<VV> RE:Silicone Brake Fluid, was Re: synthetic oil

[CorvairEd at aol.com]

 Corvair at fnader.com writes:
If I _did_ have a Corvair with DOT5 in it, I'd still bleed it routinely. 
Moisture WILL get into the system and it will go somewhere since the fluid won't 
absorb it. 
The fluid may look great in the resevoir; how does it look at the wheel 
cylinders?

Bill,
I've used DOT 5 in all of my Corvairs including those that are aggressively 
driven.  No problems in at least 20 years.  My Greenbrier had silicone brake 
fluid in it for over 10 years and when it was destroyed in a T-bone crash (guy 
ran a red light) I dissected the brake system.  The van had not used any fluid 
at all in those years and there was not a hint of corrosion (rust) anywhere in 
the system.  Put some silicone fluid in a small jar and add a drop of water 
and you will see that the water does not mix with the fluid but rather the 
fluid encapsulates the water and prevents it from ever interacting with the steel 
in the brake system.  Secondly, if you were to put an open jar of DOT 3 and an 
open jar of DOT 5 out in the open but under cover where rain cannot get to 
it, you will find that DOT absorbs water from the air into it but DOT 5 will 
not.  DOT 5 has no attraction for water while DOT 3 does.

I'm also an advocate for synthetic oil (Amsoil), electronic ignition, 
electric fuel pumps, spin-on oill filters, after market A/C compressors, converting 
earlies to an alternator, & front wheel disk brakes.  So you can see that I'm a 
cult member and a real radical.

Ed Corson (CORSA member)
Inland Empire Corvair Club