How Much Brake Fluid?

[Jonmurgie 2]

As I have a complete set of new lines going on the car this weekend I need to get the brake fluid today, question is how much do I need to get (roughly)? Usually comes in 500ml and 1litre bottles... anyone?

 

Also, I take it just straight Dot4 is fine?

 

Cheers

Jon

[futura 3]

As I have a complete set of new lines going on the car this weekend I need to get the brake fluid today, question is how much do I need to get (roughly)? Usually comes in 500ml and 1litre bottles... anyone?

 

Also, I take it just straight Dot4 is fine?

 

Cheers

Jon

I was advised that 500ml of dot4 will do

[tri_longer 25]

As I have a complete set of new lines going on the car this weekend I need to get the brake fluid today, question is how much do I need to get (roughly)? Usually comes in 500ml and 1litre bottles... anyone?

 

Also, I take it just straight Dot4 is fine?

 

Cheers

Jon

 

When I called OPIE Oils, they advised anywhere from 1-1.5 litres to do a complete flush of the system

[Butler 0]

Dot 5.1 is better.

[Jonmurgie 2]

Cheers guys, conflicting amounts there and Butler throguing in the Dot5.1 thing... see I've always been a little confused over the whole Dot thing and what to use etc.?

[welshpug 1,622]

use DOT 5.1 for track driving, as it has a Higher boiling point IIRC, but also absorbs more water than DOT4 so does have a much shorter shelf life.

 

You can get 1 gallon cans from hellfrauds.

Edited September 22, 2006 by welshpug

[Jonmurgie 2]

Ah, that sounds ideal then Welshy... Im going to APD later for some bits so will grab some there

 

I guess if going for 5.1 then getting too much isn't a problem cause it will need chanigng more often!

[Butler 0]

Jon, DOT 5.1 is compatiable with DOT 4, better for track work. Doesn't need changing more often as far as i am aware.

 

Not to be confused with DOT 5 which is a silicon based one for a race cars only.

Edited September 22, 2006 by Butler

[boombang 2]

I wouldn't buy big bottles as storing part used fluid isn't a good idea - soon as that seal on the top of the bottle is broken you should get the fluid in.

[futura 3]

I checked on the French equivalent to the Haynes (which is actually better than the haynes) and the brake system capacity is 0.360L

[tri_longer 25]

Cheers guys, conflicting amounts there and Butler throguing in the Dot5.1 thing... see I've always been a little confused over the whole Dot thing and what to use etc.?

 

This was why I rang OPIE as I have no idea about these sort of things, they sell a Racing Dot 4.1 which is rated higher than 5.1 (that confused me even more).

[hengti 2]

Jon - if you're interested, I've got a (sealed) 1 litre can of Castrol SRF I'm probably never going to get around to using. £20? it's about £40-50 new.

 

it's supposed to be the competition brake fluid, but needs changing every 18 months (no big deal)

 

also got 2 litres of automec silicone fluid (which never needs changing) - but not sure if that's a good idea in Pugs, or a track car - ?

[Jonmurgie 2]

Cheers for the offer but I need to get the fluid today for working on the car tomorrow

[jackherer 543]

buy more than you need, you never know if you're going to have to go round bleeding a few extra times to get the pedal firm and you cant put it back in once its been through the system...

[Anthony 1,000]

You'll need a litre at the least in my experience, and probably another half litre on top of that if the system is dry and you need a couple of attempts to bleed each caliper.

[TEKNOPUG 3]

Yeah, a litre minimum.

[smckeown 1]

I always have some spare with me, used halfords 5.1 for a long time on my track cars

[rich_w 0]

Jon did you get any 5.1 from APD in the end? Every time i've gone in there and they have asked me a millions questions before they will sell me the stuff!

[Jonmurgie 2]

They did confirm it was for High Performance or Competition car only... I just said it was for a race car Though the Chelt branch didn't have any and there wasn't time to get it from Gloucester so I'm leaving it all as PowerStation have a 25lt drum of the stuff so I'll bleed the brakes up there next week

 

BTW, it was about £4.50 + VAT per litre @ APD... Halford want £9.49 per litre and my local motor factors wanted £5.00 per 500ml

[base-1 17]

Dot 4 and 5.1 etc means sweet F-A, completely irrelevant to this kind of application really. Most race fluids are only Dot 4 and will out perform just about any 5.1 you can think of.

 

Too late I know but 2L would be better, you'd have no chance at all with 0.5 and very unlikely with 1. With completely new dry lines all through the car it will take some effort to get it through properly, and perseverance to get the pedal rock hard.

[Jonmurgie 2]

Oh right, so overall does it really matter whether I use Dot 4 or Dot 5.1 then?

 

I'm glad we've decided to leave it until the cars at PS then if it's gonna be a challenge to get the whole system bled well

[futura 3]

I am going to replace my MC, flex and copper pipes on the 205, so the whole system will have air in when I refit it.

Any tips on how to get the least air in when filling the system with brake fluid?

[sonofsam 5]

I think it would be quite difficult keeping all the air out!

Best thing to do is let it fill by itself: ie gravity, no pumping-I made this mistake:(

 

Will be a truck load of air in there from a fresh system, as I found out!

 

Maybe try a gravity bleed jon as your last attempt, this seems to work well:)

[futura 3]

Thanks for the advice, I was going to pump hard so you saved this hassle!

 

Would it be a good idea to fill the system veeeery slowly, for example by making a tiny hole in the fluid bottle using a needle or something similar and let it empty itself?

[hengti 2]

you could try an easibleed - they 'pull' the air and fluid through the system using the pressure of a spare tyre - no need to be pumping the pedal and possibly causing damage to the dry m/c seals