The car I was working on this weekend isn't British (in fact,
it's a 1950 Ford sedan) but since brake fluid is a current hot
topic: I replaced all the rubber parts in the brake system, and
had to replace the complete master cylinder because of internal
rust pitting. I'm going with silicone brake fluid, since the
car won't be driven a lot, and I want to avoid the accumulation
of moisture in the brake system. I was bleeding the system into
a glass jar that already had some DOT3 fluid in it, bled out of
the system earlier. When I was done, there were two very distinct
layers of fluid in the jar - an orange layer of DOT3 on the bottom
(orange from suspended rust and dirt) and a nice clear purple
layer of DOT5 above. These fluids definitely won't mix!
I haven't finished the brake adjustments yet, so we'll see if
I have any trouble with bubbles in the silicone fluid.
When I reworked the brakes on my Healey, I used Castrol LMA
just to be safe (and of course, to conform to tradition!).
Jim Beckman AT&T BTL, Middletown, NJ att!mtqub!jeb
|