<VV> brake lockup - update

[mhicks130 at cox.net]

I finally got around to looking at the rear brake that locked up last Tuesday.

It got so hot it melted the paint off of the wheel.  It got so hot the rear shoe disintegrated - nuthin but dust.  That's HOT!!  I already ordered some new hoses and rebuild kits for the wheel cylinders and now I need to order shoes.  Will it never end??

I need to determine if I have silicone or conventional brake fluid.  The PO told me there was silicone in it but it looks like regular to me.  Someone suggested putting some in water to see if it mixes.  Well it does, it kind of looks like tea  .  It blends right in and if I stir it up it turns to an opaque tan blend and doesn't settle out over time (10-15 min anyway).  I put some known to be conventional fluid in a cup of water and it behaved exactly the same way as what's in my system.  I then tested to see if it attacked paint and it did but not as aggresively as my known to be conventional fluid did.  Is there any other way to tell or I have I already shown that it is conventional?  Someone else suggested tasting it which I would do but I'm afraid I'll croak.  I plan on flushing all the fluid out of all the lines since it looks a little old and tired. But I'm still worried about mixing the two fluids if they're not the same.

thanks guys!

mike