Time For New Brake Fluid!

jd1828 · 05-11-2004

i think its time for some new brake fluid. i had to do a hard stop from 70mph and i lost almost all stopping power by 10mph. so i think its safe to say my current fluid is crap. anyone know a local place where i can get some good fluid? maybe some motul 600 or something else with a high 500 deg dry temp.

Jacek · 05-11-2004

Quote:

i lost almost all stopping power by 10mph.

pedal fall to the floor?

jd1828 · 05-11-2004

it slowly got lower to the floor as i stopped. to a point where it was at the floor and i was still moving. the fluid in there could be as old as the car. ive only had it for 6 months and i havent changed it yet. so its actual boiling temp is probably a lot lower than it should be.

Jacek · 05-11-2004

i had this experiance when i had to slam on the brakes after someone pulled out in front of me to with my old car. to be able to stop and stay stopped on hills i would have to pump the brakes to maintian pressure because the pedal would fall to the floor. it was master brake cylinder.

A//// Guy · 05-11-2004

Master cylinder could be leaking if the pedal is mushy or goes to the floor. Does your car have big brakes or small ones?

jd1828 · 05-12-2004

small brakes, i havent had any problems with it losing fluid or any other brake problems with normal stopping. this was the first time ive had this happen with this car.

**JET** · 05-12-2004

Get some ford blue dot. It is the 3rd best fluid. (Motul #2 and Castrol SRF #1 $$$ ) It is cheap and readily available at a Ford dealership.

JustROLLIN · 05-12-2004

If the pedal slowly falls to the floor, it is your master cylinder 90% of the time. Usually a bad secondary seal and fluid is leaking past it.

**Kracka** · 05-12-2004

Archer has some Castrol and Motul, but Motul shouldn't be used in street cars. If you dont flush often it will eat away at the seals. I used Castrol and it felt really nice but I never got a chance to really get on it since I was still breaking-in the Baers. I hear nothing but the Ford Blue so that is also a readily-available choice. My Castrol was like $7/pint, not sure what the Ford stuff costs.

**Kracka** · 05-12-2004

Before jumping to conclusions (DSMers are notorious for this) start with the simple stuff. There is an excellent chance your problem will be resolved with a fluid change/bleed.

**JET** · 05-12-2004

Castrol SRF is about $90 a liter, so you must have used a cheaper Castrol. Do a google search for Castrol SRF and Motul 600. You will find some really good spec sheets. The ford stuff is the best of the decent priced stuff.

AJ · 05-12-2004

Mark just put Motul in the 240. He looked all over for it local, and I think he found it, but I am not sure where. I hear alot of good shit about Catrol SRF but damn I didn't know it was that spendy. We also carry it (well have access to it) and yeah, right abotu now it's about 80 per liter.

What about the Russell Fluids?

520Talon · 05-12-2004

I don't know what the Ford Blue Dot is, but I use the Ford High Perfomance Dot 3 and it work extremely well. I pay $4 a pint at my local dealership.

jd1828 · 05-12-2004

ill try out the ford stuff. i found some specs on it and its not the greatest stuff. its got a good dry boiling point at 550 but its wet point is 290. which is probably why racers like it so much, for its dry bp temp. so it should be fine as long as i dont boil it. if i do then at least its cheap enough to change it often.

my master cyl could be leaking but like chris said it makes more sense to start with the simple fix first. if new fluid doesnt fix it then ill start looking at the master cylinder.

JustROLLIN · 05-12-2004

Its not brake fluid. You either have a leak in your lines or you have a bad master cylinder. Fluid DOES NOT compress.

jd1828 · 05-12-2004

unless it boils and gives off a gas. then it does compress

1Fst14B · 05-12-2004

air bubbles sure do compress thou

ive seen it many times, it seems like alot of cars we buy from down south need to be bled/flushed after being here for a little bit of time...

Jacek · 05-12-2004

the air compresses only so much and is the first thing you feel making it spongy.
if it is air in the line, it would have to be a shit load of it. but if he feels brake pressure then the pressure all the sudden falling, id say master cylinder. especially after slamming on the brakes to stop super fast.

ABV · 05-12-2004

I just put Motul RBF 600 in my car. I found it at a local cycle shop (Midwest Cycle Supply) for, I think, $12 per half liter. Pretty expensive, but I only needed 1 bottle to completely fill and bleed my brake system. This is on a 240 though, so you might need more or less. I can't say what the brake fluid alone did, because when I changed it, I also changed to ss lines, and upgraded brake pads. I can say though, that with those changes, and the fluid, it made a big difference.

If I were you I would try the Ford Blue dot, stuff. I've heard good things about it as well. It has about half the wet boiling point of the Motul, but the dry boiling point is still very good, and it's much cheaper. Plus, if you change the fluid, and find out that it is in fact you master cylinder that's bad, then you wont have to spend as much for new fluid when you replace it.

JustROLLIN · 05-12-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Jacek@May 12 2004, 04:02 PM
the air compresses only so much and is the first thing you feel making it spongy.
if it is air in the line, it would have to be a shit load of it. but if he feels brake pressure then the pressure all the sudden falling, id say master cylinder. especially after slamming on the brakes to stop super fast.

Exactly. If it were simply air in the lines, the pedal would have that spongy feeling. You would not have a slow decline of the brake pedal.