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How to remove all of the old fluid from reservoir?
I get my "large" syringes from a local large animal vets office.![]()
Jokes asideSeriously, what IS the best way to get all the fluid out? I dont' want to put air into the system by doing it the wrong way. Just suck it out with a syringe, or ?
Thanks!!
Jokes asideSeriously, what IS the best way to get all the fluid out? I dont' want to put air into the system by doing it the wrong way. Just suck it out with a syringe, or ?
Thanks!!
The best way to get the fluid out is to read post #6 in this thread.
The new fluid is Pink
Jokes asideSeriously, what IS the best way to get all the fluid out? I dont' want to put air into the system by doing it the wrong way. Just suck it out with a syringe, or ?
Thanks!!
I just changed out the fluid in my '06 LC.
I suggest strongly that you get two cans of the AHC fluid, which you can buy online for about $30 plus shipping. My local quotes in the northeast from dealers were about $63 per can......if they happened to have it. It appears very few Toyota dealers have any. The parts guys seems mystified if you ask them about it.
The reason for two is that I followed the directions in post #6 and emptied the reservoir under the hood after setting the control to the "L" setting, allowing me to empty the largest amount from the reservoir before beginning the bleed process. (This made sense to me.....I can get the dirty fluid out more easily from the reservoir than by bleeding it through the system.)
I then dumped one of my cans of fluid in the reservoir, which nearly completely filled it to the top [far above the "max" line on the reservoir]. After bleeding the four actuators, but not the accumulator, the level in the reservoir was down to the bottom. The amount that you will bleed out by bottoming each shock absorber is very close to the amount in one can. Therefore you need two cans. One to replace the fluid bled out through the bleeders and another to replace the fluid you extracted from the reservoir before the bleeding. You wind up with about 1/2 can left over, but the nonresealable cap on the container probably means they don't want you to "save" it for future use. I assume it absorbs moisture like brake fluid, but I am not sure.
Obviously if you don't drain the reservoir before starting the bleed, you'll have enough fluid in just one can. Whats left in the system just won't be quite as clean.
This is how we usually do it at work (no rocket science), just be careful you don't squish your melon!! One can of the ahc fluid is usually plenty.
1. Set the vehicle all the way to low (Reservoir full)
2. Remove all of the old fluid from reservoir. Fill with new clean fluid, I usually put the whole can in. 3. Start vehicle and let suspension equalize to "n" position.
4. Turn vehicle off.
5. Start at one of the back accumulators (doesn't matter which one) and using a hose on the bleeder, open very slowly and let weight of vehicle push fluid out. Close bleeder when vehicle is close to bottom.
THIS IS THE STEP YOU COULD GET SQUISHED IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL!!!
6. Start vehicle and repeat steps for each corner accumulator.
7. Usually one cycle at each corner is sufficient. If you are going to do it more than once you will need more than one can of fluid.
Cautions - don't crack bleeders while car is running. Vehicle will try to compensate for the leaking corner and you will have a big high pressure mess.
Fluid resembles very slippery brake fluid and is a PITA to clean up - so keep that in mind.
Also this is usually PM at 60,000 miles.
Questions let me know.
The Spheres are the gas springs.Thank you for link, but I did not find informations how to check the spheres
I found there only test how many marks on reservoir should be between low and high position of car. (I dont understand, why OK system should have 7 or more marks and why BROKEN system have less than 7 ? - please explain)
Thank you.