[Healeys] Silicone VS Brake Fluid

[geatros]

Hi all
My BJ8 had silicone brake fluid in the brake system for at least 10 years 
when I bought the car, never changed.  When I rebuilt the brakes I found 
rusty pools of water in the calipers. The fluid should be changed every 5 
years to keep this from happening. I as well won't go back to Dot 3 or 4 
fluid.
 Silicone was easy to bleed....

Cheers
Kenny----- Original Message ----- 
From: "BJ8Healeys" <sbyers at ec.rr.com>
To: <healeys at autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 2:27 PM
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Silicon VS Brake Fluid


> Hi, Dan -
> I've had silicon(e) fluid in my BJ8 since 1990.  I would never go back to
> DOT 3 or 4 fluid.  Silicone works great, doesn't promote corrosion of the
> brake system parts, and most importantly (if you have a new paint job, as 
> I
> did in 1990) does not strip paint if you spill it (as you certainly will 
> at
> some point).
> I've never had any problems with the brakes from using silicone, although 
> if
> you do get it on paint, it's almost impossible to remove when it comes 
> time
> to repaint.  Spoken from personal experience gained while trying to paint 
> my
> engine bay several years later.  Silicone contamination will result in
> fisheyes in liquid paint.
>
> The Sandstrom dry film lube is not recommended inside brake fluid - wetted
> parts of brake systems, although it is proper to use it on the walls of 
> the
> brake servo canister when you rebuild that.  It lubricates the leather
> piston seal of the booster.
>
> Cheers!
> Steve Byers
> HBJ8L/36666
> BJ8 Registry
> Havelock, NC
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: healeys-bounces+sbyers=ec.rr.com at autox.team.net
> [mailto:healeys-bounces+sbyers=ec.rr.com at autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Dan
> Stromquist
> Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 1:03 PM
> To: Healey List Emails
> Subject: [Healeys] Silicon VS Brake Fluid
>
>
> I would like to add one more item to the list of pros and cons of silicon
> over regular brake fluid.  I just rebuilt front and rear brakes as well as
> the servo and both the master and slave cylinders (resleived in stainless)
> on a 64 BJ8.  One thing I found outside all the pistons was a greenish 
> white
> chalk that was at times hard.  My assumption was this was old brake fluid
> that had leaked and crystallized.  I am wondering if anyone has used 
> silicon
> in their braking systems long enough to comment on whether silicon is an
> improvement in that regard.  I might add that that just about everything 
> was
> rebuilt about 20 years back and had about 3000 miles capped off with five
> years of no activity.  The actual rubber in the cylinders looked good but
> the outsides of each piston was cruded up.
>
>
>
> On question I would have is it proper to treat the inside of all the
> cylinders with the dry Sandstrom lubricant whether I use regular brake 
> fluid
> or silicon?
>
>
>
> Dan
> _______________________________________________
> geatros at shaw.ca
>
> Heaautox.team.netleys@
> http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/healeys