Green Goop
 

Was tinkering in my engine bay this afternoon and noticed what looked to be algae type stuff on the inside of my brake fluid reservoir. Took the cap off, and found a load of green slime in the filter :Suspiciou

Fluid was last changed about 10 months ago, I've done a track day with it and was planning on flushing and changing before my next track day in a couple of weeks.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-B...315_114808.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...315_114801.jpg

STI ? :lol1:

sorry !

dunx

Slimer from Ghostbusters? all jokes aside I would flush the system out and replace

:lol1: Good one.

Flushing the system out is on my list for next weekend before I go on track, but just wondered wtf it is.

Is it worth me running some uber cheap fluid through first as a complete flush, then put some proper stuff in?

Sludge from condesation? Usually thats what you get on the caps.

Maybe different coloured fluids give different coloured sludge?

Or different coloured fluids don't mix? Like anti-freeze/

I thought this was interesting enough to google but no one seemed to have a definitive answer.

The educated suggestions ranged from different fluids not mixing and reacting with each other to copper oxide from a reaction with the brake lines.

It most definitively NOT mould/algae.

Possible, but fluid doesn't tend to recirculate back to the reservoir - if it did air would self purge from the system, and we all know it doesn't.

Most cars..including scoobies have steel brake lines. Unless someone has replace the lines with copper ones - as they are easier to form and cheaper. There should be little or no copper or brass in the system. I don't like using pure copper. Steel or Nickel Alloy for me.


Contamination and/or incompatible fluids is probably the most likely. As it look like the fluid has seperated out and congealed.

I once checked over a 6month old Fiat 500 with sludge on the brake fluid reservoir cap. This was whitish creamy sludge though, but it was humdrum brown fluid. In that case it was water, proven by my water tester, I can only think the engine bay was washed off with a loose cap or the fluid was checked in the pouring rain :wonder:

I have a tester like one of these - great little tool.

That's the conclusion I came up with too.

The few threads I found about this seemed to coincide with modifications/servicing of brake parts/fluid.

I shall flush the fluid out good and proper, maybe even use double quantity to be sure the system is well and truly flushed.

How easily removable is the resevoir? It's got some traces in it where I cant' reach from the cap - so think it might be wise to clean that out properly too.