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Why does my clutch fluid get so much more darker than...


Tonik
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...my brake fluid?

 

My first thought was because I use the clutch so much more.  But my front brake fluid was darker than the rear...which makes sense I never use the rear...but yet I do...my brakes are linked at about 80/20.

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I think it's mainly a function of how the two systems work.  Disc brakes don't 'retract' very much after you apply the brakes, as the pads stay pretty much in place and just skim the surface of the rotor.  Your clutch, however, retracts fully after you squeeze the lever because the clutch springs are pushing the actuating rod back.  Much greater opportunity to draw dirt and contamination past the seals into the slave cylinder.  Plus, yeah, you shift far more frequently than you brake, compounding the number of times you can introduce shit into the system.  I've got a car with a hydraulic clutch and it's the same kind of thing.  I usually flush, bleed and refresh the brake fluid on my bikes every two years, but I do the clutch reservoir on the car 3-4 times a year.

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Doesn't the darkness mainly come from hose degradation?

Nope - heat. Either from the engine (clutch) or pad / rotor interaction (brakes).

And dirt and crap that gets in, too.

Edited by Earache
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