brake fluid

[salazar44]

What brake fluid is recommended for stock drum setup. I have the huge reservoir that is the size of a pea! Thanks guys.

[rickf]

Brand-X DOT-3 will do the job. DOT-4 is fine too, main difference is boilng point, and the higher boiling point is intended mainly for disc brakes where the wheel cyinder equivalent tends to get hotter than the wheel cylinder in drum brakes.

Stay away from DOT-5, unless you are certain DOT-5 is what is already in your system. Dot-3 & 4 are not compatible with DOT-5. Also DOT-5 will tend to give your brakes a squishy feel.

I'm no brake genius, but the question made me curious so I went to google with "brake fluid dot-3". I'm just summarizing what I found at a couple web sites, like here
http://www.xs11.com/tips/maintenance/maint1.shtml
and here
http://www.shotimes.com/SHO3brakefluid.html
and here
http://www.afcoracing.com/tech_pages/fluid.shtml

[kris's66lwb]

yea just say with dot 3 most any older car will use that

[salazar44]

Nice brake fluid links Rick! Thanks guys.

[Tomsriv]

So thats why I had to bleed the brakes a million times. I switched to four wheel disc brakes and ran new lines so I decided to switch to Dot 5. It stops fine but the pedal feels low and a little spongy. I hear the rear calipers have a lot of travel in them so thats why the pedal is low, but now I understand the sponginess.

FYI if you have Dot 3 or 4 that has been opened and has been siting in your garage for more than a year I wouldn't put it in my car. Especially if it comes from a big bottle, even when you seal it, it can pull the moisture out of the air in the bottle. That said I have never had a brake failure, but I don't want to push it when it comes to brakes.