Stalterian(at)aol.com,Internet writes:
>Thanks to all who helped with my brakes problem. I'm still confused
>about DOT
>4 vs Silicone DOT 5, though. I heard from some folks who said I needed
>to
>disassemble the braking system, and refill with DOT 5 (doesn't absorb
>moisture). Some people said I should forget silicone and just flush the
>system
>each spring. Trouble is, I bought EIS brand brake fluid (DOT 5) and
>right
>there on the label it says, "...is compatible with DOT 3 and DOT 4
>fluid).
>Yet, in the next sentence it said to drain the entire system and
>refill. So, I
>used my little MightyVac bleeder gizmo and bled all 4 brakes until the
>purple
>silicone fluid ran into the reservoir. My concern is that the rubber
>components are slowly/quickly being eaten away.
Despite what the label says, silicone brake fluid is not compatible
with traditional brake fluid. I'd even go so far as to say that
flushing the system is not sufficient. I've read countless articles
(Brit Car, Classic Auto Restorer) that say the only proper way to
replace DOT 3/4 with DOT 5 is to completely disassemble the brake
system, clean the components and replace the lines. That's what I did.
The primary advantage of DOT 5 is it won't damage paint. It will not
eat away modern synthetic rubber seals, despite the rumors. It will,
however, destroy natural rubber seals. It is also not as effective as
DOT 3/4 at higher temperatures (it causes fade).
>Also, I have an Alpine S V and I just put new P165/80 radials on the
>rims.
>They are skinny little things, but the handling vs the old Sears belted
>tires
>is already amazing. What's the widest I could have gone and not shred
>the
>tires with the fender wells?
I have heard of tires as large as P205/70, I use 185/70.
>One last question. What's NOS mean? I read it in lots of ads, etc. And
>what
>are LAT wheels. Sorry for being such an idiot, but I'm new at this Brit
>car
>thing and am trapped in the Midwest (Illinois).
NOS: New Old Stock or New Original Stock.
Christopher
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 10:15:40 CDT