Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Brake fluid change interval???

Am i correct in thinking, according to the factory, that a 2015 4/4 is due a brake fluid change at 24 months/2nd year service? thankyou.

Yes, most manufacturers now recommend brake fluid change every two years. It is hydroscopic I.e absorbs moisture from the air. The effect of this is that under prolonged, continuous braking, the heat generated can cause the fluid to boil and lead to brake failure. Also, Morgans in particular seem to commonly suffer failures of rear brake cylinders. (Having water in the system possibly leads to rusty brake pistons.)
Many may argue that as the fluid is contained with only a small breather hole, the incidence of water ingress is minimal. However, for peace of mind, changing it yourself is cheap enough or if you have a dealer to do it, they should have a means of testing the fluid to determine its water content, before committing to changing it.

Most garages have a tester to see if it requires changing or not. I change mine ever 5 years.

With the high humidity here in Florida, I change mine every 2 years / 5000 miles.

Cheers,

2 years is worth it for peace of mind. Skimping on brake fluid makes no sense.

I had read in the " Making a Morgan" book that it was due for a change at 2 years. In for a service today at a respected main dealer and it wasn't done - they said it was a 3 year interval.

To be frank i didn't believe them so for peace of mind, when we got home i changed it ( along with the clutch fluid as well) and was surprised just how dark/cloudy the 2 year old fluid was. I have not got a fluid tester but judging by the colour it was needing to be changed.

I was surprised the dealer didn't change it but perhaps Morgan don't recommend a 2 year change? - hence my question. I'd have hoped they would have had a tester to check for moisture as part of the service - but the dark colour gave the game away anyway.

As John v6 put it - Skimping on brake fluid makes no sense.

Yours probably has too much Autoglym in it..

I'm on dot5 silicone fluid. The change intervals for that are even more vague, some say never. Some advantages over glycol based as it's not hydroscopic and any spills won't take paint off. But downside is if any gets into the engine via the servo failure it's not nice stuff for your internals. Apparently.

I do mine at two years. I also find that the fluid is very dark. Especially from the rear. There are some photos in my How To's.

Last Christmas I realised that my brake fluid hadn't been changed for nearly 6 years, so I set to with my trusty Sealey pressure bleeder, expecting horrible brown gunk to come out.

But the old fluid that came out was as pristine and clear as the new stuff that went in. The foot pedal is a maybe bit firmer with the new fluid, but that's about it, I haven't noticed the braking being particularly better.

I wouldn't say not to change every 2 years, it's a quick, easy, and inexpensive job and good for peace of mind, but I wouldn't fret if it was a bit longer than that.