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Skoda Superb 40k km update: Brake fluid, coolant replaced after 12 year

10th May 2024, 16:02 by Brij Gawde

The service manual specifies that the Brake Fluid should be changed first at the 3rd year and subsequently every 2 years. The Coolant, they say, is LIFELONG.

BHPian dkaile recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Brake Oil / Coolant / Fuel Filter Service - 40479 kms - 10-04-2024

I was having NO issues, however it had been 12 years since either the Brake Oil or the Coolant had been changed. The service manual specifies that the Brake Fluid should be changed first in the 3rd year and subsequently every 2 years. The Coolant, they say, is LIFELONG, but I decided to get it changed anyway -

So off we went to try the local Meerut Skoda dealership - Brite Skoda, Meerut, for the 1st time for actual mechanical work -

The odo was at 40,479 kms

The car was lifted up

The DOT 4 Brake Fluid and the Ready Mix Coolant (no need to dilute). Plus my new battery clamp had also arrived, which as I had mentioned in my previous battery change post, had completely corroded - the old corroded battery clamp visible here - www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...9072023_11.jpg

A total 6 liters of Coolant and 1 L of Brake Oil are required for this job -

The first thing that needs to be done is that the air box needs to be removed -

Now the special thing in the 1.8 TSI Manual car is that the Clutch Slave Cylinder is also supplied with the same brake fluid for its operations, so that needs to be bled too. Here the arrow is pointing to its drain plug in the picture below -

From Briskoda -

"According to the service manual, you should drain 0.3 l from each of the rear calipers and 0.2 l from the front ones, so that's 1 liter. If you have a manual gearbox like mine, the hydraulic clutch slave cylinder should be drained together with the brakes as the clutch shares the fluid with the brake system - the service manual states that 0.15 l should be drained from the slave cylinder.

The order of bleeding is:

Clutch slave cylinder (not if you have a DSG gearbox obviously)
Right rear caliper
Left rear caliper
Right front caliper
Left front caliper

According to the service manual, you should use new brake fluid that conforms to USA standard FMVSS 571.116 DOT4 and VW standard 501.14.

(It seems that the VW 501.14 is a low viscosity version of the DOT 4 fluid that works better with ESP?"

Now the car is raised -

And first it's time to replace the fuel filter that has been lying with me for several years as the official replacement time is more than 50k kms. Here's the old petrol filter -

Which was now removed -

And replaced with this new one, a 5-minute job -

The brake pads were serviced and checked -

The front brake pads had plenty of life left in them as is visible -

But the rear brake pads were at the end of life and needed to be changed within the next 1000 kms. But they were not available at the dealership, hence cleaned and back ordered -

The car was lowered back down back to bleed the brakes -

Now I was not very happy with the 2-man manual brake bleeding followed at this dealership. They should have had some automated equipment to ensure zero air bubbles in the system. Anyways, here's the rear brake plug for the brake oil after oil removal -

What was surprising to note was that the brake fluid removed was absolutely clear, as is evident in this sample I took, even after so many years -

Again the clear brake oil is visible in this photo -

Absolutely fresh and clear Brake Fluid was fully replenished as is now visible in the Brake Fluid Reservoir -

The battery clamp was also replaced with the new one as is visible in the top circle and the slave clutch cylinder in the lower circle in red -

Getting ready to drain the coolant with the engine bash plate also removed now -

The Lower Radiator Hose, as is visible in this picture, needs to be unclipped, to drain the coolant. Sad to see that there is no coolant drain plug here -

Here you can see the coolant draining. As is visible, it is also absolutely clear and pink in colour as the original. It really is lifelong as they claim -

Coolant is being collected in the drain tray placed below, no signs of any oil in it, as someone was earlier mentioning, and clear as visible -

Fresh Coolant is being replenished. It took in about 5 liters (after engine start and auto burping) as 100% drain is never possible without total engine flush. Kept the rest in reserve -

Total Damages were Rs. 6210/- (3712 for parts and 2500 for labour). Not bad.

While I was there, also did the PDI for the new Kodiaq, that was coming into our extended family -

All done and ready to depart -

The brake felt a little spongy at first. I talked to the service advisor and he remarked that they will get perfect within the next 2-3 short rides. And they did get better in this single 10 km ride back home. Will keep a lookout if the sponginess fully disappears or not, as claimed by them, in the next 2-3 days, otherwise would re-bleed them properly. Final odo at home after testing etc. -