If you aren't sure about what is actually in that, clean it out good.  I
have never done that task, so maybe your plan is a good one...seems like it
would get the job done anyhow.

  I use a Motive pressure bleeder a lot.  I use colored brake fluids...my
prefered brand is ATE..I alternate Super Blue with Gold.   They are
essentially the same, but for the color...So you can tell, during  a brake
bleed, when you have removed all the old and get to the new.  Alternate the
color.

   What I do is I leave the fluid right in the Motive bottle, I simply slip
a sandwich bag over the screw on cap that goes onto the vehicle's brake
fluid res....and I secure that with a tight rubber band or a zip tie...to
keep the ambient moisture from the atmosphere from going into the system.

  A vanagon is probably not likely to 'boil the brakes' unless the fluid is
really old and you are descending a long long mountain....but when the
brakes DO get hot enough....it really sucks....the pedal simply sinks
because the damp fluid has released it's water back into the system as
steam...and steam can compress, unlike a pure liquid.   Damp ATE has a
boiling point of 390f....clean dry ATE is in the mid 500f temp range...temps
that are often reach by racecars or trucks with big loads..Brake fluid is
relativly cheap and with a pressure bleeder, it is easy to bleed your
systems...I do it spring and fall or whenever I work on my brakes or
clutch...

  Don Hanson
On Sat, Dec 4, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Edward Maglott <emaglott3@gmail.com> wrote:

> I got a very nice used brake pressure bleeder from a guy...I think he
> used it on a BMW.  The cap part screws right onto the Vanagon brake
> fluid reservoir, and that on my 2002 Golf.  When I got it there was a
> little residual fluid in it.  The fluid is sort of blue-green.  A
> year or so has elapsed during which it has been in my not so dry
> unheated garage.
>
> So my question is how to get it ready to actually use.  I'm afraid
> that blue-green fluid might be DOT5, which VW warns me even  a tiny
> amount will contaminate my brake system and lead to
> disaster.  Anybody know about colored brake fluid?  To get it cleaned
> out, I will do the following:  Bring it into my nice warm dry house
> for a week or so.  Put fresh new DOT4 fluid in it, swish it around,
> flush it out, and repeat.  How many times should I repeat that, or
> should I clean it with brake cleaner or something else?
>
> Once I get this cleaned out and use it, how should I store it to
> prevent moisture contamination in the future?
>
> Thanks for any tips.
> Edward
>