How difficult is it...

to bleed your brakes and replace fluids? Thinking about doing my first Driver's Ed later this month and believe a recent blake fluid change is needed. Should I do this myselve or am I better of letting a pro do this?

simple operation but requires the purchase of a bleeder... MOTIVE seems to be a very popular brand, and can be found on many sites. I think they are $50-100 range and can be used over and over. You put fluid in it, put the cap on your brake resivour, pump it up....then simply go to each caliper (wheel off) and open the valve....fluid will fush thru, close the valve and repeat..... not much to it, just make sure the pump stays full of fresh fluid and stays pressurized (simple hand pump built into it)

If you have a piece of rubber hose and a buddy, you can do it for the cost of the brake fluid in about an hour. Have your buddy sit in the car, attach the hose to the bleeder valve, have him step on the pedal, open the valve and have him say "down" when it is all the way down. He holds it while you close the bleeder valve then repeat until you get clear fluid.

If you are going to take the Red Pill and go down the slippery slope I suggest to join renntech.org. There is a wealth of knowledge and "how to" articles there. While you have the wheels off to bleed the brakes check the brake pads too. It's not that difficult to change out pads following the instructions. The most PITA part of the brake bleed is if you decide to bleed the clutch line too. In order to reach the nipple you have to get under the car and reach up next to the transmission to get at it.

True, but for first timers there is a higher risk of "whoops, it was open and I lifted the pedal" thus sucking in air and making the job a last a while longer. Link to Wiki on bleeding brakes even they show a Motive power bleeder, just makes sense, and isnt too expensive.

+2 on the Motive bleeder.

Well technically on a 2000 and up car (or 99 with PSM), you should use a computer that lets you open the ABS pump valves to bleed/replace all of the fluid. If you would like any help, feel free to get in touch with me.

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Do you need the bleed the clutch line?

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Looked at the Motive Power bleeders and that looks pretty simple. What is the deal with the ABS/PSM issue?

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it is recommended to do so.... its not that bad to do.

It's a very simple process. I was like you, where it sounded more complicated than I thought it would be possible for me to do. Guess what? It's super easy to do!! There are various power bleeders and such, but in the end the best way is the good ole fashoned way with two people. You'll need a piece of rubber hose, the right wrench, and an empty water (or other) bottle. I personally like using ATE Super Blue and their Amber colored brake fluid to ensure it's flushed completely. It's inexpensive yet very effective. If you'll be doing HPDEs, do yourself a favor and learn how to do it yourself. In fact, learn as much as you can to do yourself as possible. In the end, you'll sometime need to do it at the track and might as well learn now. Plus it'll save you money which isn't a bad thing. Dave Gran

So, bleeding the brakes is easy, flushing all of the brake fluid is impossible without opening the ABS pump valves appropriately, and that takes a computer. You can probably get most of it if you engage ABS a few times and continue bleeding. Anyway, this is not my opinion, it's fact as per the service manuals. That said, I've seldom used the tool to do so, I bleed or flush my brakes either "manually" or with a power bleeder. Works well enough for the most part.

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I'm not a mechanic, nor a Porsche engineer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so here's the deal: The brake system and the hydraulic clutch share the same fluid reservoir and the lines are all interconnected. If you are going to go the trouble of bleeding the brakes for DE, you might as well flush the system with fresh DOT 4 fluid. Under normal street use the recommendation is a flush every 2 years. If you track the car it's more often, maybe every year or more often. If you're going to flush the system, you might as well upgrade the stock fluid to something more resistant to boiling e.g. ATE Super Blue. If you don't flush the clutch line then there will be some old fluid mixed in there with the new. Contaminants will tend to lower the boiling point of the fluid (not as good). As long as the system is not leaking, if there are bubbles of air it will be in the vicinity of the brakes where it gets really really hot and the fluid boils, not around the clutch. Is it fatal not to flush the clutch line? Probably not. But you should do it if you can.

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You wrote that book? Thanks for writing it. It inspired me to dive in the deep end and start doing DE and autoX. It has a special place in my Porcelain Library collection.

Another school of thought... If you are not a decent mechanic, this is your 1st track event and you're unsure if you'll get into it; go to a private shop (unless you have connections at dealer) that will do it right and bleed the ABS unit as well. You will likely need a tech inspection for the event and that can be done at the same shop. Superblue brake fluid should work fine for your 1st track event, you don't need anything expensive.

+1 to Fissionx - either Quentin at the dealer or the guys at Eurowerks could knock both out in short time for you. If you ask nicely, they would let you watch which would give you some idea of what you're in for. Pm me if you want to give it a try and I'd be happy to walk you through it.

Easy peasy to do. I flush my fluid at least 2x a year. I use Motul RBF 600. Cheaper than that liquid gold that is Castrol SRF. I have a Motive Powerbleeder. HOWEVER, I never fill it with fluid. I just use it to pressurize the system at the reservoir. Since I don't have all 4 wheels up in the air at the same time, it's just as easy for me to do one corner at a time (farthest from the master cylinder to the closest in terms of order) and after each corner, I fill the master cylinder reservoir and repressurize, bleed, jack up wheel, pressurize, etc, etc. Tools: Needle nose pliers for the cotter pin on the caliper (if you're changing pads) channel pliers to spread the pads rubber mallet to tap the caliper to make sure any bubbles aren't left in there 11mm wrench for the bleeder nipples (take HUGE care not to overtighten this at all) I made a homemade brake fluid catch can w/ some silicon tubing and a disposable water bottle. Drill hole in top cap and a smaller hole for air to escape as it fills w/ fluid. A bunch of zip ties to make it hang off the metal pin you use to mount the wheels on the car. brake cleaner etc. Anyways, it's easier than you think. take your time.

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Agree... gonna have Eurowerks do it for me this time. Maybe I will do myself in future.

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Actually that is only required if you open the system to air (replacement of components or draining the reservoir too low). For a simple bleed or flush it is not required. I was concerned about this during my first bleed/flush as well and was reassured when I read the manual more closely.

Nothing wrong with that but if you plan on doing more DEs, you really should learn how to do it yourself. I also suggest bringing some extra brake fluid with you to the track as you never know when it might be necessary to bleed the brakes while there. Worst case, I'm sure you'll find plenty of people at the track to help you do it if need be.