Someone put oil in my brake fluid reservoir - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Heckubus97 · 06-28-2011, 04:36 PM

I am not sure who did it, or when exactly it happened, but recently my brake line was contaminated with either motor oil, or possibly power steering fluid. We brought our car in for some other work, and complained about our brakes being soft. Sure enough they discovered the source of the issue, and it turned out to be a kick in the balls. Every rubber component of our brake system needs to be replaced at a cost of $3000 to $4000 dollars. We had our brakes replaced in 2010 by a very reputable place, and I don't think that it occured then. I think it could have been one of the oil change places that we brought it to over the past year, likely in the past few months. I am astonished that someone could be so stupid and careless as our brakes could have failed at any time, possibly injuring or killing us and anyone else who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We are just really lucky that the latest place found the problem (even though they don't do brakes, they specialize in suspensions). We even brought it in to a Nissan dealership a few days before the suspension place, and they completely missed the problem.

Has this happened to anyone else? Insurance won't cover it. I have no idea how to go after the possible culprits.

burn_this_city · 06-28-2011, 04:39 PM

Sounds like it was put in when the brake system was overhauled in 2010. Normally the system doesnt lose fluid, so I can't imagine a quick lube place topping it off, unless there was a leaky line. $3-4k sounds a bit obscene, what year and make is your vehicle?

Ace · 06-28-2011, 04:40 PM

I once had oil in my coolant...Thought it was a head gasket, or some other problem. Took the resovoar off and and drained out all the oil.

Put it back together and never found oil in it again. I'm guessing it was a lube shop. Can't remember if I had to replace the radiator in that car, or if i was lucky.

THE SCUD · 06-28-2011, 04:46 PM

I would fight your insurance on that one - seems like the type of accident insurance should cover.

CaptainCrunch · 06-28-2011, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THE SCUD

I would fight your insurance on that one - seems like the type of accident insurance should cover.

I didn't know that insurance would cover negligent unprovable repair work.

Delthefunky · 06-28-2011, 05:33 PM

Maybe the shop your car is in now did it. Some mechanics are that sleazy. I'd take it to another shop, I can recommend one, and see what they say. 3-4 grand sound pretty f'in steep! What make is it?

zamler · 06-28-2011, 06:04 PM

I find some parts of this issue to be dubious. Firstly, unless the brake fluid level was dangerously low, you would only be able to add so much oil before it would overflow the reservoir. Secondly, there is no reason that motor or transmission oil would destroy the rubber in such a short time, brake components use rubber that are highly resistant to just about anything, I doubt a short time in contact with say motor oil would do significant damage. And the price is way out there, a brake system contains for example 4 calipers and a master cylinder, plus the ABS unit. Replacing all the calipers and master unit plus flushing should not be anywhere near 3-4 grand.

And yes need more info, make and model of car. I would take it to another shop, or PM me if you like I'll be happy to look at it for you if you don't mind coming to my place, I'll do it for free (BTW, long term motor oil exposure in the brake system WILL swell the rubber parts).

edit - reading your post again, it sounds like the oil could have been in the system for several months, that is enough time to damage the rubber pieces.

GoinAllTheWay · 06-28-2011, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Sounds like it was put in when the brake system was overhauled in 2010.

I would agree. Last time I had to replace brake pads, it involved disconnecting the brake lines meaning you had to re-fill the lines and bleed them.

afc wimbledon · 06-28-2011, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

I would agree. Last time I had to replace brake pads, it involved disconnecting the brake lines meaning you had to re-fill the lines and bleed them.

Either that or a crazy ex girlfriend.

MoneyGuy · 06-28-2011, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THE SCUD

I would fight your insurance on that one - seems like the type of accident insurance should cover.

Seriously? No.

4X4 · 06-28-2011, 07:27 PM

I also think it has to do with the brake job from 2010. If your brake lines had some kind of leak that required filling the fluid periodically, you would know about it. So assuming that your brake lines don't (and never did) leak, it pretty much has to be the brake place that did not put the correct fluid in the system. Of course, have fun proving that.

If I were you, I'd start documenting and amassing info and details in hopes of getting compensation from someone, but I'd also pretty much accept the fact that I'm on the hook for the repair.

THE SCUD · 06-28-2011, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I didn't know that insurance would cover negligent unprovable repair work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Seriously? No.

Apparently my sarcasm went undetected - should it have been green?

speede5 · 06-28-2011, 11:09 PM

Motor oil will be least toxic to your brake lines. Has anyone confirmed what the foreign fluid is? Are you sure it isn't a Dot 3/4 mixup? That is more likely but shouldn't hurt anything.

Like zamler said, that quote is quite high considering how few parts would really need replacing. What make and model and year? What is the oem recomended fluid? Should be Dot 4, if so Dot 3 is safe. Are you sure the fluid hasn't broken down and is dirty? It can easily look like motor oil, usually rear cylinder leakage and possibly burnt fluid will cause this. Do you ride it like you stole it, you could have cooked it.

Just some thoughts.

Edit:
Sounds like a common problem actually and psf is your most likely culprit. Might have been the oil change, do they top up all your other fluids? Could be an easy mistake.
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r192...-Braking-Fluid

BlackArcher101 · 06-28-2011, 11:58 PM

If all the seals in the entire system are shot, odds are it wasn't a place that just topped up the level. The brake system doesn't flow, it only pushes back and forth, so for a bad fluid to make it to the discs/pistons, the entire system would have to be filled with the bad fluid (meaning it was done during a full system bleed or flushing). Topping up with bad fluid will usually only damage the system near the reservoir (ie master cylinder), but can still have severe consequences.

zamler · 06-29-2011, 12:08 AM

^^ good point.

But obviously the first thing to do is find out if the brake system does in fact have the wrong fluid in it. If the entire system has motor oil or some other non hydraulic fluid, there is a high risk of the fluid boiling, at which point you have next to no stopping power at all, or one or more wheels will lock solid.

Heckubus97 · 06-29-2011, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Sounds like it was put in when the brake system was overhauled in 2010. Normally the system doesnt lose fluid, so I can't imagine a quick lube place topping it off, unless there was a leaky line. $3-4k sounds a bit obscene, what year and make is your vehicle?

It's a 2000 Nissan Xterra.

Northendzone · 06-29-2011, 08:22 AM

out of curiousity, how did the suspension shop discover this mixup?

i doubt that this will help much, but you might want to call a couple of the oil change places you have been to to see if they check the brake fluid. might help your case if you could find and old work order where they note that they topped up the brake fluid - but even then you are likely fata'd as it will become a he said/she said......

burn_this_city · 06-29-2011, 08:25 AM

Heres what I would do.
Get a list of everything you need changed, then buy the parts on Ebay. Calipers are around $200 each for the fronts, $150 for the rears, master cylinder is $100, brake lines are $100. Ask the shipper to put warranty replacement on the shipping invoice so you don't pay tax or duty. Then take it all to a smaller shop, not a stealership and have them install everything. You're looking at $1000ish in parts, and probably another $1000 in labour.

Heckubus97 · 06-29-2011, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speede5

Motor oil will be least toxic to your brake lines. Has anyone confirmed what the foreign fluid is? Are you sure it isn't a Dot 3/4 mixup? That is more likely but shouldn't hurt anything.

Like zamler said, that quote is quite high considering how few parts would really need replacing. What make and model and year? What is the oem recomended fluid? Should be Dot 4, if so Dot 3 is safe. Are you sure the fluid hasn't broken down and is dirty? It can easily look like motor oil, usually rear cylinder leakage and possibly burnt fluid will cause this. Do you ride it like you stole it, you could have cooked it.

Just some thoughts.

Edit:
Sounds like a common problem actually and psf is your most likely culprit. Might have been the oil change, do they top up all your other fluids? Could be an easy mistake.
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r192...-Braking-Fluid

We aren't sure exactly what the contaminant fluid is, but it is sitting on the top of the DOT 3 (or 4) brake fluid as it is less dense. We were feeling how viscous it was between our fingers and it is alot more viscous than brake fluid, so it could either be power steering fluid or motor oil. If it is power steering fluid, it isn't the orange kind.

Thanks for that link, it proves that its possible with your average mr lube type worker.

What is ridiculous about my car design is that all fluid caps are hand screw offs. I don't know if that is typical, but why would it be necessary to screw off the brake fluid reservoir with your hand, you should never need to top it off, it should at least have a few clips or screws on it like your air filter so that some idiot at a lube shop doesn't mix things up.

Frank MetaMusil · 06-29-2011, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heckubus97

What is ridiculous about my car design is that all fluid caps are hand screw offs. I don't know if that is typical, but why would it be necessary to screw off the brake fluid reservoir with your hand, you should never need to top it off, it should at least have a few clips or screws on it like your air filter so that some idiot at a lube shop doesn't mix things up.

Or a bungee cord like my old 81 grand prix