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Brake Fluid

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tahoe healey

tahoe healey

Yoda
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Probably this has been discussed but can one tell if the brake fluid is silicone or not? (Other than putting some on paint and waiting for bubbles). I may need to add some in the future. No problems, just in case.
Thanks
 
Re: break fluid

I would do just that. Take some thing small that is painted and dip it in the reservour. Set it aside and come back in a few hours. If the paint comes off it is probably DOT3. I doubt Steve Green would use silicon anyway. Over the winter you could flush the system and give your wife a leg workout as you have her pump em up, push and hold.
 
Re: break fluid

Not sure if there is a huge difference between dot 3 and dot 4 but I was told to use dot 4 because it has a higher boiling point. Also was told that silicone tends to have a spongey feel to the pedal. I can't really confirm this since I have only driven the car on a short test run . Any one else runing dot 4? BR1
 
Re: break fluid

Tahoe,

The easiest way is to take some brake fluid out of the reservoir and put it in a jar with a small amount of water. Shake it up and see how it settles out. If it is dot 3 or 4 it will mix with the water. If it is dot 5 (silicone) it will separate into distinct layers (with water on the bottom). Testing some on a painted surface might work but when I placed Castrol LMA on a well cured spray panel of automotive paint it didn't make a mark, even after 4 days. Go figure!

Cheers,
John
 
Re: break fluid

HI TH, any paint missing under the bonnet just above the reservoir or bubbling on the reservoir can? Should that be the case you do not have DOT 5 Fluid in the car.--Fwiw--Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif
 
Re: break fluid

Blue Ridge,

I like and have been using dot 4 in my regular cars for several years. It doesn't seem to
attract moisture and then discolor as fast as the dot 3s used to do for me.
I plan on flushing out my BJ8 and filling it with DOT 4 right after I replace the rusted brake line that runs under the car to the rear axle's rubber brake hose.
 
Re: break fluid

C'mon guys. Silicone brake (not break)fluid (DOT 5) is purple. That's why they colour it that way so you can see the difference. Regular glycol based fluid (DOT 3 or 4) is pale amber, almost like the colour of your thin American beer!<grin>
Rich
 
Re: break fluid

You mean our Great tasting thin beer , Ehhh ??
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif
 
Re: break fluid

[ QUOTE ]
C'mon guys. Silicone brake (not break)fluid (DOT 5) is purple. That's why they colour it that way so you can see the difference. Regular glycol based fluid (DOT 3 or 4) is pale amber, almost like the colour of your thin American beer!<grin>
Rich

[/ QUOTE ]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif Rich, you sure you are not confusing US beer with that "Fosters" stuff I understand they are importing up there?---Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
Re: break fluid

Dave,

Your pickup truck should be a nice Guinness Stout tint by now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

Rich .. I was going to mention the purple color but the dye does fade over time and there are some blue colored Glycol brake fluids that are used when flushing a system (blue and amber from the same manufacturer) I thought I'd just give a conservative answer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

John
 
Re: brake fluid

John,
After 23 years it's getting darker than original. After this long, can't see changing it just because of the color.
D /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
Re: brake fluid

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Dave, if it ain't broke .... keep drivin' it!

Man all this talk about beer makes me thirsty.

Cheers,
John
 
Re: brake fluid

[ QUOTE ]
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Dave, if it ain't broke .... keep drivin' it!



Cheers,
John

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah John, but if he just keep drivin' it.It gonna,"BREAK",{Not Brake}--- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif- Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Re: brake fluid

Well now - I DO keep an eye on things. Nothing too worn out, no leaks, stops good, power brakes no less. Only new vehicle I ever bought, 1984. Still has the original antifreeze & hoses also. Just pour in a bottle of cooling system conditioner every three years or so. Air conditioning no less. It has the old German/Ford built V6. I think it came from an old industrial design V4 that they added two cylinders to. I do change the oil about every 4,000 though. Maybe it's the climate that it lives in?
D
 
Re: brake fluid

Yeah Dave, I had that engine in a 1976 Pinto Wagon it was a great little engine. Nice to drop in a 100-4, 2.8 Ltr @ 170 HP. Needed metric everything to work on it though.---Keoke
 
Re: brake fluid - now truck abuse?

The original V4 was an odd ball 60 degree V arrangement that required an internal balance shaft to make it work. Thus the strange bulge on one side of the crankcase. When they added two cylinders for a V6, the internal balance shaft was no longer needed. Kind of a clever adaptation. This thing has mechanical lifters which I ocasionally check clearance on, but they have never needed adjusting.

As you say, the engine, 5 speed transmission, & most of the rest was metric. Kind of strange for a US built car at the time. When the engine or brakes are shot, I may very well rebuild things & go another 20 years. Guess I'm getting pretty far off the brake topic. Maybe no one will notice.
D
 
Re: brake fluid - now truck abuse?

Dave,
Ford's engine plant where your old V6 was built, nowadays is producing Aston-Martin V12 units.
Quite an evolution.

Best regards
 
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