Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi All ,

Noticed today that my break fluid levels are running low , i guess its fairly easy to top up

was thinking of getting motul however there's a DOT 4 and DOT 5

Which one is better ?

Also i currently do not know what brake fluid is currently in the car do i need to flush it to be safe or just top up ?

Car is GTR34 .. Thanks.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/329782-topping-up-break-fluid-dot-4-or-5/
Share on other sites

You should, ideally, use whatever the car is running now. If you don't know what's in there now, I'd probably suggest DOT4 (though I seem to recall it may say 'DOT3' on the lid). That said, if you don't know what's in there, it could be a good opportunity to flush the entire system and replace it with fresh fluid.

Anyways - DOT5 is silicon-based not glycol-based and isn't typically used in road cars. It also isn't "compatible" with other brake fluids (DOT3/4). That said, you may be confusing it with DOT5.1 (sorta like a 'better' DOT4).

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOT_4

http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycl...brakefluid.html

for details on the differences.

Straight forward DOT 4 unless you do a bit of track work in which case you can try for something of higher temp. But if using a different DOT to what you're currently running, make sure you flush the entire system thoroughly - using the new fluid. May need a couple of bottles to do it.

just had a look at the lid it says use DOT 3

My mechanic told me to go with Motul Dot 4 ( CRD )

any ideas ?

Believe your mechanic.

You won't find Dot 3 fluid anywhere. Dot 4 is the replacement so use that.

Dot 5 is a mutant offspring and should not be used.

If you want track biased fluid get dot 4-600 which is a high temp dot 4 fluid.

DOT3 and DOT4 are supposed to be chemically compatible so you can mix, but over time the boiling point of brake fluid gets lower and lower as the fluid takes on water from the atmosphere. If the current fluid is black it would be worth getting it bled out and new fluid put in.

So that means we can just ignore what the lid says (use only DOT 3 brake fluid)? I have read the link.

DOT 5 is silicone and DOT 5.1 is glycol.

How frequent would one have to change DOT 5 (silicone) brake fluid compared to normal 5.1? Is it worth it?

Currently have stock GTS-T brakes and will be getting Bendix Ultimates to accompany the new fluid. Will start doing a bit of track work soon too.

Thanks.

how do you flush the brake system of fluid?? and how many liters will it require to fill it again with new fluid?

well i did mine my by following the bleeding procedure but i bled each caliper until the new brake fluid came through.

thinks to do

-keep the brake fluid above the min mark on the brake u must do all u can to keep air from getting in the system

-try to keep the caps on all the brake fluid to minimize water absorption from the air

-i think i got by with one bottle of brake fluid (no idea in ml there all pretty similar though) but 2 is ideal. just so u have some on hand just incase

any 1 want to add to this go for it

So that means we can just ignore what the lid says (use only DOT 3 brake fluid)? I have read the link.

DOT 5 is silicone and DOT 5.1 is glycol.

How frequent would one have to change DOT 5 (silicone) brake fluid compared to normal 5.1? Is it worth it?

Currently have stock GTS-T brakes and will be getting Bendix Ultimates to accompany the new fluid. Will start doing a bit of track work soon too.

Thanks.

DOT 5 is really not for u hear is why.

ur brake system has a glycol based brake fluid in it now and glycol brake fluid absorbs water. when u bleed the system for dot 5 u will not get all the glycol brake fluid out and when the brake fluid gets hot u will have steam in ur brake lines this is bad.

dot 5 needs to be bleed a lot more then glycol brake fluid because if any water gets in u will get corrosion because the dot 5 will not absorb water, this is why the u get steam in the above section.

most ppl will use dot 4 and nobody has problems with it. i dont know about dot 5.1 but i have heard it will make ur ABS angry.

well i did mine my by following the bleeding procedure but i bled each caliper until the new brake fluid came through.

thinks to do

-keep the brake fluid above the min mark on the brake u must do all u can to keep air from getting in the system

-try to keep the caps on all the brake fluid to minimize water absorption from the air

-i think i got by with one bottle of brake fluid (no idea in ml there all pretty similar though) but 2 is ideal. just so u have some on hand just incase

any 1 want to add to this go for it

wouldn't that method get the old and new fluids mixed?? i read somewhere that you shouldn't get them mixed because it is bad,, btw i am going to use dot 5.1 for the new fluid and that is why i dont want them to be mix,, thanks for your reply

Lucky you didn't take the advice here and put DOT 5 (Silicon), as silicon will eat away at your rubber brake hoses and rubber seals.

oops forgot about that.

another good reason to not use dot 5

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Hi, is the HKS  Tower Bar still available ? negotiable ? 🤔
    • From there, it is really just test and assemble. Plug the adapter cables from the unit into the back of the screen, then the other side to the car harness. Don't forget all the other plugs too! Run the cables behind the unit and screw it back into place (4 screws) and you should now have 3 cables to run from the top screen to the android unit. I ran them along the DS of the other AV units in the gap between their backets and the console, and used some corrugated tubing on the sharp edges of the bracket so the wires were safe. Plug the centre console and lower screen in temporarily and turn the car to ACC, the AV should fire up as normal. Hold the back button for 3 sec and Android should appear on the top screen. You need to set the input to Aux for audio (more on that later). I put the unit under the AC duct in the centre console, with the wifi antenna on top of the AC duct near the shifter, the bluetooth antenna on the AC duct under the centre console The GPS unit on top of the DS to AC duct; they all seem to work OK there are are out of the way. Neat cable routing is a pain. For the drive recorder I mounted it near the rear view mirror and run the cable in the headlining, across the a pillar and then down the inside of the a pillar seal to the DS lower dash. From there it goes across and to one USB input for the unit. The second USB input is attached to the ECUtec OBD dongle and the 3rd goes to the USB bulkhead connected I added in the centre console. This is how the centre console looks "tidied" up Note I didn't install the provided speaker, didn't use the 2.5mm IPod in line or the piggyback loom for the Ipod or change any DIP switches; they seem to only be required if you need to use the Ipod input rather than the AUX input. That's it, install done, I'll follow up with a separate post on how the unit works, but in summary it retains all factory functions and inputs (so I still use my phone to the car for calls), reverse still works like factory etc.
    • Place the new daughterboard in the case and mount it using the 3 small black rivets provided, and reconnect the 3 factory ribbon cables to the new board Then, use the 3 piggyback cables from the daughterboard into the factory board on top (there are stand offs in the case to keep them apart. and remember to reconnect the antenna and rear cover fan wires. 1 screw to hold the motherboard in place. Before closing the case, make a hole in the sticker covering a hole in the case and run the cable for the android unit into the plug there. The video forgot this step, so did I, so will you probably. Then redo the 4 screws on back, 2 each top and bottom, 3 each side and put the 2 brackets back on.....all ready to go and not that tricky really.      
    • Onto the android unit. You need to remove the top screen because there is a daughterboard to put inside the case. Each side vent pops out from clips; start at the bottom and carefully remove upwards (use a trim remover tool to avoid breaking anything). Then the lower screen and controls come out, 4 screws, a couple of clips (including 3 flimsy ones at the top) and 3 plugs on the rear. Then the upper screen, 4 screws and a bunch of plugs and she is out. From there, remove the mounting brackets (2 screws each), 4 screws on the rear, 2 screws top and bottom and 3 screws holding in the small plates on each side. When you remove the back cover (tight fit), watch out for the power cable for the fan, I removed it so I could put the back aside. The mainboard is held in by 1 screw in the middle, 1 aerial at the top and 3 ribbon cables. If you've ever done any laptop stuff the ribbon cables are OK to work with, just pop up the retainer and they slide out. If you are not familiar just grab a 12 year old from an iphone factory, they will know how it works The case should now look like this:
    • Switching the console was tricky. First there were 6 screws to remove, and also the little adapter loom and its screws had to come out. Also don't forget to remove the 2 screws holding the central locking receiver. Then there are 4 clips on either side....these were very tight in this case and needed careful persuading with a long flat screw driver....some force required but not enough to break them...this was probably the fiddliest part of the whole job. In my case I needed both the wiring loom and the central locking receiver module to swap across to the new one. That was it for the console, so "assembly is the reverse of disassembly"
×
×
  • Create New...