I'm pretty jazzed...progress continues. I'm now doing the conversion to stock style Front disc/rear drums. In that the master cylinder, both calipers, and both wheel cylinders are "new" the question of whether or not to change to silicone brake fluid needs addressing.

I've heard the system will last longer and operate better with silicone. I've also heard silicone doesn't allow water to enter the system thereby minimizing corrosion. Any truth to this...or is it all sales hype?

If I were to convert to silicone, what is the best way to flush the lines of the existing standard fluid? Now that I've said that, it would probably be a good idea to flush them even if I stick with the standard fluid, wouldn't it? Help? Suggestions? Insight? THANKS!

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'69 Garnet Red Convertible, Ivory over black, 350 w/turbo 400

Here's what Baer racing has to say:

Q: What kind of brake fluids do you recommend?

Baer Racing recommends one of two different brake fluids: either the Performance Friction Z-Rated fluid (for most applications), or the Castrol SRF (for extreme duty applications such as road race cars).

The Performance Friction fluid is very good and comes packaged in a metal can. This is important, as plastic containers allow the fluid to absorb moisture from the air, essentially dropping it to its wet boiling point before ever being put in the car.

The Castrol SRF is simply the best fluid we have ever used. It has extremely high boiling points, both wet and dry, and holds up well under the adverse conditions of road racing or other extreme duty.

Q: Why don’t you recommend silicone-based fluid?

Silicone-based fluids are great for museum cars that are never driven because the fluid is very non-reactive. You can spill some on the car’s paint without fear of damage. While this is good for museum cars, it’s bad for a car that’s ever actually driven.

Although water is always going to get into the brake lines and hoses, it will not dissolve in the silicone fluid. This water forms pockets that will boil off and become steam as the brake fluid heats up with use. As a result, it is virtually impossible to keep a silicone-based system bled properly, as there will always be gas in the lines.

Also note that a conversion to silicone requires that every square inch of the brake lines be cleaned (like with alcohol), so there's no fluid left. This also includes the cylinders I believe. And never use an open fluid container that has been in storage (fluid would have already drawn in water).

I found Baer Racing's comments interesting and a little bit concerning as I believe I just put silicone based fluid in my car. I inclined to say though that if silicone was so bad....they wouldn't sell it. Those DOT people do watch these things. Their comments may come more from a race car perspective where mechanics are constantly tearing into the system.

I did replace everything in my brake system with the exception of the distribution blocks.

To answer the question about getting the old brake fluid out, you could gravity drain the system as much as possible and then use a vacuum pump type bleeder to flush the lines. This would use up a lot of fluid though as you wouldn't want to re-use what you pull through. Be sure to keep the MC full while doing this.


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Mark M.
Red 67 Convertible
Red Deluxe Interior
383/Tremec 5 Speed
4 Wheel Disk

check out these two previous posts on this topic. i would personally stay away from the silicone fluid based on the information in these.

http://www.camaros.net/forum/Forum7/HTML/000352.html
http://www.camaros.net/forum/Forum7/HTML/000450.html



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68 Ash gold RS 327
factory AC,PS,PB
P-O-P

My 42 year old mind is failing me. I read the post and went and checked my brake fluid bottle. I used "synthetic" not "silicone". I knew it was "s"....something.. http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif

I did read the posts on silicone and they are pretty scary.

Mark M.

Damn! I guess that settles it! Silicone...BAAAAD! Synthetic or plain old brake fluid....GOOOOOD!

Guys, here are a couple of web sites that talk about Silicone Brake Fluid.

I also just finished a discussion about Silicone on the CRG site. http://www.camaros.org
http://www.rpmnet.com/techart/fluid.shtml http://www.belray.com/consumer/Q&A%20pages/q&abf.html

Some people have used it in cars that weren't used very hard. I'd like to try some in my ex-wife's car!

David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
David's Homepage (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/)
67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Can Am Vintage Racer

Does the synthetic brake fluid attack paint as badly as regular DOT3 stuff?