silicone brake fluid
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
From: Bernville USA
silicone brake fluid
I am going to be replacing the entire brake system on my 72 F100. I was thinking about useing silicone brake fluid. Has anyone had any experience with this (good or bad)? Any info would be appeciated. Thanks
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 470
Likes: 1
From: Mount Prospect, IL
silicone brake fluid
I can give you good and bad opinions on Silicone.
the good:
1. really heat resistant, so you never have to worry about heat fade.
2. Wont peel your paint off the car if you accidently spill it.
3. resistant to water.
the bad:
1.Silicone fluid can trap air bubbles that expand at altitude.
What I mean be this is if you do this in say Kansas, and drive through denver you can expect your brakes to be soft, and possibly even fail as the air bubbles would expand. What you would have to do is bleed the brakes (probably while on the side of the road) at the first instance that you noticed the peddle get soft. and would probably have to do this twice.
2. wont mix with traditional brake fluid. So dont ever top it off with anything but Silicone.
I run silicone in my old cars, its a hassle to convert to, but less maintenance once you get it done right.
hope that helps
Drew
the good:
1. really heat resistant, so you never have to worry about heat fade.
2. Wont peel your paint off the car if you accidently spill it.
3. resistant to water.
the bad:
1.Silicone fluid can trap air bubbles that expand at altitude.
What I mean be this is if you do this in say Kansas, and drive through denver you can expect your brakes to be soft, and possibly even fail as the air bubbles would expand. What you would have to do is bleed the brakes (probably while on the side of the road) at the first instance that you noticed the peddle get soft. and would probably have to do this twice.
2. wont mix with traditional brake fluid. So dont ever top it off with anything but Silicone.
I run silicone in my old cars, its a hassle to convert to, but less maintenance once you get it done right.
hope that helps
Drew
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 11,496
Likes: 6
From: Kansas
silicone brake fluid
Some systems will not handle it. By silicone I am assuming you are talking about DOT 5 brake fluid.
Harleys use it and I almost switched to it on my Jap bike. I didn't and later found out that was the wise thing to do. A bikes system is small and needs to be completly purged of Dot 3 fluid before adding in the DOT 5. Otherwise you will have problems. There has been a lot of discussion about this fluid in bike mags and basically, it comes down to - stay with what the manufactor recommends. As vettehauler said, it's a hassle to convert over to it but if you do it right it's worth it. So if you feel that you can do it right, then do it. If you have questions about it, stay with your DOT 3 and you'll be okay.
Harleys use it and I almost switched to it on my Jap bike. I didn't and later found out that was the wise thing to do. A bikes system is small and needs to be completly purged of Dot 3 fluid before adding in the DOT 5. Otherwise you will have problems. There has been a lot of discussion about this fluid in bike mags and basically, it comes down to - stay with what the manufactor recommends. As vettehauler said, it's a hassle to convert over to it but if you do it right it's worth it. So if you feel that you can do it right, then do it. If you have questions about it, stay with your DOT 3 and you'll be okay.
New User
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
silicone brake fluid
Hi rjhuey
We are a manufacture or brake supplies and tools for the brake industry and it would not recommend it in general based on the points I saw in the other replies. The trick to good brake maintenance is... changing the fluid once every year. Any fluid wears out and this is true of brake fluid also. In fact, the first thing that wears out in the glycol is it's anticorrosive properties and that is the big problem. Your parts in the system are compromised when the fluid, which is corrosive, looses it's built in protection.
We have done a lot of research on this subject and have actually created a test strip you put in the reservoir that tell you when you need a change. They are call Strip-Dip and are sold to repair shops throughout the world. You can see more info on them and how they work at our web site... please visit when you get a chance.
Hope this helps,
Gary
GWR Specialty Products
1(800) 266-4497
www.GWRauto.com
www.StopBrakeNoise.com
sales@GWRauto.com
We are a manufacture or brake supplies and tools for the brake industry and it would not recommend it in general based on the points I saw in the other replies. The trick to good brake maintenance is... changing the fluid once every year. Any fluid wears out and this is true of brake fluid also. In fact, the first thing that wears out in the glycol is it's anticorrosive properties and that is the big problem. Your parts in the system are compromised when the fluid, which is corrosive, looses it's built in protection.
We have done a lot of research on this subject and have actually created a test strip you put in the reservoir that tell you when you need a change. They are call Strip-Dip and are sold to repair shops throughout the world. You can see more info on them and how they work at our web site... please visit when you get a chance.
Hope this helps,
Gary
GWR Specialty Products
1(800) 266-4497
www.GWRauto.com
www.StopBrakeNoise.com
sales@GWRauto.com
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Macs1964F100
1961 - 1966 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
5
Jan 5, 2014 08:12 PM
Outlaw56
1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
10
Oct 11, 2013 11:38 AM
WALFORD'S 56
1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
10
Jul 19, 2007 07:22 AM
classyfish
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
6
Aug 8, 2002 02:34 AM
