Brake fluid color change
 

I changed the brake fluid in my '87 300D Turbo (W124, OM603) today and thought that the unexpected golden color of the newly-installed fluid was worth sharing.

The new fluid (Castrol synthetic DOT3/4) has almost no color as it comes out of the bottle but in the reservoir it looks rather yellow. This turns out to be the "fault" of the reservoir, which is 23 years old and has yellowed over the years. There may also be a little emphasis towards the red end of the color spectrum due to the flashlight I used to illuminate the fluid.

The old fluid (non-synthetic DOT3) had also yellowed since it was installed in 2007; the combination of the old fluid in the old reservoir looked really bad (should have photographed the old fluid also).

The photo gives me something to compare to in a couple of years. In the future I'll pull a sample with an eyedropper rather than relying on the apparent color in the reservoir.

Jeremy

Looks nice... Mine's dark brown.

Mine was near black when I first got my car.

I would venture a guess and say that "near clear" fluid you got is taking some of the yellowish stuff off of the inside of the reservoir.

I have never had the fluid in the reservoir turn any color over time - it typically takes on the color of the tank, as noted, but if you look into the fill opening (take the screen out) the stuff is actually clear, years later. Now, the stuff that comes out of the calipers when you flush (which I do when I change pads) is some nasty stuff, usually ranging from black in cars where the stuff has been in there more than a couple of years to a light brownish color, depending on health of hoses, seals and the like.

Good luck, Jim

X2 with Jim on fluid change.
If you replace pads, its time to replace the fluid. Otherwise it will be calipers & master that will need replacing next time. Most service schedules require regular brake fluid changes.