Brake fluid added to the coolant reservoir

Tiny
GSOUSA
  • MEMBER
  • 2011 PORSCHE 911
  • 3.8L
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 40,000 MILES
About 500 miles ago I inadvertently added 1 liter of brake fluid into the coolant reservoir (32 litre capacity). I am going to flush, but can I expect any damage as a result of my mistake?

Thanks,

Gary
Monday, May 24th, 2021 AT 2:14 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Here is a guide that will help with this in case you need it:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/coolant-flush-and-refill-all-cars

To answer your question on this, it is unlikely that it did major damage. The main thing you would need to worry about is the heater core plugging.

What I would do is flush the cooling system like you are planning and then use a laser temp meter to check the temperature on both lines coming from and going to the heater core. They should be about the same.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-an-infrared-temperature-meter

If that is okay then I would not worry too much about it as it is not uncommon to have oil and other contamination in the cooling system. It is pretty resilient, even though brake fluid is more corrosive.

Let us know if you have other questions. Thanks
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Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 AT 8:19 PM

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