Brake fluid change?

DFord wrote:
Doug, you mean to say you've never heard of someone riding their bakes a little too much going down a mountain and heated them up so much it cause the water in the brake fluid to boil which made the brakes useless? I've heard those stories for years. Around where I live with heavy dew the normal every morning thing, my brake fluid turns dark as it absorbs moisture pretty rapidly. I should change it yearly but I'm not that good at keeping up with it and I don't have any trips over the mountains planned - plus I come down mountains as slow as I go up them. Yes, brake fluid has an affinity for moisture and fluid reservoirs are not air tight so there's no way to prevent it from becoming contaminated unless you move to a very low humidity area in the dessert.

I know a guy who lost all braking on a National Sea Breeze coming down Siskiyou pass. They would have been killed, but he was able to get into low gear and to use the emergency brake to get it stopped. After he let it cool for an hour it was totally back to normal. When the caliper's get over boiling point, the water in the brake fluid forms a steam bubble, which does not work in the caliper. The other issue with water in the lines is it corrodes the interior of the lines and calipers. These rust particles then cause the caliper piston to stick. I'm the first to admit I let mine go too long, but I recently got a pressure bleeder that makes it a lot easier.