Wrong Brake Fluid ?eeeeeeeek ! Or Ok

[BASHO]

I've just flushed/ bled out my brakes as they were a bit ordinary at the pedal and after reading posts on here I've used Castrol DOT 4 Response-silver bottle-only to read on the brake fluid reservoir cap as I put it back on-in damned English so no excuse DOT 3 FLUID ONLY.

Ah Hem

I've used two full bottles of new fluid on the job so there would be very little, if any, of whatever was in there before left in the system , I ran each corner until the new fluid was through then a couple of pumps more for good measure.

My question is do I now need to go back and bleed/replace the DOT 4 with DOT 3 or suffer dire leakage consequences or worse if I leave the DOT 4 in ?

The brakes bye the bye are now as crisp as Bingles nipples on a cold Bondi morning.

[gfunkk]

naa man all good

DOT4 and DOT5 are backwards compadable

meaning they work in dot3 systems

[MrStabby]

DOT 3, 4 or 5.1 are all good as they have similar chemistry. Its 5.0 you have to avoid as its silicon based, not polyethylene glycol like the others.

[xALmoN]

wasn't 5.1 the silicon based fluid?

[08yannch]

no dot 5 is the silicon based fluid

question what would happen if somebody did use dot 5

would it eat away at the seals and or hoses or is it just because of the fact it dont absorb water

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

i've been using motul dot 5.1 for over a year with no hassles

[Kinks]

no dot 5 is the silicon based fluid

question what would happen if somebody did use dot 5

would it eat away at the seals and or hoses or is it just because of the fact it dont absorb water

doesn't absorb water. the water will collect in your calipers and turn to steam, giving you brake fade at lower than expected temperatures. plus it'll start rusting your calipers having water in there.

dot 5 in a road car is a bad idea, use dot 4 or dot 5.1 in a skyline - dot 4 is more than enough for the street unless you're being an idiot. for track or mixed duties go 5.1 for peace of mind.

[djr81]

The dot 4-600 range of fluids is as good as you need & it is easily available.

Try the Motul RBF 660 & even the PBR (?) stuff.

The 600 is its (dry) boiling point in degrees F. Which is better than the dot 5.1 fluids.

Hence there is no need to mess about with the 5.1 nonsense.

Edited April 6, 2010 by djr81

[MrStabby]

IIRC;

Motul RBF600 boils at 310degC and costs around $25-30 per 500ml

Nulon Extreme performance boils at 280degC and is around $9 per 500ml

YMMV but for a street car the Nulon should be fine.