Which brake fluid for drum brakes?

I have some dot 4 and dot 5 brake fluid in the garage can I use this in my beetle?

when all else fails...............read the directions.😁
Sorry, had to do it, to my knowledge it will be ok but it will (should) tell you on the container what it will suit, ie, type of brake system, I also think that the "dot" has to do with the temp. range that the fluid will work at so it should be good for drums.

some of the different brands of 4 and 5 swell up the seals
🥲

ian.mezz wrote:some of the different brands of 4 and 5 swell up the seals
🥲

is it ok to use to bleed the brakes?

I use Castrol Brake Fluid Response, Dot 4 on my Beetle. No problems whatsoever with braking or seals swelling.

If you haven't bled the brakes in the last couple of years, now's the time to bleed them. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, or absorbs moisture over a period of time, reducing your brake efficiency.

65standard wrote:I use Castrol Brake Fluid Response, Dot 4 on my Beetle. No problems whatsoever with braking or seals swelling.

If you haven't bled the brakes in the last couple of years, now's the time to bleed them. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, or absorbs moisture over a period of time, reducing your brake efficiency.

Dot 5 is not hydroscopic and will not absorb water from the atmosphere, so it's going to last longer.
IF you have Dot 5 available to you I would use that, but I would also be checked with the compatibility of your system first.


Smiley 🙂

Smiley wrote:

65standard wrote:I use Castrol Brake Fluid Response, Dot 4 on my Beetle. No problems whatsoever with braking or seals swelling.

If you haven't bled the brakes in the last couple of years, now's the time to bleed them. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, or absorbs moisture over a period of time, reducing your brake efficiency.

Dot 5 is not hydroscopic and will not absorb water from the atmosphere, so it's going to last longer.
IF you have Dot 5 available to you I would use that, but I would also be checked with the compatibility of your system first.


Smiley 🙂

just a note, DO NOT mix dot 5 with dot. 5.1, 4 and 3 they are not compatible. DOT 5 is silicone based oil the rest are ethyl glycol based.

If you want to use DOT 5 you need to basically replace all the of the brake system including all the lines and hoses to ensure no traces of old fluid remains. (unless you are super good at flushing)

once thats done you can use it and it will become maintenance virtually as it does not need to be changed regularly like the ethyl glycol based fluids as it is not hygroscopic. its highly recommended for new brake systems in vintage cars that don't get driven much or owners want them to last forever. oh and the performance is better too.

Yep, dot 5 is not compaatible with other fluid, technically for new instal only.

well that is interesting..

I'm going up to My shed to check what brake fluid I used last time when I changed My brake pads... lol

Hopefully DOT 4...

so, New cars do NOT need the brake fluid renewed every few years???

I'll have to check My wife's suzuki Swift..

I;ve been wondering how to change the brake fluid with ABS

LEE

Dot 5 is not compatible with ABS systems.

Toyota use Dot 3.

Citroen use Dot 5.

Most others use Dot 4.

Dot 3 change every 12 months

Dot 4 change every 2 years.

Once you open the bottle use what you need and through it away

68AutoBug wrote:well that is interesting..

I'm going up to My shed to check what brake fluid I used last time when I changed My brake pads... lol

Hopefully DOT 4...

so, New cars do NOT need the brake fluid renewed every few years???

I'll have to check My wife's suzuki Swift..

I;ve been wondering how to change the brake fluid with ABS

LEE

yes they do, DOT 5 is not to be used in ABS systems, it will f**k it. So all new cars must change as any other car would.

DOT 5 is really for simple non ABS brakes in older cars such as classic, race cars with no ABS, vintage, military etc...

1303Steve wrote:Once you open the bottle use what you need and through it away

its not that bad. as long as its not like 90% humidity and the seal on the bottle is good it should be right for quite some time, but I would still toss it after few months.

I ended up using castrol super dot 4 I take it it's the same as normal dot 4?

yes probably. DOT 4 should be DOT 4

They all taste the same to me. I know one thing , dot5 (synthetic) wasn't around in Ferdinand porsches's day.