I need to dig up the service records and see who did it. But whoever topped off the fluids…
So I’m bleeding the brakes (How to video will still come, need another adapter) because i want to make sure they are 100% good to go.
However, this time of flushing them I noticed that the fluid coming out was partially GREEN. Seemed pretty watery for brake fluid. To make things worse it smelled like coolant. I thought for sure I had something wrong with the car till I popped the lid on the vacuum bleeder and smelled it. That’s when I went “You gotta be kidding me.”
Apparently someone figured the brake fluid reservoir was the overflow canister.
Hopefully no one will ever see that on their cars in a lifetime. Just wow, no wonder the brakes got weird and the clutch was spongy. All good now, she feels like a new zx2!
gotta love it - in my experience any time i get a zx2 that needs service attention its usually from wear and tear or botched work by some other so called “mechanic”.
i hate to admit it but i have done a couple stoo-poo-boo-boos in the past regarding fluids as well… one as recent as 2 months ago.
A crapload of years ago I bought a 1969 Porsche 911E in running shape. When I brought it home for the first time i popped the lid to inspect the motor and check the fluids. I found the oil dipstick was located on the top of the reservoir tank in the fenderwell and when i checked it it was 2 qts low. I added the oil and drove the car up and down the street and then pulled into the driveway to do a second check of the oil. 2 qts low again! Shit! I added 2 more qts and drove around the block again. This time i started to smell oil when it was running. Shit Shit! Was the motor toast?? I opened the lid and checked the oil… 2 qts low! Damn!!! I added 2 more qts (porsche 911 oil systems hold 7 qts minimum) I drove around again and this time the motor sounded rough and smoke was pouring out of the back of the car! The air cleaners were full of oil, and oil was leaking everywhere… it was a mess.
Well after THEN consulting the manual I learned that you check the oil on a Porsche 911E with the MOTOR RUNNING! The car uses a dry sump system and pumps the excess oil into the reservoir instead of the oil pan. After draining out the 12+ quarts and replacing it with the correct amount all was ok (except for the bonehead feeling in my gut and the major degreasing job i now had on my hands).
My ex-wifes car is still under my mechanical care and her steering rack leaks (2000 Focus Wgn) so I top off the fluid monthly. I have a gallon bottle of ATF in the garage that I use, and right next to it in the garage is a gallon bottle of Super Clean Degreaser. Guess what I started to pour into the PS reservoir… DOH! I caught it before firing it up so it was just a siphon of the PS tank fortunately but boy did I feel stupid.
Sometimes even when they are right they are wrong. I had a bonehead working for me one time who thought all hydraulic fluids were the same. Can you guess how much damage Pentosin H11 does to a domestic power steering system? (insert seven minute laugh track here)
considering that brake fluid is naturally hydroscopic and attracts moisture the coolant should have been a nice addition lol. Maybe he thought the brake fluid would freeze…