New Toy - Brake Fluid Tester

[PhilMeUp]

Whilst looking for something else that Wurth make, I came across this gadget on a web site. It's got two metal prongs poking out the bottom of it. You dip those prongs into brake fluid, press a little button and it tells you how much water is in the brake fluid.

This is VERY useful. Water and brake fluid are a bad combination. Moisture in brake fluid makes it crap... brakes don't work properly and it's time to flush and replace the fluid. I actually do this with my taxi every three to six months, but will be doing it much more regularly once I figure out how to do it quicker than the couple of hours it currently takes me (ie I'm still trying to figure out the best gadget for that).

I paid $123.00 for this thing at Wurth in Balcatta yesterday (28 Mumford Place, Balcatta, 9240 9500). Of course, once I got home and searched eBay for "brake fluid tester" I found heaps of others on there for as little as $30. Ah well, this one is a quality gadget and I'll probably have it for many years.

For someone who is serious about vehicle maintenance then this is a good gadget to have. The Wurth part number is 071553200. Do a Google search for that number (and Wurth) for more info.

For a car, you would remove the reservoir cap, check the fluid and put the cap back on. Whole process would take less than 60 seconds.

Link: http://wurth.com.au/catalogueview.asp?pdf=A05_0013.pdf

Damn... Whilst looking for that link I just found a heap of other useful stuff I wanna buy...

[Ralph Wiggum]

Nice Gadjet mate, I cant help but think that the $123 it cost would almost cover the cost of brake fluid for the life of the vehicle though?

Be idea if operating in extreme conditions or if your running a fleet

[PhilMeUp]

Nice Gadjet mate, I cant help but think that the $123 it cost would almost cover the cost of brake fluid for the life of the vehicle though?

Be idea if operating in extreme conditions or if your running a fleet

I poked the thing into Deb's brake fluid a few weeks ago just for the heck of it and all the lights lit up (ie one green, two orange and two red). Yikes!

That fluid was only four months old (PBR Super Dot 4), so I assumed that Deb's car would be ok for a while. Thanks to the speed bleeders I had it flushed and ready to go in about 50 minutes.

I'm kicking myself for paying such a premium cost for the Wurth one, and it takes a stupid size battery instead of something common, but it paid for itself that night. I figured that we'd be getting at least 8 to 12 months out of brake fluid on Deb's car, but obviously I'm going to have to check both taxis a lot more regularly.

After all, that car does carry some rather important passengers...

Should start charging an extra $10 maintenance tariff each time though...

[fordom]

I'm sure there's one out there that actually tells you the temperature the fluid will boil at. I remember using it at tech a while ago.

Nice device though, really should do mine considering its still got the stuff from factory (08 car!)

[PhilMeUp]

I'm sure there's one out there that actually tells you the temperature the fluid will boil at. I remember using it at tech a while ago.

Oh, sounds interesting. Got any idea what brand it is, or who makes it?

Nice device though, really should do mine considering its still got the stuff from factory (08 car!)

They seem to go for around $30 from all the usual online sources. Worth having - I would have assumed that the brake fluid in Deb's taxi was fine for at least another six months. Poked the tester in (just being stupidly curious) and all the lights lit up. Now I know to check both taxis regularly.

[FGMAN]

I use this tester each and every day! main good thing about it is that it will not need calibration, had cheaper ones and that's always a pain