Importance of Fluid Flush

WHY IS A FLUID FLUSH IMPORTANT TO MY VEHICLE?

Most vehicle owners are disciplined and faithful at ensuring their vehicle gets an oil change every 3,000-5,000 miles. The reasoning behind this is most vehicle owners know that the oil and filter break down and provide less protection to the engine if it is not changed out for fresh oil and a new filter.

So what about the other fluids that protect your vehicle and its major components? Should these fluids be changed out and how often? Is it ok to ignore changing out these fluids, or will my vehicle be compromised and/or damaged by not changing out these fluids?

In the coming weeks we will be discussing the importance of all the fluid exchanges as Community Car Care is not just in the business of automotive repair, but preventative maintenance. This week’s discussion will be focusing on brake fluid.

A brake fluid flush, in essence, involves removing the old contaminated brake fluid from your brake system and replacing it with fresh clean fluid. Ideally, this should be done every 30,000 miles or 2 years. Many of our customer’s will ask, “is a brake flush really that necessary?” The answer is a resounding, “yes!” Over time your brake fluid attracts moisture and essentially is not effective in keeping the braking components cooled properly. Water heats up quicker than brake fluid. So the more moisture that has built up in your brake fluid, the hotter your braking components will get with braking. A typical result of ineffective brake fluid is poor braking performance and damage to major components like the master cylinder and calipers. These components are extremely expensive to replace, but can be prolonged by changing out the fluid circulating throughout the system every 30,000 miles. A brake flush is an additional cost, but in the grand scheme, can extend the life of the major components of your brake system.

To schedule your brake flush on your vehicle contact us at 859-635-1788 or [email protected]. Next week we will be discussing flushing of the coolant system.

LET’S TALK COOLANT FLUSH

We recently discussed the importance of a brake flush, and why it is important from the perspective of protecting the major components of the braking system. So what about a coolant flush? How does flushing the coolant system benefit your vehicle? How long can go without flushing my coolant system before it begins to compromise the effectiveness of my coolant system?

A coolant flush has the same level of importance as does the brake flush. It is imperative to flush the coolant from the system as rust and scale deposits build up with time. If the system is neglected and these deposits remain in the system, damage to the cooling system occurs because of overheating as the coolant is not effective. This, in turn, results in premature replacement of the major components of the coolant system. It is recommended that a coolant flush be done every 30,000 miles to ensure effective operation of the coolant system and to prevent early replacement of key components like the radiator, water pump or thermostat.

If you are unsure if your vehicle has ever had a coolant flush, our technicians have a testing procedure that can be done that evaluates the acidity of your coolant and will determine if a coolant flush is recommended. Below you can see the difference between clean effective coolant verses contaminated ineffective coolant.

To schedule your coolant flush on your vehicle contact us as 859-635-1788 or [email protected]