silicone brake fluid

[rjohnson67]

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone has used silicone based brake fluid. What are the pros of it, and if I were to use it, would it be a lot of work to switch to it? It would be on my 1990 range rover.

 

[LarryK]

Silicones are an acceptable replacement. You have to completely bleed the old fluid out and completely refill with silicone. It does not mix with the standard fluids and is not compatible with water. The Rover ABS is complicated and to refill with silicone a pressure fill is pretty standard. Again you must completely get old fluid out and then refill with silicone. A bleed every couple years to get out contaminants afterwards. The really only plus of the silicone is it will not rip your paint if you spill it. Most silicone jobs are for show cars.

 

[Grantura_MKI]

I would not switch out, as it will be nearly impossible to remove the old fluid from your system. If you do decide to switch, be sure to check the boiling point of the dot 5 you are planning on using. Silicone fluid does have many advantages...the primary one being that it does not attract moisture like dot 4.
Cheers,
D.

 

[3798j]

If you've got ABS, there are a lot of warnings out on the net not to use silicone (Dot5) brake fluid. The most common comment is that the ABS pump aerates a system filled with silicone (some of the other warnings are even scarier). Gunk (a seller of Dot 5) specifically says to not use theirs with ABS: https://www.gunk.com/CAT_M4011_12.asp

 

[Grantura_MKI]

You are correct, Jay. I would not use dot 5 in a Rangie, as it will give a soft pedal among other problems. Servos do not like dot 5.
Cheers,
D.

 

[rovernut]

I'm not up to speed on Rovers (Landy, Range etc) that are newer but any older Rover up to about 1980ish you are advised not to use silicone brake fluid period....it attacks the seals etc....just throwing in my 2 bits