Trevor Boicey wrote:
>> Just dump the silicone fluid on top of the DOT and pull
>> it, or bleed it, through the system.
>
> I would not recommend this. Combine some of the fluids
>in a glass jar to see why. The little "solids" that appear
>are not what I want in my brake system.
>
> As well, expect most of your rubber parts to require
>replacement shortly after. A few decades of soaking in
>DOT fluid followed by immersion in a DOT-free liquid
>is not a pretty site.
Agreed. I will go so far as to advise most strongly against using DOT 5
(silicone) fluid. DOT 5 was developed with racing in mind, and as
such has a very high (> 560 degrees F) boiling point. But race cars
change their brake fluids between events. DOT 5 has a very nasty habit
of accumulating water, so within a couple of months, you will have
soggy brakes and will need to change the fluid. There is an excellent
article by Ken Streeter at the VTR pages.
I have recently (8 months ago) started using DOT 5.1 made by Motul.
This is a non-silicone synthetic brake fluid that seems to have all
the pros of DOT 4 and 5, with non of the cons. It does not emulsify,
yet the BP is around 520 dgreees. It still eats paint unfortunately.
So far I have been most happy with it. I used to boil DOT 3 regularly
in the Pantera (read fast and heavy), but not so with the 5.1. When I
rebuild the master cylinder in Rags next month, I'll be swapping to
5.1. 5.1 is completely compatible with 3 and 4, but incompatible with
5 (Motuls words).
Shane Ingate in San Diego
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