Brake Fluid Testers

[NorDel Garage]

I want to buy a brake fluid tester to check clutch/ brake Dot 3 and 4 fluid.
What brand works best? Accuracy ? Ease of use ? Reliability of the tester?
What real world experience have you had with one of these?

The pen type looks convenient. I am leaning towards the larger digital type.
It is not something I would use everyday, about a half dozen times a year.

About $20 to $30 is my price range.

Thanks, Ken

 

[Urambo Tauro]

I briefly looked into this a while ago, and from what I recall it depends on what you're testing for. There are electronic ones that check for moisture, and test strips that check for corrosion in the system.

But I never got any further researching it because somewhere along the line I came to the conclusion that if it looks dirty, then it should just be changed anyway. Not all automakers provide an interval for brake fluid on their maintenance schedules, but most that do say it ought to be changed every 2-3 years. So if it's already turned a color that makes you think that it's overdue, then it probably IS overdue.

 

[rpcraft]

Phoenix systems makes some strips that test your fluid. The cheapest I found them is at Summit if I recall. About 9 bucks for a pack but I think it only includes a couple and for a container that has more in it they are surprisingly expensive for what they are (around 70 bucks last I really looked into it). For that price it was cheaper for me to just buy 2 liters of fluid and flush the system

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...2n0EapaMy8bVbXLQt5VnaUzhoSMdOsGEaAs_yEALw_wcB

 

[406Rich]

After two years 4.5 % water contamination with a boiling temp drop of 100 degrees.

 

[atavuss]

As a government fleet mechanic I used strips and electronic testers. We ended up not using either and just flush the brake system when the brake fluid is no longer amber colored.

 

[Certified Drunk]

Who need's a test strip, If it's darker then light beer.., it's bad.

 

[Tonyuk]

Change as per the service record and you'll be fine.

If there's no set date then every 2 years.

 

[ZipSnafu]

I've always just flushed mine every other year or when breaks are needed. If in doubt, flush it out. Don't think you can have to clean of fluid. After all... these are the brakes. I find it kind of fun to stop. Less stress.

 

[Phantomd]

Compressed air powered vacuum bleeders make flushing very easy. The only tricky part is making sure you dont **** the master dry. If i can reach all the bleeders it's probably a 10-15 minute job. Beware that most of the bad reviews are about the vacuum hose having lots of bubbles, which is from air leaking by the fitting. This is normal and I have had great success with mine.

My mityvac unit came with a bottle holder to make sure the master stayed full but it was prone to leaking.