GAH! topped off brake fluid with power steering fluid!

[qbert2500]

I'm in diamond bar. CA.

Ok, so far I just took the hard lines off the MC.
The post above scared me to act quicker.

I don't have the right socket to take it off the drum so it will have to wait till tomorrow.

I did get most of the fluid out of the reservoir with the turkey baster but I may have let oil down as I pulled brake fluid out. not quite sure.
It looks kinda clean not sure if it is the steering fluid.
To be safe I should remove the hard line completely right? Clean with denatured alcohol or get new lines. Clean the MC and reservoir with denatured alcohol.
I might buy all new parts or just clean them right and will replace them myself. Doesn't seem to difficult actually it's been a while since I wrenched on a car. I'm sure you all can tell. lol!
It's pretty fun, that's why I bought this jeep anyway.

 

[TurboGuru]

The Master should be replaced with no question, it is no longer safe in my opinion, and not worth the chance that it MAY fail causing you to loose your brakes when you need them. The MC unbolts from the "drum" behind it (vacuum booster) the booster does not need to be removed or serviced, there is no fluid in the booster. Disconnect the lines before the prop valve and catch the fluid that comes out into a cup/ container. Mix water with the captured fluid, brake fluid will mix readily and completely with water, if any oil residue has made it to this point it will float on the water or create a rainbow sheen on the top of the water. If no floating oil or sheen is visualized in the container you MAY have averted disaster... go buy a lotto ticket. On the other hand, if there is oil or a sheen present, don't take any chances, REPLACE EVERYTHING as we discussed above.

 

[bmpweXJ]

Don't bother fleshing the master cylinder, it's toast.

I'd think that if PS truly floats on top of brake fluid, all you need to do is disconnect the lines at your front and rear brakes, throw in a new master cylinder, soft lines, and porp valve, then run a gallon of fluid through the system.

Go to a respected brake shop, tell them your doing your own work, and ask for opinions.

 

[87manche]

I would reverse the bleeding procedure and force new brake fluid in from the wheel side until it came out nice and clean at the master end.

I doubt that it made it all the way to the calipers/wheel cylinders.

Then replace the master.

It's not likely that ALL of your wheel seals would fail at the same time, and they would start leaking before complete failure, so that's a risk I would feel comfortable taking. Monitor your brakes daily for a month for signs of seepage, if there is none I would call it good.

There is some risk that it did get to the wheels, but since you've not used the brakes since it happened, and if you backflushed the lines I think it would be minimal.
At the end of the day it's your brakes and your safety, so you make the call. I'm just some asshole on the internet giving advice.

from the bottom of the page:
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=989193

 

[eflores]

The Master should be replaced with no question, it is no longer safe in my opinion, and not worth the chance that it MAY fail causing you to loose your brakes when you need them. The MC unbolts from the "drum" behind it (vacuum booster) the booster does not need to be removed or serviced, there is no fluid in the booster. Disconnect the lines before the prop valve and catch the fluid that comes out into a cup/ container. Mix water with the captured fluid, brake fluid will mix readily and completely with water, if any oil residue has made it to this point it will float on the water or create a rainbow sheen on the top of the water. If no floating oil or sheen is visualized in the container you MAY have averted disaster... go buy a lotto ticket. On the other hand, if there is oil or a sheen present, don't take any chances, REPLACE EVERYTHING as we discussed above.

hey man we're gonna need you to sign a bad advice release form. Wherein you will agree that your advice is 100% accurate and without fault of any kind. Furthermore if there are any errors in your advice you will be required to pay for any repairs required due to your bad advice within 3 working days not to include Sunday or your mothers birthday. In the event you cannot pony up within 3 days you agree to forfeit your keyboard rights and turn over all keyboards in your possession to the internet police or some broke college kid, whomever you find first. This will need to be signed in triplicate and filed with the closest BS inspection office by end of business today.


That is all :insert flipoff smiley here:

 

[toates89]

turkey bast that shit out

 

[87manche]

turkey bast that shit out

bother to read the thread much?

 

[XJRunner]

is having power steering fluid in your MC really that bad? I don't understand why he cant just suck it up and put in brake fluid and call it good? Unless he pumped the pedal and push the PS fluid into the lines

 

[metaldemon7]

When I worked in a garage, we had a guy in a Cadillac who did the same thing. Brake components hate petroleum based products. We replaced all the components ( master cylinder, wheel cylinders, calipers, proportioning valve, rubber lines ), and flushed the lines. Then we blew the lines out with compressed air. Brakes are so important. Nothing makes your heart beat faster, then when the pedal goes to the floor at speed. Darwin's law says it will happen when you need them most.

 

[kastein]

When I worked in a garage, we had a guy in a Cadillac who did the same thing. Brake components hate petroleum based products. We replaced all the components ( master cylinder, wheel cylinders, calipers, proportioning valve, rubber lines ), and flushed the lines. Then we blew the lines out with compressed air. Brakes are so important. Nothing makes your heart beat faster, then when the pedal goes to the floor at speed. Darwin's law says it will happen when you need them most.

agreed... but Murphy's law says that, Darwin's says that it'll happen to the person who wasn't smart enough to fix the system after contaminating it.

XJRunner, yes, many seals used in brake systems are not formulated to handle oils and will degrade badly if exposed to them.

Some aren't, some are. Are you willing to play russian roulette with your life and that of the people in front of you over some parts that might be bad? I'm not.

 

[vt98xj]

The quicker the better is what I was trying to get at. Actually depending on the brand of the fluids if the specific gravity of the power steering fluid is less the that of the brake fluid they shoud stay seperated. From the little amount of quick searching I have done. Typical power steering fluid is less then brake fluid. Therefore the Powersteering should "float" on top of the brake fluid.

Replace the master cylinder then bleed the system and call it good.

Since the Jeep has not run and the pedal has not moved, I am 99% certain that no power steering fluid made it into the brake lines. So only your master cylinder would be affected at this point.

 

[qbert2500]

So I'm thinking of getting it towed to a shop/dealer for a new reservoir and MC replacement plus bleeding the brakes and new brake fluid..

I should be ok to tow it since the two hard lines are disconnected? I can now press on the brake and put it in neutral correct? since the two hard lines are no longer connected, right?

Usually, I would work on stuff myself but brakes are one thing I don't want to mess with. I've always changed my own brake pads though.

 

[old_man]

Cleaning out the lines with denatured alcohol sound good but remember it has water in it.

 

[TurboGuru]

hey man we're gonna need you to sign a bad advice release form. Wherein you will agree that your advice is 100% accurate and without fault of any kind. Furthermore if there are any errors in your advice you will be required to pay for any repairs required due to your bad advice within 3 working days not to include Sunday or your mothers birthday. In the event you cannot pony up within 3 days you agree to forfeit your keyboard rights and turn over all keyboards in your possession to the internet police or some broke college kid, whomever you find first. This will need to be signed in triplicate and filed with the closest BS inspection office by end of business today.


That is all :insert flipoff smiley here:

Thanks for the valued input to the thread. LOL! Glad to see the ribbing coming from another Kappa Sigma brother. AEKDB

 

[kastein]

rubbing alcohol has water in it, I've never seen denatured that had anything except ethanol and methanol in it.