Lololol. Had to say it, just cause mine look about the same. I did the same thing with my stock strut, run that damn nut on and off a million times so it would get tight on the xa's. Pete and his extreme tolerances.... ;-)

Yeah.. GM saved... what.. about $1.00 in their build cost combining the reservoirs? Or.. they wanted to make more money selling reservoirs over the parts counter...

most do the ranger method.

I pity the people who havn't seperated the reservoir's and drive their cars normal.. not knowing that that crap is gonna get into everything Clutch and brake, at some time. That's gonna be an expensive fix if you left it for a few years of normal driving and didn't know about it..

Some, like me added the Tick Performance SS bleed line. I can flush the clutch fluid in under 5 minutes through the entire system, not just the reservoir. I do it after every race.

I already replaced the fluid from the Camaro fest.. and have my ABS working again now, too.:D

I'm still on a common reservoir... But I also have the bleeder line and frequently flush the lines... All clean and good... So far... A clutch res will not fit there on my car... Boost controller solenoids are mounted there...

Well I track my car so I need to look into this.

Wow, thanks for posting. Was just racking my brain this morning, trying to remember who made it. :thumbsup:

The separate clutch reservoir does keep your fluid cleaner. It does nothing to enhance performance and according to my experts the discoloration nof the fluid does not degrade performance.

well my non-expertise begs to differ. after i learned about the ranger method about a year & a half ago, i decided to test it out. i went out in my truck, which has the standard New Venture NV3500 5 speed transmission - notorious for having a horrible time trying to do a high-rpm 2-3 shift after launching in 1st - much like the f-body T56, and partially for the same reason.

test 1: went out as it sat, drove around a little to warm the truck up & then pulled from a dig. ran up to about 5500 in 2nd, and (as usual) had to double-clutch to successfully get it in 3rd. nothing new.

variable: changed the fluid in the clutch reservoir using the ranger method til everything stayed clear when i pumped the pedal. mind you, this was the first time i'd changed the fluid since i bought it in '06 and put a new clutch in (and even then, it wasn't a real flush - just a top-off).

test 2: drove out to the same place as before & from a dig, i launched, revved, and slammed second. now for the moment of truth... wound it up to about 5500 and BAM!!!! 3rd went right in. amazed & thinking it was a fluke, i turned around & did it again - this time up to 6000. once again, shifted right in with one pedal push. even on a third kicks-and-giggles run, i got the same single-pedal-effort results.

conclusion: i believe the clean fluid does, in fact, make a difference. i believe it's partly due to the design of my particular system. much like the 4th gen T56 clutch line from the master to the slave, the trucks also have a restriction in the hydraulic line. my year's system ain't just a little restrictor inside the end that can be drilled out; half of it's braided line that then molds to a narrower piece of hard plastic flex line. my belief is that the clutch dust getting in the fluid gives it a higher viscosity & therefore can't flow quite fast enough to meet the demand of refilling the reservoir in time to shift to 3rd - thus requiring another pump of the pedal to get enough fluid inside the slave to fully disengage the plate. the clean fluid, however, seemed to be able to do this much better.

outcome: when i got home, i rangered out my car's fluid as well.

note: the fluid starts getting dark after a few drives anyway, and at low RPMs with slower/smoother shifts, it don't really matter that much. but it would definitely help when racing.

my next steps: get speed bleeders on both vehicles next time i put clutches in.

It's okay, rusty nuts happen occasionally as we get older.... don't worry about it Chris, I'm sure they still work just fine :thumbup:

Most of the discoloration is from the hoses. Your variation if performance was most likely due to the fresh fluid for the first time in years.

It isn't the color of the fluid. It is the condition of fluid. Moisture content, boiled fluid, low temperature fluid, etc...

I don't portend to be a expert in the field of brake and clutch hydraulics, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn three weeks ago :D All kidding aside, I am fortunate to have access to some of the best of the best in the industry. When they talk I listen, unless I don't like their answer :bellyroll:

Hmm... Then I guess time will tell.. As all my clutch lines are now Stainless Steel with Teflon/PTFE inside.. so there should be no discoloration... from the hoses, anyway.:)

As to Pete sleeping at a Holiday Inn.. I hope it was OK... I havn't stayed at a H. Inn in a Long time.. and I still remember the last one there, about 8+ yrs ago. Easy to remember when the air conditioner leaks and leaves 1" of water on the floor overnight.. Kind of a knee jerk wake up call in the middle of the night's bathroom run... WTF??? Oh Damn...!!!

Ask me how I know about this...

hence my current SS brake lines and DOT4 Super Blue brake fluid.

83 mph into a turn at Harris Hills with no brakes. :yikes:

I boiled my brake fluid at the end of the 4th track session. 4 sessions at 20min per session. About 50 min between my sessions. Once the brake fluid gets that hot, you MUST change it out. I know you know this...just saying in general.


yeah...that was some scary sh!t.

I got some fluid that will fix that "little" problem :D

Moisture ruins brake fluid - literally. I use a lot of the Ranger's methods in my general maintenance/upkeep, but one thing that I follow to a T is that I always use a brand new bottle when swapping fluid. Once you open the bottle it's all downhill from there.

When doing a fluid flush that makes sense. But the brake fluid in the system can't help be be exposed to the elements. The reservoir itself isn't air tight..

When adding to the reservoir, as long as the fluid isn't months old it shouldn't make a difference.

As far as preserving the fluid you have in the bottle, I aggree, Don't open it unitl you plan to use it. And at $70 for the SRF I may put the leftover fluid in a vacuum sealed container. :laugh: