Here's one for the forum blooper reel. Scenario:
Early for work in the wee hours of the morning, -93 Lantra purring along. Good mood, hoping to go home early. Focused on getting to work, getting a sandwich, a cup of coffee and to get the day started.
Brake fluid level warning light comes on. Known low level, no significant leakage found, probably just due to brake pad wear. I stop by the gas station to buy a sandwich and brake fluid. "Why wait", I think to myself, "better fill it up and be done with it".
All bleary-eyed and still thinking about coffee rather than of what I am doing I pop the hood and proceed to pour about 5 cl (about 1.5 oz.fl. if I recall the units right) of brake fluid in the power steering. :wacko:
I immediately realise my mistake and spend five minutes calling myself names not suitable for printing. After that, I siphon out what is in the power steering reservoir, wipe up what's left with a bit of lint-free tissue and fill it up again with fresh PS fluid.
If any brake fluid made its way into the system, it is on the magnitude of a ml or two I'd say.
Now, brake fluid in any significant amount will probably not do the seals etc of the power steering circuits any good.
Exactly what will DOT 4 do in the power steering when mixing with PS fluid?
Would the infinitesimal amount which is now potentially in the system be enough to cause any trouble down the road? The question really is: Would flushing the system out do me any good? I'm thinking not, as flushing the system out is what you do when someone has filled the entire system with DOT 4, in which case you are unlikely to get the level of DOT 4 down to what I have now.
I'm glad it wasn't the other way around, PS fluid in the brake system... that would make me concerned for real!
Rgds,
/Fred
Early for work in the wee hours of the morning, -93 Lantra purring along. Good mood, hoping to go home early. Focused on getting to work, getting a sandwich, a cup of coffee and to get the day started.
Brake fluid level warning light comes on. Known low level, no significant leakage found, probably just due to brake pad wear. I stop by the gas station to buy a sandwich and brake fluid. "Why wait", I think to myself, "better fill it up and be done with it".
All bleary-eyed and still thinking about coffee rather than of what I am doing I pop the hood and proceed to pour about 5 cl (about 1.5 oz.fl. if I recall the units right) of brake fluid in the power steering. :wacko:
I immediately realise my mistake and spend five minutes calling myself names not suitable for printing. After that, I siphon out what is in the power steering reservoir, wipe up what's left with a bit of lint-free tissue and fill it up again with fresh PS fluid.
If any brake fluid made its way into the system, it is on the magnitude of a ml or two I'd say.
Now, brake fluid in any significant amount will probably not do the seals etc of the power steering circuits any good.
Exactly what will DOT 4 do in the power steering when mixing with PS fluid?
Would the infinitesimal amount which is now potentially in the system be enough to cause any trouble down the road? The question really is: Would flushing the system out do me any good? I'm thinking not, as flushing the system out is what you do when someone has filled the entire system with DOT 4, in which case you are unlikely to get the level of DOT 4 down to what I have now.
I'm glad it wasn't the other way around, PS fluid in the brake system... that would make me concerned for real!
Rgds,
/Fred
