Brake Fluid Change

Titan4x4Aggie · 05-06-2005, 10:42 AM

I ordered some SpeedBleeders and plan on putting in my stainless steel lines once those come on.

juma, I noticed on the old "speedbleeder city" thread you mention ATE colored DOT 4 brake fluid so that when you did the change, you could see the color change and know when the new fluid has replaced the old fluid.

Is DOT 4 okay to use in our trucks? What is the difference between DOT 3 and DOT 4.

HavockWK · 05-06-2005, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan4x4Aggie

I ordered some SpeedBleeders and plan on putting in my stainless steel lines once those come on.

juma, I noticed on the old "speedbleeder city" thread you mention ATE colored DOT 4 brake fluid so that when you did the change, you could see the color change and know when the new fluid has replaced the old fluid.

Is DOT 4 okay to use in our trucks? What is the difference between DOT 3 and DOT 4.

So, I'm guessing these won't be here to change out your brake lines tomorrow evening huh?

Titan4x4Aggie · 05-06-2005, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HavockWK

So, I'm guessing these won't be here to change out your brake lines tomorrow evening huh?

I just PM'ed you regarding this. They are in, if yall are up for installing them also. The speedbleeders should make it relatively quick and easy. I've done brake lines before, and it isn't that bad, but the opening & closing does get old. This should make it a lot easier.

I've got some jack stands also, so we could throw my whole truck up on the jack stands and do everything at once...

StopTech · 05-06-2005, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan4x4Aggie

I ordered some SpeedBleeders and plan on putting in my stainless steel lines once those come on.

juma, I noticed on the old "speedbleeder city" thread you mention ATE colored DOT 4 brake fluid so that when you did the change, you could see the color change and know when the new fluid has replaced the old fluid.

Is DOT 4 okay to use in our trucks? What is the difference between DOT 3 and DOT 4.

DOT3 and DOT4 are completely compatible with each other. The differenece between the two fluids are boiling points. Those will vary slightly between brake fluids. Here is some more details about brake fluid. http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/brakefluid1a.htm

juma · 05-06-2005, 04:45 PM

don't try to change to a fancy brake fluid till you've got the whole thing bled and installed and working. buy 3-4 pints of ford dot 3 fluid to do all your installation work with. ford has real good and cheap dot 3 fluid.

you should put the brake lines on first and bleed out the air with the old bleeders or get most of it out. speedbleeders can't work with too much air in the system. so, you have make sure the new lines are full of fluid. usually, you put on a line at the descending brake line, point it up, let it fill up, air run out and start dripping, then screw it on to the caliper and let it drip out at the bleeder hole. after you have a good drip coming from the bleeder hole, you can put in the speedbleeder and bleed it. try to get the caliper you are working with up higher then the other calipers. air don't like to flow downhill.

run this for a few months, making sure it all works and no leaks, then you can do and easy fluid change to ATE super blue.

don't want to get too many balls in the air with brake work -- it can be a real beech to get all the air out and lines to stop leaking.

the dot 4 fluid higher boiling point means it takes a lot more heat for the fluid to boil and lose the ability to brake the vehicle.

juma

Titan4x4Aggie · 05-06-2005, 04:51 PM

WOW. That's a great link, and I'll trust anything that Carroll Smith writes! His books on Racecar Design are by far the best, especially concerning suspension design.

"As a trailing note on the DOT ratings, if your car was designed for a particular type of fluid (especially prior to the development of DOT 4 fluids), you should make every attempt to stick with that fluid! For example, if your car was delivered with DOT 3 fluid, the internal components of the system (seals, brake hoses, and fittings for example) were specifically designed and tested for compatibility with DOT 3. Because DOT 4 fluids contain a different chemical composition, the system may not necessarily react in a positive fashion to the borate esters floating around in the mix."

Guess that answers my question. Thanks for the great link. I'll stick with the Ford DOT 3, which I hear is the best out there.