I haven't been turning wrenches in quite a while.

Imagine my surprise when I see the local auto parts store stocked with nothing but synthetic brake fluid.

My concern is; is it anything special over the conventional DOT 3 brake fluid of the past? This is for a thirty years old truck so I wasn't sure about running synthetic brake fluid with positive results.

 

ALL DOT 3 fluids are synthetic always have been now tho it is a sales marking thing to point it out.
bruce

 

I didn't know that.

It kind is a point to market it along with the now popular synthetic oils. Fads these days.

 

I use the Valvoline Synthetic for DOT 3 & 4 in both my '99 F-350 and '81 Mercedes. It seems to do the job well

 

You may find this thread & a informational link about the "forgotten fluid" interesting.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...e-are-you.html

Brake fluid is one of my pet peeves.

Motorcraft DOT-3 fluid is a very high performance fluid & imo, a good value for the buck. Use it with confidence!!!!

 

Thanks for the links, pawpaw.

I indeed am a victim of the 'forgotten fluid'. In my years of turning wrenches, I've never had to flush and refill brake fluid.

Is the Motorcraft brake fluid its own? Quite a lot of rebadging these days, so you never know what you get anymore. I usually use Valvoline for everything.

 

I've read it's repackaged Castrol, but I don't know that for a fact. The specifications are similiar though.

Until recently the Motorcraft brake fluid was packaged in metal cans, now it's in those danged plastic containers, just sitting on the shelf, gathering moisture while it waits for us to buy it.

BAD move imo Motorcraft!!!!!

Anyway the Motorcraft DOT-3, is some mighty good stuff, good specifications for the buck.

I flush my systems at least every 3 years.

Don't want the ABS motor, wheel cylinders or calipers to get poluted & all gumed up with putrid brake fluid, when it can be prevented or delayed, by a simple system flush.
Also I tow a lot in the mountains, spring through fall, so I'd like my fluid not to boil on me, if I have to make a hard stop.

Regular flushing of the brake system, sure is less of an aggravation & expence, than having to do a brake job, because the system is all bound up!!!!!

It's a heart stopper, whe you stab the brake pedal & it hits the floor!!!!! Kinda makes the pucker factor go up, such that your butt gets such a grip on the seat, that the cushion looks like an inverted ice cream cone!!!!!

 

Where do you get your Motorcraft fluid? I can only think I'd have to go to the Ford dealer and pay the markup on that stuff.

I agree, plastic absorbs moisture.

I never had brake issues, so ignorance plays a part too.

 

I buy mine from the local Motorcraft distributor.

If you don't know who your local Motorcraft distributor is, you can look it up on Motorcrafts web site.

Can probably buy it on the net too, but I've never looked it up, bet shipping would be a big % of the cost though!!!!

If the fluid is fresh & has been properly stored before we buy it, moisture shouldn't be a problem & we shouldn't store opened brake fluid for long periods at home, as it can already be loaded with moisture when we use it later, not good for the brake system internals.

That moisture will promote internal brake system corrosion & sludge & cause the pedal to go soft with heavy use, when it boils, right when we need the brakes most!!!!!

I never buy more than I'm gonna use for a flush & don't keep any remainder, especially since they started packagng it in those danged plastic containers.

Yup they absorb moisture/water vapor, right through the plastic, sitting around the basement, or garage!!!!!

The only way to enviormentally seal something, is with glass, ceramic, metal, or some combination there-of!!!!

So knowing this, why Motorcraft stopped packaging their brake fluid in metal cans, with a metal seal & cap, is beyond me.

Most gararges buy the stuff in bulk & have it sitting around who knows how long, nor under what kind of storage conditions, before it's used in our brake system.

So when it was packaged in metal cans, with a metal seal & cap, at least it was packaged so that moisture absorbtion during storage, had a chance of being cut down, even under adverse storage conditions, like during shipment, sitting on sotre shelves, in most gararges, or in our home gararge, or basements.

There I go again, told ya it was one of my pet peeves!!!!! lol

 

I use Castrol or Valvoline DOT 4 in everything. Those fluids are cheap at PepBoys, etc. instead of making a big effort to find DOT 3 Motorcraft at a good price.

German cars recommend flushes every three years or so, Ford makes no mention of it at all. German ATE fluid comes in two colors so you can alternate and be sure you flushed all the old stuff out.

Jim

 

So is it really necessary, or have you just been living life on the edge?

I helped my father work on a lot of cars. He is 81 now and started driving at 14 or 15. In all those years, he has never ever changed any brake fluid in any car he has ever owned. He buys strictly used and keeps cars 6-10 years. He has never had any brake failures. Ever.

So I guess he likes living on the edge too.

 

I used to deal with rusted, leaking brake cylinders all the time before I started regular flushes, and I have been wrenching on cars for about 40 years. The difference might be climate. Since I have spent most of my years at the beach, moisture may contaminate brake fluid more quickly there.

Jim

 

Yup, local conditions make a difference.

The hot dry desert, or cold dry artic, wouldn't be as bad as the hot humid south where I am, or cool damp ocean front.

The killer is how the fluid is being stored, how much water vapor the air is carrying (relative humidity), then the 24 hour temperature changes, as that acts as sort of a pumping action for that water vapor.

As I posted earlier, the only way to hermetically seal something, so water vapor can't get to it, is in glass, metal, ceramic, or some combination there-of.

Thats why things like vacuum tubes, CRT's like, TV picture tubes, computer monitors, radar displays, were made of glass & metal, also things like incandescent lamps, florescent lamps, neon tubing, ect, anything you don't want water vapor to get to, needs to be sealed in these materials, or some combination of them.

Thats why imo, plastic bottles for brake fluid, isn't a good idea, neither is the plastic brake & clutch master cylinder fluid reservoirs, as they have a water vapor permeability factor, much worse than the old all metal ones, then we also have rubber seals & dust boots on the wheel cylinders & disc brake caliper pistons, that have long term permeability problems with reguard to water vapor getting through, or past them, hence the need to flush the brake fluid at least every three years, maybe two years, if you live in a humid area.

So all that coupled with brake fluids propensity to absorb water vapor & lower it's boiling point & cause internal brake system corrosion, so the need for us to keep the system flushed on a timely basis!!!!!

We haven't lived until we have to fork out a pile of our gold, for a slugded up, rusted up ABS motor, or we stab the brake pedal in a panic stop & the fluid boils & we feel the pedal go soft & hit the floor!!!!! Kinda makes the "pucker factor" go up!!!!! lol

 

Except for a stint in the Navy during WWII, my dad has never lived outside of Ohio. And trust me, Ohio ain't no dry desert.

And I am not saying that changing brake fluid isn't a good idea, just not essential to most people.

So if it makes you feel good to change out brake fluid every 2-3 years, that's just peachy.

If brake fluid is not something that you want to think much about, then don't.

 

getting ready to do my stangs system... but having a hard time finding the DOT 3 i need for my stang... Motorcrafts High Performance DOT 3 brake fluid (according to their labels ive found online) say theyre boiling points at 550*F.. most DOT 3 brake fluids top out around 250*F.. valvoline says its at 470*F...

Wilwood High Temp Dot 3 brake fluid claims to boil at 570.. which would exceed motorcrafts specs...