Re: brake fluid, shock fluid

[mit-eddie!hercules.acsu.buffalo.edu!tobin@EDDIE.MIT.EDU (Mike Tobin)]

> > Standard US-spec DOT 3
> > fluid will dissolve your brake and clutch seals in fairly
> > short order.
> 
> I think this is a misconception.  I've tried soaking british seals in
> DOT 3 to see what happens, and its uninteresting.  No sign that DOT 3
> is a solvent for british rubber seals.  As further proof of this, my

I tend to think so too.  The brakes on my Healey just went soft - it
took at least 15 yrs (Iknow you're supposed to replace the stuff every
couple of years, but brake bleeding is right up there with muffler work
in my view).  The old selas I've removed have never looked like they've
been eaten or anything, but there's always lots of evidence of rust.

I've never had a clutch go soft on any of my Brit Iron.

Then again, I really don't know what's in the lines - I've always just
gone to the local parts supermarket and bought stuff labeled "Brake
Fluid".  Ignorance is Bliss?

When did DoT 4 come out? Maybe I've been using it without knowing it!

I've always thought the habit of my Brit factory manuals specifying
petrolium products of a certain manufacture was some kind of sweethart
deal with BP or whomever.

Mike Tobin