So if my fluid is purple (which I am pretty sure it is) I shouldn't have topped it up with the stuff I did - which I think was standard stuff.
And the PO replacing the standard pipes with copper wasn't so good either. <expletive> I am now going to dash to the car park on this fine afternoon and find out. James Richard Gosling wrote: > Marc, > > Apparently DOT5 (silicone) fluid has a quite different appearance - purple > (I think) instead of the light brown of normal brake fluid. If there's any > fluid left in the M/C, or if you can pump a little out of one caliper, that > should tell you. > > I have heard that DOT4 is a bad idea because the mineral oil eats the > natural rubber seals, not sure how much truth their is in that or not. > Probably best to stick with DOT3 to be on the safe side, if you use DOT3 or > 4. These can be safely mixed I believe. > > If you switch to DOT5 silicone fluid (NOT the same as the DOT5.1 stuff you > sometimes see, not sure what that is), many believe that this needs to be > done in conjunction with a rebuild of all your brake parts, replacing every > bit of rubber in the system, or the rubber may perish. There are some who > say that they have done just fine by flushing all the old fluid out of the > system using 'mineral spirits' (I guess that may be American for White > Spirit??), and filling with silicone fluid, without replacing anything. > > Also, Silicone fluid is significantly more expensive than normal brake > fluid! It does have its advantages - spills won't eat through your > paintwork, it will not absorb water which leads to corrosion of brake pipes > (unless they've been replaced with copper), it needs bleeding less often. > As for brake feel, opinions differ - I think Silicone is less compressible, > which means brakes will come on more suddenly, and the brake will move less > between the slightly-applied position and full-on position - some prefer > this, some don't! > > One word of warning - be gentle when undoing your bleed nipples!! If they > won't budge easily, spray with penetrating fluid and leave for a while. > Apparently a hammer tap on the end helps as well - best use a small bit of > wood between the hammer and the nipple to avoid damage to the nipple. I > currently have THREE broken half-nipples stuck in my brakes, and am awaiting > replacement calipers and rear cylinders, having failed to get the old bits > out. Not good, and not cheap. > > Richard & Daffy /// [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list /// Send admin requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool /// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive /// Send list postings to [EMAIL PROTECTED] /// Edit your replies! If they include this trailer, they will NOT be sent.
