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After the first of the year, I plan on having SS calipers put on my 69. My "Vette Guy" has heard some bad reports about Silicone Brake Fluid not performing as advertised. Any word out there? Thanks.
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Re: Silicone Brake Fluid
Mike-----
I think that you'll find a huge amount of information on this subject in the archives----likely more than you even want to read. It's been discussed EXTENSIVELY on numerous occasions in the past. I don't think that anything that could be said hasn't already been said.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: Silicone Brake Fluid
Some specifics would help?
If you want a successful conversion, you must start from scratch with a completely dry and squeaky clean system. This means disassembling any new or rebuilt components that were assembled with glycol fluid, thoroughly cleaning them with denatured alcohol, drying them, and then assembling with silicone fluid. This includes the m/c and all calipers/wheel cylinders. The steel lines must be flushed with denatured alcohol and dried. Same applies to even new flexible lines since the metal ends were probably swagged on the hose with some glycol brake fluid as a lubricant.
The point is to get every last molecule of glycol fluid out of the system.
The only systems were silicone fluid is specifically NOT RECOMMENDED are ABS brake systems. Apparently, silicone fluid is more subject to cavitation under the high frequency pulsing of ABS valves.
DukeComment
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16 years of Silicone Brake Fluid
I replaced my calipers on my 66 in 1988. I purchased a kit that included a master cylinder, all flexible hoses, and the trailing arm lines. The other lines were blown out with air. Silicone fluid was installed.
Since then, I drove the car thousands of miles every year, usually to/through the Rock mountains. No fluid problems. The front caliper seals leaked after 9 years, and the rears after 11 years. All were resealed by the vendor for a nominal fee.Comment
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Re: Silicone Brake Fluid
I have used the silicone fluid in my 68 with manual brakes and in my 70 with power brakes for 18-20 years. One of the advantages of silicone fluid is that it does not absorb water like regular brake fluid. One of the best things I ever done was switch to silicone fluid in the hydraulic clutch on my MG. Silicone fluid once installed correctly does not require periodic changing of the fluid like regular fluid. What bad reports of silicone fluid has your "Vette Guy" heard?Comment
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Re: Silicone Brake Fluid
If done right Silicone fluid works great. If you don't do all the steps like Duke outlined you can have problems. I am convinced that the bad press you hear about Silicone fluid comes from those who didn't clean their systems properly to start with. You can't just go flush the new Silicone fluid through your system and expect it to work. One of the greatest things I like about Silicone fluid is that when you spill it there is no damage to paint. This is very important on cars that we spend so much time detailing. And yes, you will spill it at some point no matter how you try not to! :-)
Cleaning the system is really quite easy to do, particularly if you are replacing calipers. What I did and it worked great, is to specifically request from the place you are getting the calipers that they be builtup, filled, and tested with Silicon fluid rather than regular brake fluid. That way, you don't have to do anything with them once you get them. Also, unless your MC is new already, simply take this opportunity to replace it now and before installation, pop out the cylinder and clean it out. Use Silicon fluid as the lube for reinstallation.
Lastly, remove all old rubber lines in preparation to clean the system. I used a pressurized can of zero residue brake cleaner as the cleaning fluid. It works great since it has the plastic nozzle that you can stick in lines and blast them out with. Use pressurized air to remove the residue and dry out the system. Flush until the lines flow clean. You will be amazed at what comes out of your system. Replace all rubber lines with new ones.
I installed the newer O-ring type calipers and love them. The feel of the brakes is great and I suspect they will not have the typical future leaking problems that lip seal calipers usually have. Also, with O-ring calipers the criticality of rotor runout is greatly diminished.
By the way, www.fastcorvette.com is a good reasonable priced place to get hoses and parts and he ships fast and prices include shipping. I got my calipers from a place in Florida that I think is still in business but under a different name. Good luck!Comment
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Re: Silicone Brake Fluid
" I am convinced that the bad press you hear about Silicone fluid comes from those who didn't clean their systems properly to start with. You can't just go flush the new Silicone fluid through your system and expect it to work."
Exactly the problem. The sad fact is that some DOT 5 fluid manufacturers recommended this method when DOT 5 first came on the scene in the mid-1970s. It wasn't until a decade later that the issue of cleanliness and thorough removal of ALL glycol fluid was emphasized by SAE.
Personally I flushed all the lines with alcohol and blew them out with shop air. I was installing new calipers, and I rebuilt the MC. No problems in over 20 years. I have flushed the system once in that time -- I didn't like the looks of the fluid in the MC.TerryComment
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