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brake fluid

O

ohiojim

Well-known Member
I am in the process of restoring an mg,was rebuilding the disc brake caliper and instructions with kit said not to use any petroleum products even in cleaning the parts. my question,...isn't brake fluid a petroleum product ???
 
No.

It is water based. If you get oil in brake or hydraulic clutch systems, it will ruin seals and it will drive you nuts.

Chevy dealer once told a cousin of mine to put ATF in his master cylinder for his cavalier clutch. I had to replace the slave and master cylinder, and almost everything in between...

had to drop the engine and transmission to do the job. Dumb mistake by dealer cost him over a thousand bucks.
 

There are two very different types of brake fluid. many years ago I had a Morris which required the English type.
 
Sorry John they are not water based, Dot3 fluids are glycol-ether based and Dot4 fluids are Glycol Ether/Borate Ester based. They are however very hydroscopic. Dot5 is a silicone base fluid and is a different animal all together.

The reason for not using any petroleum products is the rubber parts, usually epdm will swell when exposed to petroleum oils and prevent the pistons from moving freely.
 
You know what a meant. :wink:

I'm a former autobody guy. Everything is either water-based or oil-based to me.
 
They make 3 kinds of brake fluid that I know of.

Poly glycol base; They make several versions of this. This is the most common one we use. It will absorb any water that gets in the system from humidity.

Silicone base; This is a special fluid that is used in cars and trucks that may sit for long periods. Unlike poly base it will not absorb water but gives a spongy pedal.

Mineral oil base; This is used in cars that use real rubber parts (old English cars) and is dyed green so you can tell it from others.
 
My son put power steering fluid in the brake reservoir of my pickup. Had to replace master cylinder, rear wheel cylinders, RWD antilock dump valve and proportioning valve. I managed to salvage the front calipers by taking them apart and cleaning them, but everything else was wrecked.
 
"Mineral oil base; This is used in cars that use real rubber parts (old English cars) and is dyed green so you can tell it from others."

To keep this tractor-related, certain David Brown tractors used the mineral oil stuff, as well.

I have a CIH 1494 (made by DB), and that's what it requires. The brake slave cylinders are INTERNAL and they apparently don't want glycol-based stuff getting in the rear end/hydraulic oil in case of a leak!
 
Use alcohol to clean your parts. Even one teaspoon of petroleum (oil) will ruin the rubber parts in your system. I have two seldom driven cars that I changed over to silicone AFTER flushing with denatured alcohol. I did this about 5 years ago-no problems. Yes, the brake pedal is a little 'spongy' but not having to rebuild the wheel cylinders every two years is worth it.
 
The biggest problem with using DOT 5 silicone fluid in a system not designed for it is that it DOESN"T absorb water. Any water that does enter the system will collect at the lowest points and there is no way to remove it without a complete dis assembly. Cast iron cylinders are really susceptible to this problem. Usually DOT 5 systems will be mostly stainless steel.
 

Even the folks that manufacture parts for classics that use SS hate Dot 5 and will void the warranty if its used...

Its been awhile since I lowered myself to fudge with a useless MG but the word Girling comes to mind... I hit rock bottom this week and took in a Land Rover to do a head job on... I have not stooped as low as to work on a BMW in the last 6 mo. so don't call 911 just yet...
 
I had a guy(doctor) put motor oil in the master cyl of a Range Rover. The insurance company totaled it when they priced the complete anti lock system and all of the calipers with new lines.
It was ten years old.
 
Thanks for catching my error. Another case of typing the wrong word and not catching it. I made the correction in my posting.
 
(quoted from post at 10:50:35 12/10/14) "Mineral oil base; This is used in cars that use real rubber parts (old English cars) and is dyed green so you can tell it from others."

To keep this tractor-related, certain David Brown tractors used the mineral oil stuff, as well.

I have a CIH 1494 (made by DB), and that's what it requires. The brake slave cylinders are INTERNAL and they apparently don't want glycol-based stuff getting in the rear end/hydraulic oil in case of a leak!
Click to expand...

Something British leak???? Can't imagine that...


That said they used LHM before they ever considered the wet brakes that a 1410, 1490, 1494 etc have.
 
Easy mistake to make and synthetic /silicone confuse some people. I have been using dot5 silicone in 3 vehicles for ever 20 years with out problems so far but I do change fluid every few years.
 
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