One often overlooked maintenance item on all cars is the hydraulic brake fluid. Brake fluid is hydroscopic; that is, it attracts water. And since the brake system is open, as the brake pads wear, the fluid level in the reservoir drops as more fluid is stored in the calipers, making room for more water to enter at the top. As more water mixes with your fluid, the boiling point drops. This will cause brake fade and a spongey pedal as the water boils, or worse, might lock up your brakes until it cools. The water also causes rust, and rust sediment will ruin the delicate rubber sealing rings in the master cylinder, wheel cylinders and calipers. I've even seen old Fiats with severe rust that has eaten the steel brake lines out from the inside.

Brake fluid in you Fiat or Lancia should be changed at least every two years, and don't forget your other car -- manufacturers of cars with ABS recommend changing the fluid even more often.

One important reason to change your brake fluid every two years is to open the bleeder screws. These have a tendency to stick in place because of electrolysis -- the bleeder screw is steel, and the caliper housing aluminum. I've read lots of suggestions on how to break them loose (see letter below!), but if you open them every two years to change the fluid, they won't stick as easily.

If you don't have a vacuum suction bleeder, it's easy to bleed brakes with a partner -- get your favorite relative or significant other to sit in the driver seat and pump the pedal, while you work the bleeder screw. Any manual will tell you how, and the only trick to Fiats is to be sure that if your car has a brake compensator (most models from 1968 on), make sure the rear axle has the car's weight upon it. A couple of precautions:

1. Be sure to catch all the fluid that bleeds out -- that stuff's considered hazardous waste!
2. Always put the little rubber cap back on the nipple; it keeps dirt out of the bleeder.
3. Put a dab of silicone grease -- not petroleum grease -- on the threads. Anti-seize also works. Do this before you start the bleeding.

   August 22, 1994
   Dear Fiat Plus,
   Great Newsletter! I have been thinking lately on the problems with bleeding brake calipers. I am sure many of your customers have encountered the problem of breaking the nipple on the brake caliper bleed screw. My question is: why not use Teflon tape (available at plumbing supplies) on the bleed screw. Teflon decomposes at 327 degrees C. Or, why not use anti-seize thread compound (Loctite manufactures one that has a temperature resistance of 1600 degrees F). Any of these two products would prevent seizure of the threads on the screw or caliper.
   Peter Bonatrigo, Quebec City, Canada

   Dear Peter,
   Your letter inspired this issue's Tech Tip. Though I've never tried Teflon tape, in the shop we use anti-seize. Just be careful not to get any below the threads onto the sealing surface of the bleeder.

   

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