Brake Fluid

[c130king]

Hello my helpful Mac friends,

I have done some searching but haven't found what I am looking for...

Have König sitting in my driveway. Have washed everything and have half of it waxed. So I decided to check my brake fluid...never done that before...I know, I know.

Anyway, don't see any fluid at all. Cap says "fill to bottom of cap" and I can see the bottom of the reservoir.

So, what goes in there? And where do I get some?

Once I get said brake fluid can I just dump it in...up to the bottom of the fill cap...or do I need to do something else?

As you may be able to tell I am like Forrest Gump..."I am not a smart man..."...when it comes to mechanical things like this.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

P.S. -- 994 unique visits to my personal sailing website (doesn't count repeat visits). I figure about 95% of them have come from my Mac friends on this website. Who will be lucky number 1000?

[Fxwg80hd]

If all your brake fluid is gone, you have a problem as in a leak somewhere. It is not hard to repair, but unless you are mechanical I would suggest that you take it to a trailer repair shop and get it fixed correctly. The leak could be from seals in the master cylinder, calibers, or brake lines. Even if you don’t have a leak, which I’m pretty sure you do, with all the fluid gone you will need to bleed the brakes. This is not an easy task to do by yourself.

Your trailer should take regular Brake fluid that you can purchase from anywhere they sell car parts (Advance Auto Parts, Walmart, Kmart, ...).

Chris

[Québec 1]

As fx said you have a leak , get it checked..my leak was in the line as it had rubbed on the trailer and required a simple replacement of a piece of brake line, my mechanic did it but was going to charge me 50$ bucks an hour to bleed it so I bled it myself successfully.. ( used to savings to buy a bottle of scotch and some Cuban cigars )

Page 24 of my manual
http://www.trailmastertrailers.com/pdf/ ... enance.pdf

I do it by myself, starting with the the wheel farthest from the master cylinder. I use regular auto brake line fluid no. 3 or 4 I don't remember.
1. I follow instructions manual 1 and 3 to the letter
2. I have never done instruction manuals 4
3. I attach a tie down ratcheting strap around the front of the trailer hitch to the trailer.
4. I ratchet the hitch so it is compressed and then go to the bleeder screw on the side of the brake system and unscrew it and let the air out then screw it back up.
5. I release the ratcheting strap , let the hitch (at the beginning sometimes have to pull it back ) come back to non compressed position and redo point no. 4 over and over again until there is only brake fuid and no air coming out of the bleeder screw and the fluid is topped off in the master cylinder.
6. Repeat for other brake.

Last year on this day Le Zephyr is pictured in Marathon Florida at the fancy marina. I will be back next year it was so much fun!
Q1

[c130king]

Chris,

My guess is that for the three years my boat sat in storage in Florida while I lived in the UK it slowly evaporated and leaked.

For now I will buy brake fluid and attempt to "bleed the brake lines". If after a time I still have a loss of fluid then I will try the trailer repair facility. But I will give it a chance on my own first.

I just need to figure out how to "bleed the brake lines".

By the way, the plan is to take König out to Casa Rio a week from today. Greg says he has a temp spot ready now and a "permanent" spot for me in a few weeks. Hopefully I can launch and sail for a few hours next Sunday as well...you interested?

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

P.S. -- have fun with your taxes...I got my refund on Friday

[c130king]

Bertrand,

Thanks. I plan to give that a try.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

[Québec 1]

1.The first person strokes the pushrod slowly .
2. The first person SLOWLY releases the pushrod.
3.Repeat this procedure until................... the fluid expelled .
Q1

[c130king]

1.The first person strokes the pushrod slowly .
2. The first person SLOWLY releases the pushrod.
3.Repeat this procedure until................... the fluid expelled .
Q1

Do you have to "read the manual" while you are doing this procedure. My understanding is the "manual" will help get the pushrod fully extended for this procedure...



P.S. -- In the USAF the term "training manual" is a euphimism for adult reading material

[c130king]

Getting back on subject after that rather...er...rude detour...

How much brake fluid does it take to fill the reservoir. Pint...quart...???

[Québec 1]

pint, unless you need more

[hoaglandr]

1000! Do I get a prize?

Russell

[c130king]

1000! Do I get a prize?

Russell

Sorry, no prize. But THANKS for being number 1000...looks pretty cool. And thanks to all my Mac friends for their wisdom, advice and friendship over the last 4+ years.

I am looking forward to new adventures and of course lots of photos and videos for this upcoming sailing season as I will be out of a new marina and exploring new sailing areas on the Chesapeake. So check back on the site every now and then for new info.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

[seahouse]

Hey Jim--

Note that if you're going to top it up yourself you need to know what type of fluid is already in there; you can't mix brake fluid types (3 or 4 etc).

- B.

[c130king]

Hey Jim--

Note that if you're going to top it up yourself you need to know what type of fluid is already in there; you can't mix brake fluid types (3 or 4 etc).

- B.

Well since I don't know what is in it (or was in it) now...and since it is completely dry inside there...I guess I will just buy whatever is cheapest and go with that.

I wonder if instead of using the strap to compress the cylinder as Q1 described I could instead back the trailer up against the bricks I use as wheel chocks (with the electrics not hooked up of course). I will check it out. Should be an interesting project for me.

If I, as a self proclaimed "mechanical dunce" can replace my rack-n-pinion steering system and install an S1 Wheel Pilot then hopefully I can figure out how to bleed the brake lines. But I am not so confident that I am willing to wager anything on my prospects for success...

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König

[hart]

I have the same problem. Apparently it's a nasty leak since I filled it last monday and now the master cylinder is dry again. I'm debating using this as an opportunity to replace the whole system with a new disc brake system.

[Fxwg80hd]

Jim - In case you don't finish bleeding your brakes before Sunday, I'll help you. By the way, I believe DOT-3 Brake Fluid is the most common and most lilkely what was in your trailer before. I pulled the following from the BassPro Website.

If you have a self-braking trailer, watch your brake fluid level in the reservoir. Use a quality Dot-3 brake fluid. Brake lines on a boat trailer are thin, hypodermic steel that carries the fluid. They can easily rust, causing a leak that will drain the reservoir and cause brake failure.

Still not sure if DOT-3 is correct, but it is the most common. Hope this helps.

Chris