I’ve just bought my XJSC and the brake reservoir is low enough to
activate the brake light, I checked this out and found the fluid
level is very low indeed! My Owner’s Manual says I need to use
vegetable brake fluid otherwise results are not good to say the
least! Would someone be kind enough to advise me what Brand/Type I
can use which won’t cause the harm I fear?–
TahoeJoe
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fluid level is very low indeed! My Owner’s Manual says I need to
use vegetable brake fluid otherwise results are not good to say
the least! Would someone be kind enough to advise me what
Brand/Type I can use which won’t cause the harm I fear?
There are two types of brake fluid; organic and silicone. So I guess a translation by English of organic would be vegetable. The current specifications are DOT 3, 4, 5, 5.1 with 3, 4, 5.1 being organic and 5 being silicone. The 5.1 organic is specificed for ABS and as the numbers go up the viscosity goes down. The fluids are backwards compatable.
There have been reports of DOT 5 silicone causing seal problems and it will cause a soft pedal. DOT 3,4,5.1 will damage paint however they are water solibule and can be washed away. If there is a posibility of getting fluid on some paint I spray with water before, during and after.
All allow water to concentrate and corrode metal so you need to flush every two years. Do not mix DOT 5 silicone with any organic brake fluid.
I buy the highest boiling temp I can find of organic and flush every two years. Last purchase was Castrol GTLMA. I do not buy fluid from Asia or Eastern Europe due to quality issues.
Geoff Green
95 XJS 4.0 conv, 76 XJ-S, 61 E-type OTS, 05 F250 Turbo Diesel, 10 Escape
Keeping track of every Jaguar XJ-S, with your help.
http://www.xjsdata.com
3.6 XJS Register paulzimmer@btopenworld.com
Eventer Register pascal.mathieu@perso.be
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In reply to a message from TahoeJoe sent Sun 24 Mar 2013:
Is this for real?
As a chemist, I’ve always considered brake fluid to be a
glycol-based product.
The manual I’ve got specifies DOT4 fluid.
Silicone-based fluid (DOT5) is not recommended
I used Valvoline synthetic, got two large bottles and did a
complete flush/bleed.
Steve–
The original message included these comments:
vegetable brake fluid otherwise results are not good to say the
least! Would someone be kind enough to advise me what Brand/Type I
can use which won’t cause the harm I fear?
–
'95 XJS V12 6.0L, saphire/tan
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
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In reply to a message from sbobev sent Sun 24 Mar 2013:
Thank you Geoff and Steve for your helpful responses…I’ll try
your suggestions tomorrow and come back to this forum later this
week. My car goes in for an '‘Out of Province’ Safety inspection in
the morning and I’d like to have that part looking AOK!
Thanks so much again,
John (Tahoe Joe)–
TahoeJoe
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
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My Owner’s Manual says I need to use vegetable
brake fluid otherwise results are not good to say the least! Would
someone be kind enough to advise me what Brand/Type I can use which
won’t cause the harm I fear?
Valvoline Synthetic DOT 4 is superb.
FYI, most brake fluids are vegetable oil based. The exception is
“Dot 5”, which is a brand name, not a DOT standard, and it’s silicone
– and is NOT to be used in ABS systems because the pump causes it to
foam. Basically, your manual is telling you not to use Dot 5.
– Kirbert
// please trim quoted text to context onlyOn 24 Mar 2013 at 17:09, TahoeJoe wrote:
In reply to a message from Kirbert sent Sun 24 Mar 2013:
I agree with Steve and Kirbert. I have used Valvoline Synthetic
brake fluid in my wife’s XJS’s and my cars (all ABS) since 2003 (
with not one problem. Never used silicone (ever) or any other brake
fluids since the switch over to the Valvoline Synthetic stuff in
2003.–
lockheed 92 XJS Cpe/97 LT1 Miami FL/ 96 XJS Cv 4.0 Austin TX
Austin, TX, United States
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“Dot 5”, which is a brand name, not a DOT standard,
DOT 5 is a standard.
and it’s silicone
Yes, the only DOT rating covering all silicones.
Basically, your manual is telling you not to use
Dot 5.
Very true. Some sellers try to pass off DOT 5 as DOT 5.1 so read the label. And do not confuse synthetic with silicone. All vegetable is organic is synthetic. Silicone is silicone is silicone.
Geoff Green
95 XJS 4.0 conv, 76 XJ-S, 61 E-type OTS, 05 F250 Turbo Diesel, 10 Escape
Keeping track of every Jaguar XJ-S, with your help.
http://www.xjsdata.com
3.6 XJS Register paulzimmer@btopenworld.com
Eventer Register pascal.mathieu@perso.be
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All vegetable is organic is synthetic. Silicone is silicone is silicone…so what your saying is all plant life is synthetic not natural ?
Do you have this decal on your servo, all the info is on the sticker.
No. What I am trying to get across is that DOT 3 Glycol Ether, DOT 4 Glycol Ether/Borate Ester, DOT 5 Silicone, DOT 5.1 Glycol Ether.
DOT 5 is Silicone.
All brake systems pull in water as part of the cooling and heating cycle of the brake system. The Glycol brake fluids absorb water which becomes part of the fluid mixture. Silicone keeps the water separate which settles into the low spots which causes corrosion and issues with components. You have to change the fluid, flush the system, to get the water out. Water changes the temp that the brake system safely operates at with water boiling at 212 F or 100 C you get a gas pocket in the system and the brake pedal goes to the floor.
Different DOT spec numbers have different viscosity and operating temps.
Geoff Green