Brake Fluid

The Oily Bits S1 Specific Topics
1

Is there a reason why people don’t change to silicon brake fluid? As far as I can see it has a number of advantages
1 It does not absorb moisture, so never needs changing
2 It has a boiling point of 500F (260C)
3 Its non-toxic or corrosive… so I can drink it or rub it all over my body

Is the price its only negative point 1 ltr about �20?

2

NO

Silicon Fluid is bad news:

  1. It does not mix at all with water but water will still find its way into the brake lines ( condensation etc ) and instead of being absorbed and a gradual degarding of the boiling point you may get a water drop in the caliper and that can create a vapour lock and hey presto no brakes ( so uning Silicon fluid for tracking is not a good plan … )

  2. The water not being absorbed will sink, being heavier than the fluid and corrode steel pistons etc - so you still need to change fluid to purge the water

  3. Its incomaptible with DOT 3, 4 and 5.1 so you have to flush the system very well

  4. It tends to grab on to “muck” and thus can clog up the small drillings in the caplier - so you need to change fluid again anyhow

  5. There have been reports of some type of seals being affected by silicon and “balloning” - so you loose the seal and so your brakes.

Enough reasons

3

Thanks Andy, that answers that then…
looks like I will stick to rubbing it on my body ( will need more than 1 litre though )

4

Andy
Thinking about what you said, this could explain some of the issues I have with the brakes on our Esprit ( had silicon fluid in this when I bought it )

5

Yeah - forgot to mention spongy pedal is also difficult to get rid of becuase of water droplets rather than absorbtion.

6

And it reacts badly with some rubber seals and swells them.
The spongy feeling, even from fresh is one thing I’ve often heard.

Super DOT 4 is the best (Castrol RS is beter but overkill)

(off to hide, Pesky will be back soon)

7

3 Its non-toxic or corrosive… so I can drink it or rub it all over my body

PMSL!!!

8

(off to hide, Pesky will be back soon)

Not for a while, the old bugger is off on holiday, getting his new teeth and hip replacement done in foreign climes.

9

Not for a while, the old bugger is off on holiday, getting his new teeth and hip replacement done in foreign climes.

I can see you

10

I can see you

Oooooh, had your cataracts done too?

11

No he has had cataract transplants - he now sports cataracts from a Pippistrelle Bat

12

I can see you

You must have landed one of them there dead posh hotels with tinternet access.