Black goo in brake reservoir (1 Viewer)

[fatmoe]

I was bleeding my brakes in my fj40 that I have had for about 2 months and noticed that the fluid in the reservoirs looked a lot dark. On further inspection I found that there is a film of black oil (engine oil?) in all of the reservoirs. I flushed the brake lines and cleaned everything out, but what would cause something like that?

 

[andrewfarmer]

not oil - rubber particles. Most likely main seals breaking down.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Common if the system hasn't been bled/flushed for a while.

 

[Landpimp]

yup, as well as the old rubber brake lines

QUOTE=andrewfarmer]not oil - rubber particles. Most likely main seals breaking down.[/QUOTE]

 

[fatmoe]

not oil - rubber particles. Most likely main seals breaking down.

If this is normal and I don't see any leaks, does that mean I don't need to rebuild or replace the master cylinder? What other signs should I be looking for aside from some of the obvious like no pedal and not holding pedal pressure?

 

[Landpimp]

check the firewall on the inside of the cab for fliud leaking, this seems to where leaks 1st show up.

but if no leaks and everything is working fine, just flush the goo out, might even take a turkey baster and suck it out from the master before flushing.

If this is normal and I don't see any leaks, does that mean I don't need to rebuild or replace the master cylinder? What other signs should I be looking for aside from some of the obvious like no pedal and not holding pedal pressure?

 

[fatmoe]

Thanks all for the great info!

 

[PabloCruise]

If I use the turkey baster, will I be able to wash the taste of brake fluid out, or will my wife kill me?

Any way to rig a compressed air nozzle to empty a MC reservoir?

 

[xjnation]

Sure, blow the air right in and it'll empty it quickly. might be kinda messy. Easier to use a vacuum pump at the bleeder to suck the fluid out from the whole line. I recomend having someone pour new fluid in as you are doing it so no air gets in.