[W126 Coupe] Mineral Oil as a substitute for Brake Fluid

[Richard & Nancy Diefenbach]

Brakes are something I would not experiment with.  I change my fluid every
two years and use Mercedes brake fluid applicable to the car I am working
on.  The additional expense gives me peace of mind and trust in my braking
system.  

 

Dick Diefenbach

Danville, VT (darn cold for spring)

 

 

Not to  burst your bubble,  but  hope to so before you brake system  busts
one.

 

Mercedes and all car manufacturers with ABS systems do NOT recommend DOT 5,
the silicone based fluid

This fluid has a   higher boiling point and is intended for use in high
performance  race cars where the brake fluid gets hot fast

 

It does not hold water which is bad,  not good.

 

All brake systems  contain  moisture or "water."  The difference with
conventional fluid and DOT 5  is that DOT does not mix  with the water  that
is a natural by-product of brake systems.  

The moisture or water sinks to the lowest point in the brake system...the
caliper.  One day you are  going down the road  and one of  two things will
happen.

You will apply the brake pedal and it will be like pushing on a brick wall
with your  foot due to an air pocket formed between the moisture and the DOT
since  water and DOT  5 do NOT mix or  you apply brakes and the pedal goes
all the way to the floor due to the caliper  being rusted out from all  the
water/moisture in it.

For these reasons it is recommended in cars with  silicone fluid the brake
fluid should changed  every two years

 

This from Raybestos

"DOT 5 brake fluid is not compatible with anti-lock brake systems.   DOT 5
brake fluid absorbs a small amount of air requiring care when bleeding the
system of air."

The only good thing  about silicone brake fluid  is it will not do any
damage to  car's paint if spilled on it, which  growing up in NYC is what
DOT 3   or 4 brake fluid was good for, we would use it on a neighbor's car
to "clean it"  Does wonders to  paint sitting over  night

You are not supposed to spill   brake fluid on  a car's paint unless you
have trouble chewing  gum and walking at the same time.

keep cruisin

Jay H

On Mar 25, 2011, at 3:18 PM, stevetsg wrote:





I bought special brake fluid years ago for my boat trailer because of the
threat of water damage.  I'm not at home right now so I can't go to the
garage to look at the label on the can but I'm sure that if you google it
you will find what it is that I bought or you can call a boat shop.  What I
really want to communicate though is that water in convential brake fluid is
a serious matter and the damage that it can cause is costly.  The water
proof brake fluid is a little more expensive but cheap in comparison to the
risk that you take if your brake fluid is subject to water exposure.

 

Ernie



Sent from my iPad


On Mar 25, 2011, at 8:24 AM, "calvin young" <calvinyoung at cox.net> wrote:

I solved my own problem and learned a lot about the hydropneumatic
suspension fluid.  I recommend all who are interested in the subject go to
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropneumatic_suspension>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropneumatic_suspension  It talks about the
care and use of the system and evolution of the fluids as time and problems
affected the system.  

 

I would like to start a general discussion about using this or another
similar type mineral based fluid as a subsitute for the DOT brake fluid.
The reason is that normal brake fluid is hygoscopic, i.e., attracts
moisture, and must be changed every year to keep the brakes operating
without incident.  This was the reason the manufacturer switched to a
mineral based fluid for the hydropneumatic suspension, failure in the
systems caused by moisture and dust.  Anyone made the switch or know who
has?   Audi uses the Petosin mineral based fluids.  What about the modern MB
or Audi cars? 

 

Cal

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Postings remain property of MB Coupes, L.L.C.

 

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