[The Critic]

Originally Posted by MEvang

Do you have some documentation to back this up? Not to put you on the spot here, but I'm just curios about where you heard this. If there is a TSB I would like to see it.
Actually there is a great amount of fluid movement when you push pistons back in. Worse yet, sediment, that tend to build up in the large caliper bores can get pushed back through the system and lodge into the small dump valve orifices. This so concerns most manufacture that screens are placed in most ABS unit inlets and outlets to prevent contamination.
Maybe this has Ford confident that this can't happen, this is why I ask. But what happened if you plug up a screen? You could probably clean it out but not till after your remove the ABS unit.
I would say, to be on the safe side you are better off pushing the fluid out of the bleeder. If you plain of flush with fresh fluid after installing your new pads, why push that old fluid back through the system.
Mike

BRAKE FLUID -- Ford does not recommend changing DOT 3 fluid or flushing the system. Ford says their recommendation is a "risk versus benefit" assessment because there's a potential for doing more damage than good. If sediment or contamination from the master cylinder is pushed through the ABS unit, it can cause big problems. Flushing the system also increases the risk of air entrapment and leaks, says Ford.

Ford says their brake systems are engineered to tolerate brake fluid contamination of up to 3 percent moisture without fluid boil (which is close to the saturation point for DOT 3 brake fluid). If the fluid has more moisture, it probably has some liquid water in it and should be changed.

Ford said they measured the water content in 7 to 10 year old Ford vehicles and found that the water content was actually quite low: only 1 to 1-1/2 percent. So based on their findings and the design target of 3 percent water, they see no need to change the fluid for preventive maintenance.

Does pushing the caliper pistons in when changing the pads push contaminants from the calipers back toward the ABS unit or master cylinder? Ford says no. There's not enough movement or migration to cause a problem.

BIG 3 BRAKE SYMPOSIUM 2001