rusty@sdccsu3.UUCP (04/26/84)
[] I have a Chevy C-10 pickup truck on order. It will have a 305 V8 and automatic transmission. Some of the more relevant options that I got are an oil cooler and a transmission cooler. What I am interested in are products and suggestions that will help my truck last ``forever''. I read the recent Consumers Report issue on cars and the article on how to help your auto last forever. Their recommendation is essentially to frequently change the oil and lube it and do your basic preventative maintenance (checking hoses, belts, etc.). I recommend this article for all new auto buyers. Two products that I know of that can help an auto last longer are synthetic oil and dot 5 brake fluid. What follows is my evaluation of their assets. To successfully use synthetic oil you have to either put it in when the auto is brand new (before the break in period) or after the engin has been rebuilt (again, before the break in period). If you put it in after that you tend to have problems with the oil not lubricating things properly because synthetic oil forms a thinner film than conventional oil and since the engine was broken in with conventional oil the engine ``expects'' to have a thicker filmed oil. You can think of it as the parts sort of rattle around in the thinner synthetic oil. But if you can use synthetic oil you really make out. One hears all sorts of wonderful things about it; fewer oil changes, improved gas mileage, less engine wear, the oil is virtually indestructible even under very adverse conditions, etc. Dot 5 brake fluid is a silicon based break fluid. The other brake fluids (dot 3 and dot 4) are polyglycol based (often simply called glycol based). The primary disadvantages of dot 3 and 4 brake fluids are (1) that they will destroy your paint finish if you get them on the car (2) they absorb moisture out of the air and thus metal parts that they are in contact with tend to corrode (3) they change viscosity when it gets cold. Dot 5 brake fluid claims to not have any of these problems. The primary advantage of the dot 5 brake fluid for helping the auto last longer is that the metal parts of the brake system won't get corroded. Unfortunately to realize this advantage you have to thoroughly clean the dot 3 or 4 brake fluid out of your brake system. The dot 5 brake fluid doesn't dissolve or mix with the dot 3 or 4 brake fluid so any traces of the latter that weren't gotten rid of will stick around. This implies taking the brake system apart and flushing everything with a good solvent (trichlor for example). To use computer jargon one would call this a non-trivial task. So, does anybody know of any other ``miracle'' products for autos that increase their lifespan? Other suggestions are also welcomed.
rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (04/26/84)
I didn't think that all DOT 5 brake fluid was silicone based. In other words, silicone brake fluids are rated DOT 5, but not all DOT 5 fluids are silicone. In particular, I think that Castrol/Girling brake fluid is DOT 5, but is not silicone-based. Thus, the Castrol fluid doesn't provide all of the advantages of a silicone fluid. What it IS good for is that it won't cause damage to natural rubber brake seals like those used in many British sports cars. Dot 3 fluid is designed with neoprene seals in mind. Is this right? Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611 AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, ILL.
dswankii@uok.UUCP (05/11/84)
#R:sdccsu3:-176900:uok:500040:000:525 uok!dswankii May 11 15:51:00 1984 One of the problems with "miracle" brake fluid is that silicon fluids absorbe air the same way that conventional fluid absorbs water. They also have strange problems when at high altitudes (would this be low vapor presure?). They are very slippery and will ooze around the seals in the brake system. I personally wouldn't bother with them unless I had very expensive brake components that were not compatable with conventional brake fluid. David Swank II !ctvax!uokvax!uok!dswankii University of Oklahoma