Is it okay to drain all the brake fluid in order to change brake lines? Will the master cylinder be damaged if there is no brake fluid in it?

Yes it is okay to dain the fluid and it will not damage the cylinder. i hope you have someone to help you bleed the air out. have fun and good luck.

r u going to take the pill out well ur already messing with the cylinder?

whats a pill?

It's not the clutch line he's replacing.. it's the brake lines.
I don't think there is any "pill" in the brakelines.

Ya its cool to drain the fluid. Make sure you brush up on how to bleed the system when your done with the lines. have fun and dont get any fluid on your paint

Thx for the advice everyone.

Whoa whoa....DO NOT let ALL the fluid out of the brake resorvior. Get more fluid and keep it topped off as you bleed the brakes, don't let it get below the minimum line.


- Andrew

Why not? If I remove the stock brake lines with fluid still in the system wont brake fluid spill everywhere?

You're making your life harder by doing this. If you let all the fluid out you'll likely have to bleed the air out of the cylinder as well, vs. just the lines.

Just put a drain pan under there to catch the fluid that spills out (which is actually very little). If you let the reservoir run dry you are allowing air to enter the master cylinder and possibly the ABS system, neither of which are good. At the very least you are looking at bleeding the master cylinder. Trust me, I speak from experience when I say that letting the master cylinder get air in it is a headache you don't want to deal with.

-Dan

So just take off the brake lines without touching the fluid level, let some fluid spill out, change the lines, then bleed?

Also, are there any special tools I need to change the brake lines?

^^^MAKE SURE YOU USE A FLARE NUT WRENCH!!!!!!

And not a regular wrench. You WILL strip at least one of the bolts with a regular wrench.

The fluid will come out easily at first, then it will just drip. Put the cap on the reservoir, it may seal off the system a little better as to not let as much fluid come out. And do a search on bleeding the system. There are a couple different theories on which order to do it. Also, there is a certain order to bleed the inner/outer nipples, just cant recall right now, and dont want to give wrong info...

You don't have to drain fluid. Just remember to bleed well.

Do I have to buy new retaining clips or can I reuse the old ones? Also is there any other part that I should get new from the dealer?