Replacement Brake Hose

[hrosenthal]

I received a replacement brake hose from FFR and am getting ready to make the change.

I'm planning to empty the reservoir before disconnecting the hose, then letting the hose drain before disconnecting from the MC. Once that's done, I'll replace the hose and refill the reservoir and bleed the brakes.

Since I haven't driven the car yet, the brake fluid should be good as new.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Is just the reservoir and the hose leading to the MC enough, or should I be draining the whole system?

2. Is there a special container I should be keeping the brake fluid in while I am doing the job? Would an empty and dry water bottle do the trick?

3. Is there any reason why I shouldn't reuse the original brake fluid?

Thanks

[2bking]

There is no need to change any brake fluid. Depending on how hard it is to get the old hose off, you might just change it at the MC first and elevate the old hose end or clamp the hose to stop spillage and then quickly swap the hose at the reservoir. Refill the reservoir with new fluid. The only bleeding required is the new hose. If the reservoir end is higher than the MC just keep the hose straight and let gravity do the job. Otherwise, pull the hose slightly off the MC nipple and let the air out there. If you don't exercise the brake pedal during the hose change process, no air will get in the brake lines.

If you are worried about the spillage of brake fluid and the mess it might make, drain the reservoirs first and refill with new fluid when done. Its easy to contaminate the old fluid with moisture and debris so I wouldn't try to save it.