Loaded calipers are a good idea . . . provided they come with quality brake pads
I’ve encountered plenty of low grade brake pads which literally chew up a perfectly good rotor in short order 
Some years ago, I had an old Pontiac 9 pass. wagon. I forget the symptom but clearly the rear brakes had a problem. I took it to the brake shop beside our factory parking lot, and they ‘fixed’ it.
Months later, the problem recurred, very low mileage after time warranty, so I took it back again. He said, yes, the brakes are bad again, and we need to replace both sides again. I sighed and told him, do it. I asked him why they went bad so fast. He shouted at me angrily and told me they could not guarantee brakes forever on an old car. I have since then learned that when a mechanic shouts at you angrily HE IS TOTALLY INCOMPETENT, 100% OF THE TIME. The best mechanic I ever encountered was a very sweet man.
Same time passed and they got bad again. This time I took it to the Cadillac dealer. They quickly called me and told me the wheel cylinder was stuck. So, Mr. Shout Angrily did not verify wheel cylinder operation either time. I am proud to say I cost him some future business among my fellow workers.
Yes, they should have.
A properly done front brake service would result in the front hydraulics being virtually flushed. Certainly a repeated front brake service in a few weeks should finish flushing any old fluid.
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I know of no mechanic that flushes the hydraulics every time they do a brake job. They do bleed the brakes…which is totally different.
The proper way to remove front pads is to open the bleeder and press the piston down until bottomed out. Repeating that job twice in a short time will ‘virtually’ flush the system. Certainly it will result in a more complete flush than the flushing of an automatic transmission. Moisture accumulates in brake fluid and the heavier contaminated fluid settles down to the wheels. And the calipers have a combined volume greater than the master cylinder.
I agree, but I think Mike was interpreting the statement as a complete flush.
I also connect a clear tube to the bleeder with its other end in a half-full small bottle of brake fluid before opening the bleeder and pushing the caliper open. The air in the tube will burp out in the bottle, and the inevitable small drawback will draw fresh fluid into the caliper. It prevents getting air into the caliper.
I use speed bleeders. The spring-loaded ball valve prevents drawback, and they also let me manually bleed them by myself when no one’s around to push on the brake pedal for me.
I was. To flush out all the fluid, you need to pump the brakes for a while and keep refilling the reservoir. Bleeding the brakes or just opening the bleeder valve when pushing the piston will push a lot out of the caliper, but the there’s a lot more in the brake line.
Since fresh brake fluid is a little more dense than water, I don’t think it would settle like this. Certainly water can spread through the system by the back-and-forth motion of the fluid, and diffusion past rubber seals at the wheels.
I’ve always done my own disc brake work, so not sure what’s standard procedure. But I wouldn’t expect a shop to do anything with the brake fluid as part of a routine pad and rotor job other than topping the fluid off if required. I don’t think a shop would assess the quality of the brake fluid without another reason.
I know none of the mechanics I used for brakes previously (before I learned how to do them myself) ever checked the quality of it other than maybe a visual when they topped it off. Don’t some European countries require a test of brake fluid for water content as part of safety inspections?
How do you test break fluid ?
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Fixed…typing too fast without double checking.
But I would think either some kind of probe which could measure water percentage or maybe strips that you just dip into the reservoir…
My earliest education in auto mechanics was working as a helper in a fleet of trucks of all sizes and learned to use a turkey baster to draw out all the brake fluid possible then top off the master cylinder and open all the bleeders while changing the oil. That was more than 50 years ago and I have continued that procedure since then. Also, at every brake service the bleeders were opened and a short length of rubber hose is attached to the bleeders the master cylinder pumped out and refilled and when repairs were complete the master cylinder was pumped several strokes then the bleeders closed and the pedal tested. On fleet vehicles that I have serviced the only calipers ever replaced were those that had broken boots. And while I have never known of a method of testing brake fluid I have always felt certain that when the fluid was bright and mostly clear it was about as good as it could get short of pressure flushing and while I have the equipment to pressure bleed/flush old screw on lid master cylinders those have mostly gone to their graves.
What you were doing for free costs $91 today, people want to get paid for each service performed. Even if the tech wants to replace the brake fluid for free, who pays for the brake fluid? Some of the master cylinder reservoirs today hold 10 times the amount of fluid those old cast iron masters held.
Just one of many:
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I charged from .5 to 1.0+ hours for regular service on fleet vehicles. The work was profitable.
It’s been a while since I retired and I don’t recall Snap-On, Mac or Cornwall ever selling such a device.
To Rod_knox
They have been sold in Europe for - at least - 30 years and there are many different brands.
https://www.google.dk/search?tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=RYH4WZjaM6r06AS_yp3YCw&q=brake+fluid+tester&oq=brakefluidtester&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i19k1l3.106946.116459.0.119588.11.11.0.0.0.0.870.2002.0j6j1j6-1.8.0…0…1.1.64.psy-ab…3.5.1514…0i8i13i30i19k1.0.UNlkrSI1Z48
This is the style I worked with in the early nineties.
From Snap On. Albeit not the smartest and at an insane price.