the clutch is working OK
Doug
Hi Dennis,
Make sure you have compatible reservoir hose, I’ve been working on a friends car and found that a well known shop here in Idaho used fuel line hose for the reservoirs and in less than 6 months were weeping brake fluid.
I’ve changed out a car with old DOT 5 and flushed it with 90% Isopropyl alcohol with good results after flushing copious amounts of the DOT 4 so I suppose you could do just the opposite, I think it will work and since it’s not ‘mission’ critical the way the brake system is thats what I would do. But again, I’d look real close at the reservoir hoses and make sure they are the proper material, EPDM or some such (might be EDPM but that sounds like something that would be advertised on the evening news
Cheers,
LLynn
Mine starts going dark within a few months also. The hose is identical to the other reservoirs which take much longer to change color. The cylinders are sleeved and in perfect condition, lines are all new.
Honestly I think it’s just because the clutch sees so much more use. The throw is much longer and it’s applied more often, and it’s the seals slowly breaking down. Dot 5 is unlikely to help, IMO. I haven’t noticed the discoloration affecting functionality at all.
Same here, I think there is more of a “backwash” going on in the clutch than the brakes, but I could be wrong. Mine gets dark and I quit worrying as long as the clutch works. my hoses are original so I guess they are the cause, the master and slave are new.
My hoses are just a couple years old and are proper and I still get it the darkening. It doesn’t take much fine rubber dust scraped off the seals to discolor the whole reservoir. A tiny amount gets pushed out of the master every time you press it until the check valve closes. That rises up into the bottle and it starts to darken.
