<VV> Re: BRAKE FAILURE

[Bill Elliott]

>i find it highly unlikely that silicone brake fluid was the cause of any 
>brake failure , unless it was used in an abs system (manufacturers advise 
>against). there had to be some other reason .if it was not installed 
>properly(comeplete flush of system or better yet comeplete rebuild or replacement of all 
>components) sure it would fail, as would dot 3 or whatever.  let common sense 
>prevail?
>regards, tim colson

Common sense says that if silicone fluid is several times more compressible (especially when very hot) than glycol fluid and that extra compressibility was the 
difference in brakes applying before the pedal hit the floor or the pedal hitting the floor before sufficient pressure was built in the system would indeed cause 
brake failure.

Of course you can argue that the brake system was put together improperly (as I mentioned in my last email) or very poorly adjusted, but the fact remains 
that due to the compressibility of silicone fluids (several times greater than glycol) you have less of a margin of error for this type of failure.  Unless you are 
trying to say that there is NO difference in compressibility between the fluids, how can you argue that this is incorrect? Let common sense prevail.

In the complete failure that I mentioned, we found no obvious cause of failure except that the pedal was a bit low. EVEN AFTER THE FAILURE, the 
brakes worked fine when cold and in normal use. In the situations where there was a partial failure (pedal going to the floor but the system applying some 
braking power) the findings were similar. This was in a professional Corvair repair shop, not a shadetree mechanic.

Bill