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Mercedes recommends flushing the brake fluid on the GL every 2 years or 20,000 miles.
The stated reason to flush brake fluid is that over time, you can get water in your brake lines - brake fluid is hydrophillic, which means it likes water. Since braking creates heat, water in your brake lines near or in your calipers can turn into steam under heavy braking - but unlike brake fluid, steam is compressible - so if this happens to you, when you push the brake pedal it compresses the steam in your brake lines instead of squeezing your brake pads against your rotors.
No one wants this to happen to their precious GL - and what a nice source of revenue this is for your dealership - but this is also a very easy DIY project.
I used the following tools:
Motive 0100 Power Brake Bleeder - European cars - $50 shipped at Amazon:
A small adjustable wrench for the bleeder nipples.
An old 2 liter bottle for the old fluid.
If you choose to remove your wheels, the usual sockets, wrenches, jacks and stands you always use for this.
You will also want some paper towels or shop towels. I spilled almost nothing. Please dispose of your old fluid responsibly - most auto parts stores will take it for free.
This is about a one hour very easy job. My dealer wanted $300 to do it.
It's very simple. The video on the motive website makes it very easy to figure out what to do if you have not done this before.
Disclaimer - if you introduce air into your brake lines while doing this, your brakes will either work sub optimally or not at all. So while this is an easy DIY project, if you haven't done this before make you do your homework first and go slowly / carefully. The main thing is to keep everything clean, and don't introduce any air or water into the system.
Basic steps:
Use the bleeder bottle to suck out most of the old fluid from the brake fluid reservoir.
Dump both bottles of new fluid into the power bleeder. Attach it to your truck's brake fluid reservoir - which is in the far rear of the engine compartment on the driver's side. Pump it up to 15 PSI. The pressure in the power bleeder will force the new fluid through your system when you open up the bleeder nipples on each caliper. The power bleeder ensures no air enters your system by keeping your reservoir full at all times through the process.
The order for flushing is rear passenger side, then the rear driver side, then front passenger side, then front driver side.
You can either get acrobatic and lay down under your truck to get access to the bleed nipple on each caliper, or remove each wheel one by one which makes access very easy. I first put the airmatic in raised mode, then I removed each wheel one at a time - I've got air tools which makes this a snap.
The bleed nipples for the rear wheels are on the top of the brake calipers, pointed inward. Remove the protective rubber cap, then the silicon hose from the bleeder bottle fits snugly over the nipple. Then you use a small wrench to loosen the nipple, which opens it. The old fluid starts accumulating in the bleeder bottle immediately. Once done clean the nipple area with a paper towel and push the rubber cap back on.
This is also a good time to look at your rotors and brake pads for wear / scoring, check out your suspension for leaks, look at your tires to make sure you haven't picked up any nails, etc.
On the front wheels, the bleeder nipples are on top of the calipers pointing upward.
I bled out about a full bleeder bottle from each of the rears, and 1/2 bleeder bottle from each of the fronts. It was not easy to see when old fluid was done flushing through - the old fluid looked fine - not cloudy or dirty at all.
If you can find fluid that is in a contrasting color with whatever fluid is currently installed in your truck it would be easier to know for sure when the bleed was complete. My truck had yellow fluid from the dealer, the fluid above is also yellow.
Bleed all four corners, re-torque the wheels if you removed them, remove the power bleeder, make sure you have the right level of fluid in the reservoir and you are done.
Test going slowly to make sure your brakes are still ok before going out on the highway.
I did this at the same time as replacing my front brake pads - in total took about two hours - I'd say the brake fluid flush alone is about an hour.
You can still get the ATE blue, just for non street applications. I used this recently on my 2011 gl350 40k maint. I like European fluids in my car, and ate products are great (OEM supplier)
You can still get the ATE blue, just for non street applications. I used this recently on my 2011 gl350 40k maint. I like European fluids in my car, and ate products are great (OEM supplier)
Legally you can get it, (as long as it is not labeled DOT) but do you know a source?
Seems our cars need SL.6 (low viscosity) so it is probably not the best way to go anyhow.
Actually with a 2 year change cycle, it probably makes little difference if you get it all out, as you will on the next change, and I doubt fluid will go bad even after 4 years in a street car.
I have also found it locally at a import auto parts. Same place as well as napa stores carry LubeMoly gear oil as well, made in Germany and meets spec.
I have also found it locally at a import auto parts. Same place as well as napa stores carry LubeMoly gear oil as well, made in Germany and meets spec.
and while not professional grade - the motive bleeder is the cat's meow. no question about it. just dont get greedy with the pressure as you might blow your abs unit o-rings ... lol...
and while not professional grade - the motive bleeder is the cat's meow. no question about it. just dont get greedy with the pressure as you might blow your abs unit o-rings ... lol...
Has anyone confirmed if the factory fill is ATE or Pentosin?
and while not professional grade - the motive bleeder is the cat's meow. no question about it. just dont get greedy with the pressure as you might blow your abs unit o-rings ... lol...
No doubt it is not professional grade it is perfect for a enthusiast mechanic. I use it on my 4 German cars and it has paid for itself long ago. I find 10psi is adequate for ample flow to flush.
No telling on factory fill fluid however most brake components are ATE so one would guess ATE.
It's an adapter that goes onto your master cylinder and pressurizes it from above.
It comes with a 1/4 MPT fitting, so you have to put on your own 1/4" FPT to quick disconnect, you can then hook it up to your air compressor (you do have an air compressor, right?). Yeah, it's $25 for a moulded cap, a rubber washer, a foot of vinyl tubing, and a barb-to-1/4" MPT fitting, but what are ya gonna do. I thought about making it for myself from an old master cylinder cap, but getting the hose fitting to stick to the cap would be a pain.
I didn't quite understand how the big kits work; I think they actually push fluid in from above. Seems kinda awkward, but then again, I had to repeatedly disconnect the air pressure and cap to top up the reservoir. I'm not sure which is more cumbersome. Certainly this is cheaper.
I ease the air pressure down in the master cylinder when I disconnected to top up the fluid; otherwise, the fluid agitates inside.
People upthread said 10psi; guys on Amazon said 15-20. I tried it at 15 and found the fluid flow to be pretty slow. I ended up going with 30. Even so, it wasn't any kind of rapid flow.
You ought to suction out as much of the old fluid as possible before starting. I took a wash bottle
and cut the top stem and put on a bit of vinyl tubing. Hold it upside down and it's a fluid vacuum. Can also use it to aspirate your teenage son's airway when he comes home drunk.
This one I bent up with some heat, but could have cut it, too. You get the idea.
1/4" ID vinyl tubing works okay for the bleed fluid. Smaller would be a little tighter, but this worked okay.
Sample the fluid coming out with a moisture tester. They're super cheap shipped from China now; you just have to wait a couple of weeks. http://www.ebay.com/itm/282240522553
On my '07 the bleeder screw is 11mm. No need for a fancy wrench.
It's cumbersome, but you can bleed the front wheels just by turning the steering wheel to one side. Rear you could, too, but it's probably worth it to take the wheel off.
Does it need to be repeated? Passenger rear - driver rear - passenger front - driver front.
I used 3 12oz bottles. Prestone. Let the hate fly if you must.
Last edited by eric_in_sd; 02-08-2017 at 08:25 PM.
That is such a funny story! Federal oversight... arbitrary selective enforcement of code and finished off with complete moronic thinking. Sounds perfectly like a small group of people make even smaller decision for a very large and diverse group. LOL
But yes, thanks for this post! I'm pretty sure I have some purple dot 4 in the garage WHICH IS NO LONGER GOOD BECAUSE IT'S BEEN OPENED MORE THAN A FEW DAYS [courtesy note for the unknowing].
I have some ATE blue that has been in storage for about 12 years... just found it a couple weeks ago during deep garage clean!
Does unopened brake fluid have a shelf-life?
I just picked up a pen-type electronic brake fluid tester on Amazon that measures water content in the fluid and tells you if it's time to change it. The thing was cheap...only ten bucks or so, and works great!
I had an almost full bottle of Pentosin Super Dot 4 in a cabinet and 2 years later it tests perfect.
I just picked up a pen-type electronic brake fluid tester on Amazon that measures water content in the fluid and tells you if it's time to change it. The thing was cheap...only ten bucks or so, and works great!
I had an almost full bottle of Pentosin Super Dot 4 in a cabinet and 2 years later it tests perfect.
Great idea, I just went out and bought one. Planning on it being fine, but will be good to confirm!
02-18-2014, 11:21 PM
