brake fluid replacment

[jcattletown]

Hi Guys, I wonder how much fluid is needed for each line of flushing, i.e., right rear, left rear, right front, and left front for a 2013 BMW X5 xDrive35i (E70). I assume the right rear line needs the most and the left front the least. Thanks.

[jandref321]

Just bleed until you see clear fluid come out and no bubbles...can be difficult since the fluid may initially mix if you don’t pump out the old fluid from the reservoir.

Total capacity should be under 1 liter but get two. I highly recommend the motive power bleeder. Completely worth the $50-60; I would buy it 3 x over. I used vacuum pumps before but they are garbage and doing one man bleeding is iffy...my wife despised the garage so motive bleeder was best option and super fast to flush the system.

[mitch808]

Yes on Motive. Makes this a sub 1Hr job in your garage.

Like mentioned above, Just buy a couple of bottles. It's so cheap to buy brake fluid anyways.

[jcattletown]

Thanks to you both for the replies. I have a motive bleeder and will use that to do the job. The thing is that I don't want to put fluid in the bleeder because I heard that was not a good idea due to potential of fluid spills. I am going to remove all the old fluid in the reservoir first and fill it with fresh fluid, and then screw on the cap and pressurize the bleeder. That is why I want to know the volume of fluid needed to go through the longest line. If it is more than the reservoir can hold, I have to depressurize the bleeder during the process and add more, and repressurize it, which is a little bit more work. If the reservoir is big enough for one line, I can flush each line with a full reservoir without worrying about getting air into the line.

Originally Posted by mitch808

Yes on Motive. Makes this a sub 1Hr job in your garage.

Like mentioned above, Just buy a couple of bottles. It's so cheap to buy brake fluid anyways.

[jandref321]

Originally Posted by jcattletown

Thanks to you both for the replies. I have a motive bleeder and will use that to do the job. The thing is that I don't want to put fluid in the bleeder because I heard that was not a good idea due to potential of fluid spills. I am going to remove all the old fluid in the reservoir first and fill it with fresh fluid, and then screw on the cap and pressurize the bleeder. That is why I want to know the volume of fluid needed to go through the longest line. If it is more than the reservoir can hold, I have to depressurize the bleeder during the process and add more, and repressurize it, which is a little bit more work. If the reservoir is big enough for one line, I can flush each line with a full reservoir without worrying about getting air into the line.

If you follow the directions and relieve pressure at the motive pump and not at the reservoir cap then you won’t get any fluid spills. If you just unscrew the reservoir connection while the system is pressurized then fluid will spray everywhere. The vacuum created by relieving at the pump, however, pulls fluid back out of the hose and reservoir. So as long as you don’t hold the whole thing upside down or let the hose flail about then no problems. I’ve done this four times and the worst that happened is there was too much fluid in the reservoir and I had to pump a bit out.

If you’re set on just using the bleeder for pressure then just keep an eye on the reservoir like normal bleeding and fill as necessary. Again, always relieve pressure at the motive pump and not the reservoir cap connection. You should only need to refill during the first caliper (back passenger) depending on when you’re able to notice the fluid color change. Otherwise, refill between each caliper.

[jcattletown]

Originally Posted by jandref321

If you follow the directions and relieve pressure at the motive pump and not at the reservoir cap then you won’t get any fluid spills. If you just unscrew the reservoir connection while the system is pressurized then fluid will spray everywhere. The vacuum created by relieving at the pump, however, pulls fluid back out of the hose and reservoir. So as long as you don’t hold the whole thing upside down or let the hose flail about then no problems. I’ve done this four times and the worst that happened is there was too much fluid in the reservoir and I had to pump a bit out.

If you’re set on just using the bleeder for pressure then just keep an eye on the reservoir like normal bleeding and fill as necessary. Again, always relieve pressure at the motive pump and not the reservoir cap connection. You should only need to refill during the first caliper (back passenger) depending on when you’re able to notice the fluid color change. Otherwise, refill between each caliper.

The thing is since the fluid is changed every two years, the color is really not that different between the old and fresh fluid. Sometimes, it is hard to tell if the new fluid is flowing out of the bleeder on the brake. Do you think the volume of two reservoirs should be sufficient to replace all the old fluid for the longest line (passenger rear)? Thanks.