| Author | Message | ||
     Damon Dolat (Ddolat) New Member Username: Ddolat Post Number: 1 Registered: 07-2003 |
I would like to flush my Disco's brake fluid with ATE Super Blue which I have used in other vehicles in the past, but searching through pervious threads on the board I get the feeling that using anything but Castrol LMA would cause problems with seal compatibility. I always thought all DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 brake fluids were glycol based and were supposed to be compatible with each other as well as the seals in all brake systems calling for these grades. So does anyone think their would be a problem running this brake fluid? Thanks in advance. | ||
| Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Leslie Post Number: 2359 Registered: 02-2002 |
It's been a while since I read the exact differences, so take this with a grain of salt, but.... From what I recall, my understanding is that a DOT X rating just means that the fluid behaves in a certain manner under certain conditions, and doesn't relate to its composition. Thus, you can have a glycol-based fluid with DOT3 performance capabilities, and then a vegetable-based fluid with DOT3 performance capabilities, but the two aren't compatible with one another. Now, with all of that said.... There used to be a problem with old Series Rovers when people used glycol-based fluids, because the natural rubber didn't work with the fluid change and failed. Thus on a Series Rover, always use LMA. Unless, of course, you build a new Rover from scratch, and you know that you've put in seals that don't care, and you know what you're using in your own vehicle. It'd be fine to use LMA in a newer Rover, as long as you are consistent with using just LMA, and not flipping between different fluids. I'd doubt that LMA is actually in your Disco, unless you know that at some point someone has put LMA in there, though. FWIW, the Disco shop manual only says to use a DOT4 fluid, and doesn't specify that it has to be LMA. -L | ||
| Christian Kuhtz (Ckuhtz) New Member Username: Ckuhtz Post Number: 15 Registered: 06-2003 |
Ate Super Blue (and/or Ate Typ200, if you change fluids yourself and like to alternate blue w/ amber to ease the change) will work just fine. Ate SB & Typ200 are the same fluid, just different dye. | ||
| Damon Dolat (Ddolat) New Member Username: Ddolat Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2003 |
Thanks for the help. Actually thats the main reason I use ATE brake fluids, the two colors make things a bit easier. | ||
| Bill Bettridge (Billb) Senior Member Username: Billb Post Number: 840 Registered: 02-2002 |
Someone else on this board recently had serious issues when trying the ATE fluid. You might do a search for the previous info. Also - you really do not need a race spec brake fluid for our trucks - LMA or similar is just fine and much less hard on the wallet - especially if you do frequent chnages. My .o2 Bill | ||
| Damon Dolat (Ddolat) New Member Username: Ddolat Post Number: 3 Registered: 07-2003 |
Does anyone know who make the oem brake fluid? Would I be better off using the oem stuff? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to create more problems for my self down the road. | ||
| June H. Han (Junehhan) New Member Username: Junehhan Post Number: 28 Registered: 04-2003 |
Although you don't need a race spec brake fluid for your Rover's, I can assure you that is not the only advantage with the ATE Super Blue Racing brake fluid along with it's amber colored companion. One of the biggest problems with brake fluid, is it absorbs moisture over time. Unless you race and change your brake fluid after every race, the dry boiling point is pretty pointless, especially as it absorbs more moisture. One of the properties that makes ATE Super Blue Racing such a great fluid, is that it has one of the highest wet boiling points of any brake fluid out there with Castrol SRF(can't afford this stuff) being the only one with a higher wet boiling point. Another bonus with this brake fluid, is that while many brake fluid's out there absorb moisture very quickly, ATE Super Blue Racing is not very hydroscopic and absorbs moisture very slowly. Unless you overheat your brakes often, you can literally put this brake fluid in, and leave it along for a couple years without worrying about it. Although I can't vouch for whether this brake fluid is compatible with our Rover's, I have run this stuff in every one of my past vehicles without a single problem. My parents also run this stuff in every one of their vehicles and have not had a problem with it. The manual specifies Dot 4 brake fluid, which means that I will probably change the brake fluid to super blue racing in my 03 Discovery when the time comes to change brake fluid. This brake fluid at $10 a litre is an absolute bargain as you get very near Castrol SRF performance, at 1/7th the price as SRF can costs as much as $72-76 a litre. Add to that the fact that this brake fluid absorbs moisture very slowly, and has one of the highest wet boiling points of any brake fluid out there, and i'm sold. | ||
| June H. Han (Junehhan) New Member Username: Junehhan Post Number: 29 Registered: 04-2003 |
Don't quote me on this, but I believe the OEM factory brake fluid is Shell Donax YB Dot 4. | ||
| Bill Bettridge (Billb) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Billb Post Number: 844 Registered: 02-2002 |
Fancy brake fluid is still silly for a trail driven Disco.....with the ease of a total flush on a disco - it seems much more cost effective to use LMA or whatever cheap flavor you like and change it yearly or so. You are getting nothing from changing to a higher dollar fluid other than a "bling" factor. Also - not sure of the circumstances, but another long time poster here had a serious reduction in braking after a change to the ATE - even after multiple bleeds. I beleive he switched back to a generic Dot 4 with no issues. Bill | ||
| June H. Han (Junehhan) New Member Username: Junehhan Post Number: 33 Registered: 04-2003 |
Would it be possible that air was accidently introduced into the system? The biggest advantage, and one of the smaller reasons why people run ATE Type 200 and ATE Super Blue Racing is it makes changing the brake fluid really easy because of the different colors. It would probably be wonderful if some other brake fluids out there came out in different colors as well. | ||
| Paul T. Schram (Paulschram) Senior Member Username: Paulschram Post Number: 1854 Registered: 02-2002 |
It has been my experience that when changing brake fluid on a Rover, you can easily tell when you have evacuated the old stuff as it is no longer black! | ||
| Matt (Doc175) Member Username: Doc175 Post Number: 162 Registered: 11-2002 |
This is going to be a very basic question but... What is the difference between DOT 3 and DOT 4? I know the manual says DOT 4 but it seems like all the parts stores only carry DOT 3. I have been told me they are the same. If so, why is the manual so specific? | ||
| Michael Noe (Noee) Senior Member Username: Noee Post Number: 693 Registered: 03-2002 |
Couldn't resist: http://www.howstuffworks.com/question451.htm | ||
| Damon Dolat (Ddolat) New Member Username: Ddolat Post Number: 4 Registered: 07-2003 |
Thanks for the help folks, I flushed my brakes with Castrol LMA last night and so far everything seems fine. I was suprised how black the old fluid was after 60k, my old Jeep's brake fluid didn't look like this at 100K. Thanks again for the help. | ||
| Matt (Doc175) Member Username: Doc175 Post Number: 164 Registered: 11-2002 |
Mike--That web site basically says that DOT 3 and DOT 4 are the same. Why is the manual so specific to use DOT 4? PS how is the series doing? | ||
| June H. Han (Junehhan) New Member Username: Junehhan Post Number: 37 Registered: 04-2003 |
DOT 4 brake fluid has a higher minimum wet and dry boiling point. Here is an excellent article discussing and comparing different brake fluids out there. http://www.shotimes.com/php-bin/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&mo de=thread&order=0&thold=0&sid=59 |
