On Thu, 26 Jan 1995 WATSON@wmich.edu wrote:
> When I bought my '78 Spit I did not know what type of oil was being used in
> the brake or clutch cylinders. Is there any way to tell if it's synthetic or
> natural oil?
It isn't oil (or shouldn't be). it's brake fluid. Oil will destroy the
rubber seals in the hydraulic system.
> Also, I have read that standard American brake fluid is bad for the natural
> rubber parts in the brakes. What should I do if I have added standard
> Amercian brake fluid to the original English Castrol stuff?
That's a myth that dates back to the late 1940's when British cars started
coming over in large numbers. At that time it was still possible to buy
non-approved (i.e. non DOT-3 or whatever the standard was then) brake
fluid, even though no manufacturer (American or British) recommended its
use. Since the stuff was deadly to the natural rubber parts in most
BritCar brake systems, the BritCar manufactureres wisely recommended only
genuine Lockheed or Girling fluid. By the mid 1950's, most BritCar
owners manuals said something like "Use DOT3 approved fluid if genuine
Lockheed (or Girling) fluid isnt available".
The bottom line is that DOT3 (or 4 or 5) fluid won't hurt your rubber parts.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 NEMGTR #2271
Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO (daily driver)
fold@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us
|