Dot 3 brake fluid??

[brianjbeach85]

First off i did 2 stupid things today.. 1 i sent the wife to get me fluid for the truck while i was working on it... 2.. i went to the dealer for a fluid...

DOT 3 brake fluid.. ford sold me some P*SS ant sized dot 3 brake fluid.. not even a quart... cost?? $6.00...

Anyone know if the DOT 3 brake fluid that motorcraft makes is any different than something i can buy at autozone?? thats dot 3?

 

[melmount]

advance auto's dot 3 is fine but dot4 is better.

 

[iracemine]

I just flushed my brake system for the 3rd time with prestone DOT3 and I have never had a problem, and I tow occasionally. one quart is like 4bucks from wally world.

I bleed my brakes like 1 to 2 times a year. And I can never tell the difference when I do. So I would assume the DOT3 is fine.

 

[WD40]

(I bleed my brakes like 1 to 2 times a year.)

Why do you think you need to do this, have I missed something?
Doug

 

[iracemine]

oh yeah, mainly rust. brake fluid loves to gather moisture in it. and with moisture comes rust in the brake lines. I hate replacing brake lines, but dont mind spending $3 with tax and about 10min to not have to worry about that. also with the moisture comes the chance when towing to "flash" or "boil" the brake fluid (actually the water in the brake fluid not the actual brake fluid) resulting in no brakes or super spongy brakes.

every one has there things and me its deff brakes. also I was told by a big time race guy that even after you open a bottle of fluid you have 3 months to use it up. that may be just racing but I bet our trucks give that brake fluid a run for its money. but mainly rust, there is conditioners in there to keep all the seals happy and anti corrosion crud in there that needs to be replenished.

 

[jestersv]

DOT 4 fluid has a higher temp rating.

 

[brianjbeach85]

10mins to flush? or do you squeeze out the old in resevoir and fill it again with new stuff?

 

[iracemine]

no no, 10 min to bleed. I have a one person bleeder, so its super quick. But to flush its a bit longer, I suck all the fluid out of the reservoir first then top it off with new DOT3 and then suck all the old yellow fluid out till its clear (starting at the farthest wheel first) and then go around and do the rest. That takes me about a half a hour, but I only do that once in a while. But when bleeding I only pull about 2 foot worth of fluid out, you know about as much as the rubber brake line is worth.

 

[iracemine]

DOT 4 fluid has a higher temp rating.

here is a quick guide to temp ratings, it not just the temp that is the most important thing, again there is all the stuff in the fluid that is important. I was always told that the 5.1 was the best for trailer brakes. But I use the ATE Brake fluid in my race car for the high temp, and the ease that it comes in gold and blue colors so when your flushing the old fluid out you know when the new stuff is in easily.

Brake Fluid Comparison