Ford High Performance Brake Fluid

[illflem]

Found this interesting may be worth using.

From

http://www.hotrodsandhorsepower.com/101techtips/101techtips2.html Tip #61



Question any seasoned racer about brake fluid and one of the first things

that will come out of their mouth is "Ford High Performance Brake Fluid"

(sometimes referred as "Ford Heavy Duty Brake Fluid"). According to Hot Rods

& Horsepower, this is usually the fluid of choice, but let's back up for a

minute: The really good racing brake fluid available today is called

"Castrol SRF". It is a somewhat rare super-fluid designed primarily for

racing, but most people don't buy it because of the high buy-in cost. The

reality is, Ford Motor Company purchases this fluid by the barrel,

repackages it, and sells it as Ford Heavy Duty fluid to owners of heavy-duty

trucks. Anyone may buy it from a Ford dealer under part number

C6AZ-19542-AA. The packaging states: "High Performance Dot 3", and the cost is considerably less than the Castrol-packaged fluid.

Ford Heavy Duty DOT 3 is VERY inexpensive and is popular (particularly among racers) because of its excellent dry boiling point. It is sold in metal cans and as a result, it has a long shelf life(provided the seal isn't broken).

In terms of specifications, Ford Heavy Duty is classified as a DOT3 fluid.

The dry boiling point of this fluid is 550-degrees F while the wet boiling

point is 284-degrees F.

 

[D. Showan]

Thanks Illflem , I found that very interesting

 

[Deezul1]

Allright I give up whats "wet Boiling point" and "dry boiling point"



how do you boil something thats dry. Ready to learn.

 

[MCummings]

Brake fluid is Hydroscopic,, meaning it can absorb water,, much like a sponge!



"Dry" is when the brake fluid has no water

"Wet" is when the fluid has water,, although I don't know how much they "test", or "boil" it with.



Brake Fluid,, even in your truck will absorb all the water that brake fluid can absorb,,,, and still be brake fluid,,,, in about 2 years,, "wet" brake fluid allows very fast boiling of the brake fluid.



HTH,

Merrick Cummings Jr

 

[Deezul1]

thanks, good explanation

 

[raf2000]

The fluid of choice for me for years on EVERYTHING I drive race, etc has been Castrol LMA DOT 3/4 brake fluid. LMA is Low Moisture Accumulation. Not sure of its wet and dry boiling points but I know that DOT 3 and 4 mix fine, it's 5 that has to by itself, likes to have ALL new rubber in the system, etc. Can't recall price but I always buy the big jugs in the plastic container. My . 02 cents. .

 

[illflem]

for what it's worth

The article I linked to had this to say about Castrol LMA;

Castrol LMA is very good at rejecting moisture and may be kept in your brake system for several years however it is sold in plastic containers that do not have a long shelf life. Do not purchase a large quantity of this fluid at a time since moisture can make its way through the plastic containers. Ford Heavy Duty is sold in metal cans and as a result, it does have a long shelf life (provided the seal isn’t broken).



A question. How come the brakes on my 300k miles '82 Toyota pickup work great with the same brake fuild that came with it when new? Never have bled the brakes nor added a drop of fluid. Twenty year old fluid looks fine. It also has the stock PS, rear end, transmission fuilds and original R-12 refrigerant. Doesn't use more than a qt of oil between 7k changes. The door hinges did wear out and had to be replaced at about 200k. Sure wish Toyota would put a Cummins in a big truck.

 

[MCummings]

Not to cut ya down Illflem, but, maybe after 12 yeas of driving the *slight* mushiness of the pedal is not noticable to you. Also a Toyota is not going to get the brakes REALLY working like a 1-ton or 3/4 ton truck is going to. So a lower boiling point isn't going to be noticable. Toyota does use good stuff, so I don't doubt the fact that the brake fluid doesn't have much water.



Just saying that if you don't push your brakes to the limit, you won't notice slight differences in brake pads, and brake fluids. I push my brakes to the limit and the is NO comparison between 3 year old stock fluid, and new Synthetic fluid.



Just my $. 02

Merrick Cummings Jr

 

[D. Showan]

I checked with a couple local Ford dealers about this fluid. One said the part # was no good. The other said the # was superseeded twice and is now PM1 High performance brake fluid. They said it is their normal DOT 3 fluid and is all they sell, and it's nothing special. Not sure what to think?

 

[MCummings]

Originally posted by MCummings

I push my brakes to the limit and the is NO comparison between 3 year old stock fluid, and new Synthetic fluid.

"The Limit" is stopping a truck grossing at 30-37,000 pounds without trailer brakes, and no exhaust brake, from 70MPH. Smoked brakes,, brakes that stay smoking,, and brakes that will barely hold the truck still after a long hard stop. A trace of water in these conditions means ALOT,, especially in recovery time, and fade time,, not so much pedal pressure, or firmness. The SS brake lines really firmed up the pedal, BIG Time.



My follow up

Merrick Cummings Jr