Thread: Son used DOT 5....what a mess!!!!

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Update: As Steve mentioned.....after many hours....and a gallon of denatured alcohol I'm fairly confident I got the biggest percentage of DOT 5 out of the system. I didnt rebuild anything but instead took everything apart and cleaned it with a rag. We bled flushed the whole system with DOT 3 and bench bled MC, and bled lines. Everything is back to normal. I'll be a guenie pig and see what happens. After one day of vehicle sitting....popped MC cover and reseviors still look to be just DOT 3....nothing floating on top like before (it look liked salad dressing before). This car will be sitting for a while before it gets painted so time will tell.

Thanks guys,
David

Sorry to be brutally honest but i would change every rubber in the system as it will all be damaged, In my opinion its just not worth the hassle of giving it a try as something will fail.

Originally Posted by MRJB1929

Prior to my purchasing my 34 Ford Street rod, someone had mixed DOT 3 and DOT 5 together but I didn't know it. The brakes were like pushing boulders around with your feet. Trying to diagnose the problem, I went to bleed the brakes. The stuff came out looking like bananna pudding. It was like yellow glue. I took around a gallon of DOT 3 brake fluid and with someone in the car pushing on the brakes, we got everything out... but it did take a gallon of it. That was in 2005 and have not had a brake issue since. It was a long day of laying under the car with my daughter reading a book and pushing the brake pedal when I asked her. She got the best leg workout that day!!!

Originally Posted by roadster32

Sorry to be brutally honest but i would change every rubber in the system as it will all be damaged, In my opinion its just not worth the hassle of giving it a try as something will fail.

Steve, I can't disagree with your philosophy, but I also read MRJB1929's tale that he did this over six years back and has had no problems to date. Maybe it's a time issue? Caught quickly it can be washed away with no ill effects? But then again, this is the brake system we're talking about, and we all like for them to be there when we press the pedal, don't we? I would likely do the same as David, but changing all the rubber pieces may be the best thing for a safety system - one never knows when the degradation (if any) might hit!

I agree with Roger - It has been several years when this happened and to be honest, I don't know when the stuff was mixed together by the prior owner. I question what Steve said, my thoughts are that a system can have either DOT 5 or DOT 3 so why would mixing them together degrade the rubber in the system faster than any single component?

Re: Rubber parts failing - Years ago, I had an original 1936 Chevrolet 2 door town sedan. 1936 was the first year that Chevrolet put juice brakes in their standard vehicles. One day, I was teaching the daughter to drive the car, this car. The brakes locked up on one side. I mean it pulled HARD! and wouldn't let up. The problem was 70 year old piece of rubber tubing had let go internally and create a flap. This flap let the fluid pass through to the brake cylenders but wouldn't let it return to the master. Geesh... I though we were going for the ditch and a rollover. Daughter never drove the car again, never wanted to. I replaced all of the rubber parts when we figured out the problem.... The car is now getting converted into a street rod so all of the parts are getting replaced with modern.
Yup... I know what failing rubber on a brake system is all about.

Jerome

not time to do it now but always time to do it later??????you will always have time to fix the problem while your repairing the damage from the accident----

There should be a bumper sticker___Don't get close as I've mixed up the DOTS--

The problem is not so much that the rubber will fail, but that it retains some of the contaminated mixed fluids, and can cause the fluid to gel again, maybe a long time later. A really good cleaning should fix the system, but it's hard to get it all.

I agree Jerry

Everything rubber SHOULD be replaced with anything else moveable/removable disassembled and cleaned with alcohol (no cleaner made from a petroleum product as that's as bad or worse). While no part is 'natural' rubber any longer, and probably neoprene or similar wonder material, it is virtually impossible to remove that silicone 100% without a major disassembly. Get some on your hands and try to wipe it off or just kind of dribble alcohol over your fingers - you can't get it off that easily. Master cylinder seal grooves, wheel cylinder cup to piston, disc brake seals to pistons - even bleeder screws will hide out some fluid especially if they are something like Wilwoods with two - one on top, another, and unused on the bottom side. I would rather be safe then maybe just lucky.

Thanks everyone.

When I disassembled everything I cleaned everything.....disassembling the pump in MC being carefull to clean the rubber cups completely. (Another funny story.....I cant believe how much air gets trapped in a MC when you fully disassemble.....took forever to bench bleed). I did the same with the calipers. The only thing that concerns me at this time is the factory flex hose at the differential. I will most likely be changing it.

Also, this thing will be sitting for quite a while so I'll bleed everything again a couple of times before it hits the road.....looking out for anything that looks odd (eg. gel, or DOT 5 separated on top of the 3). If I get any indication of trouble I've already got another pair of D154's for the front and a pair of Seville's for the rear. Including a new MC....all sitting on the shelf ready to be installed.

I'm just curious. And I know...."Curiousity killed the cat"

David

For the price of 3 hoses you could loose your life. I guess thats what everyone else is trying to say