AHH!! wrong fluids

[etlsport]

I stopped to get gas and asked my friend who was riding with me to fill the power steering resevoir for me while i was fuelin up.. when i came around to the hood he had started to pour the power steering fluid into the brake reservoir!... dont think he got much in before i stopped him.. so what can i do about this.. i need to drive, but dont want to if im gonna be messing up my brake system.. there wont be a shop open til tuesday either, so if i need to get rid of all the fluid and replace it, can i do that myself?

::bangs head on table::

[Tobert]

If you can come by a pump of some sort, remove what's in the resivoir then fill it up with fresh fluid. You'll probably be fine to drive it a couple days until you can flush the system. The way I always do it is just bleed the brakes until you go through one of those big bottles of fluid and all the stuff coming out is clean. I always use Valvoline synthetic these days. You can buy it at Autozone and probably Wal-Mart.

The only big problem I can think of with PS fluid is it won't handle the heat that brake fluid does. Somebody else might know if there is a chemical reaction to worry about. I've never heard of any such thing.

[Tobert]

Oh yeah and don't get any brake fluid on your paint!

[mbeach]

Did it mix? Your brake fluid should be yellowish (depending on the brand, but most commonly available fluid is the color of pee.).
Keep in mind, brake fluid is hydraulic fluid, same as your power steering fluid. This doesn't mean that damage is not being done however. The hydraulic fluid could be eating up your brake seals as you read this.

I'm inclined to believe that the ps fluid is still in (or very near) your master cylinder still. It would be unwise to open a bleeder screw on a brake caliper and attempt to flush it out. I'd think that would force this fluid into other parts of your braking system.
You may try to siphon it out of the master cylinder reservoir. I use a short length of clear tubing, inserted in a hole poked in a clean plastic soft drink bottle. Squeeze the air out of the bottle and put the hose end in the reservoir. It'll do a decent job of pulling out fluid without contaminating it. When you're done, just swap out the drilled cap with a good one and toss it away.

I can't think of too many fluids in a car that are more corrosive than brake fluid -so I don't think that the addition of the p.s. fluid will hurt anything, but I would try to get it out of your braking system asap anyways.

[etlsport]

i cant tell if it mixed or not.. the brake fluid is pinkish, and the PS fluid was clear, so its hard to tell.. im headed up to walmart right now (in a diff car) to get a siphon to clear out as much of the brake fluid as possible.. i drove maybe .5 miles after the mishap.. so not much mixing should have happened (gotta think positive!) thanks for the quick responses!.. but the more imput the better

[mbeach]

Use the Coke-bottle-hose-trick for brake fluid. It's a disposable siphon that costs next to nothing.
Brake fluid will eat through the seals on most oil pump/siphons.

[Hotsauce]

Use a turkey baster to pull the fluid out. Refill with new brake fluid from an unopened can.

I would bleed the brakes anyway, Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time and this is what corrodes the system. Its good to bleed the system once a year.

Always throw out the remaining fluid in the can. Use a fresh can every time you need brake fluid.

John C.

[IndianaVX]

would it be wise to "gravity bleed" the brakes instead of pumping the brakes to bleed the fluid out the bleeders and risk pushing contaminated fluid somewhere it shouldnt be. by gravity feed, i mean open, or remove bleeders, and let it flow.........
david