Anyone have endless leak problems with this stuff? I'm using old Ford hydraulic front brakes and cannot get the copper washers on the hoses to seal with this stuff. I've gone through 3 sets of hoses, 2 sets of wheels cylinders, about 10 sets of washers, annealed with a quench, annealed without a quench, thread sealant, etc. I've used Mac's wheels cylinders and rebuilt real Ford ones and still they leak. Should I try a ton of thread sealant?? 2 washers? suggestions?
I use thread sealant from Lowe's or Menards, the same stuff you use on gas pipes, water pipes etc.. It really doesn't take a lot, wash the fitting good with mineral spirits, simple green or lacquer thinner and etc.. I put a little bead around the line and then around the fitting threads, then slide the fitting up and screw it in, it won't take tons of torque to seal, I use this on transmission lines, water outlets, heater hose nipples etc.. Do you know what I'm saying? And it works right now, even takes 3000 psi etc.. good luck
If you hadn't been through so many combinations of hoses and wheel cylinders I would think there was a possibility you were bottoming out the metal tip of the brake hose in the wheel cylinder before you were getting a good crush on the washer. Might just check it to rule out that possibility.
Take the copper washers and heat them red hot and quench in water. This will anneal the copper and it will become soft enough to seal. I am sure you have made sure the sealing surfaces are clean.
http://adlersantiqueautos.com/articles/brake1.html Silicone fluid really isn't worth the hassles. There's a lot more hassles than just leaks and eating seals. It goes where dot 3&4 won't . It doesn't evaporate and shows the very smallest of leaks a while after install with a nice wet spot. May have taken 2000 brake cycles to make that big spot. Stay away from silicone fluid if you have a vacuum booster. That doesn't help you get a seal on your washers, but I think you should give up already on the dot 5.
I've used nothing but Silicone brake fluid on my old cars since my first change over to it in 1984. I've never had any leaks or ruined brake light switches. Works for me.
Always used silicone. Had normal leaks during the build but fixed before the body went onto the frame. Price is higher but never a problem.
ok, you two 36 guys come fix my 32 I've only plumbed the front brakes so far. I don't have leaks at the 42-48 Ford cyls, but most flares are barely weeping. So slight you need to wait a week for dust to form to see the stain. And, there is a NOS 1950s brass junction block on the lower firewall, to where I will run a line to the rear... I bought a new flare type "block-off plug" from napa to block that rear port until I get the back brakes rebuilt. It's all a slight weep. I can see how I may have messed up a flare or two, but even those new/nos parts have a very slight weep.
Will never use it again, period. The stuff sucks air. I mean it literally sucks air in through the seals. Cars that are rarely driven won't notice much. Stuff you drive every day will need bleeding every so often. If you go up into the mountains, you will lose your brakes. How do I know?? I went into the mountains. I lost my brakes. They came back after I got down. I bled the ever-lovin' shit outta the system (loads of air), then the very next day, same shit. It is NOT recommended for ABS systems, owing to the very issue I just enumerated. You want to use it, fine. But, tell me one thing - why?? What makes it worth the hassle, the difficulty in bleeding, the sucking air, the compressability (it has a lot). Why?? Cosmo
I first used silicone fluid 25 years ago when I got my 27 on the road. That exact same fluid was in the system (brakes and hydraulic clutch) when I redid the car about 5 years ago. It came out spotlessly clean and I rarely had to top off the MC in all those years. When I redid the car Dot 5 went back in, and is also in my Son's rpu and my other Son's T bucket. None of us have ever had a drop leak out and all the horror stories we have heard about soft pedal, etc have never happened to us either. It also has the benefit of not damaging paint if some should get spilled when bleeding brakes or topping off. Don
Didn't have a problem with Silicone leaking or working as it should in my old car. I'll never use it again for one reason, it made my hands swell up like like the Jolly Green Giant. Next time, I could use some good gloves, but there'll be no next time for me. A one off problem............. CRUISER
Used DOT 5 in my 48 Plymouth with a disc brake conversion. At first I had a problem with some leaking at the copper washers on the calipers, but the leak cured itself, and haven't had any problems since.
Bought it by the gallon back in the early eighties and have been using it trouble free ever since. I guess it's one of those things that if it works for you, you like it and if not you don't. Have done about 15 cars with it.
I too have used sillycone for 30 plus years. No problems. no leaking at banjo fittings no leaking at flare fittings, no problems with boosters, no problems with air getting sucked back in? If air is sucking in the fluid is leaking out a lot...there are other problems there not the fluid. Everyone that I know that had problems with it could trace the problem back to poor workmanship. It is all in the details. I drive one racecar that has had the stuff in it for twenty years. Never had so much as one leak or failure. Your results may vary.
This "discussion" is like beating a dead horse or discussing politics or religion - goes no where and serves no purpose. Some have had good experieces with DOT5 and some bad and nobody's going to change anyone's opinion. I personally think the problems arise from the installation of the system and/or inferior components being used. My 2¢
i agree...some have problems , some don't brakes and wiring are two things that seem to give a lot of guys problems on here , the same two things that hardly give me any trouble
I used it on my 34 Ford. Never had "good" brakes. It will adsorb air. Had it in another car and then changed to Dot 4, brakes worked much better. The problem you may be having with your brake switch is they were not designed for the higher pressures that power brakes produce. If you look at stock cars, they quit using the hydraulic switches shortly after power brakes came out. My 34 used to go through switch after switch. Pulled a couple of them apart and you could see that the pressure and heat from the contacts actually melted the contacts deeper into the plastic.
Stay with DOT 3 or 4..... The only advantage to the silicon stuff is it doesn't eat your paintwork. I put it in my then new 84 F250,, and after driving around all day at 5,000 ft. altitudes, the pedal became spongy; Bleeding the system fixed it for a while. This happened twice, during a 2 week period..... I went back to DOT 3, and never had an issue again. It's not recommended for use in ABS equipped vehicles, nor is it spec'd for trailer brake systems. 4TTRUK
I've never used it but the Brit car guys swear by it. They have no trouble with it. They have the issue that Girling used a natural rubber and that only Girling fluid would not eat it before silicone came out. They were the first to do it, in fact, one of them was a Xerox technician and the old copiers used silicone "burner oil" in the mechanism. If you have a persistent problem with leaks I do not believe silicone could be the issue. It will leak with veg based fluid too. Silicone IS harder to bleed and could theoretically cause engine damage if you had a vacuum booster, the seal leaked and the engine ingested it, but I know guys with Jags that had that happen and it didn't do any damage. In my opinion the automotive world made a mistake by going with veg based hygroscopic brake fluid, but it's too late now to switch.
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