I was mistaken on the Slave Cylinder brand...It is "FTE" not ATE....
   Suspicious, that similar name. The packaging and the font look almost
identical to ATE's....  I bet some 3rd world bunch copied that and
decided...nobody will know the difference...and I missed it.    I have used
ATE in the past with good service, they do make good parts.
   I change the BF in my vanagon each fall....it's a 'truck' and it doesn't
see much high stress driving, just a lot of conservatively driven miles.

 I changed the fluid in my racecar after each race weekend...brakes are the
hardest-used system and the most useful for gaining track positions....any
moisture at all in a racecar brake system is curtains for you lap
times...it turns to steam and makes what is known as 'brake fade'....I
don't know the expansion rate for water to steam, but it is BIG....so even
a drop of water in the whole system turns to a LOT of steam and that gives
a very squishy pedal...

  Same deal in my sportbike, which I don't race but I do take to the
racetrack for fun lapping days....Fresh brake fluid before every track
visit...

   For frequently changed brake fluids I use ATE Super Blue and ATE normal,
back to back... so that the new fluid is a different color and you can see
when you have bled out all the old fluid by the color change.

n Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 2:53 PM, SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott ) <
scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

> I've used lots of those German ATE slaves.
> I get mine from near you ..Halsey Import Parts in Portland.  Scott is my
> guy there.
> I've had one go out after 6 yrs of service.....6 yrs..not bad.
>
> I think you mentioned some old brake fluid sitting around ..
> I'm sure everyone knows that unless well-sealed BF absorbs moisture out of
> the air.
>
> So does the BF sitting in the van's systems ..whether driven or not. And
> not driving and exercising the rig for longish periods is not good for it.
> I'd try changing the BF in the clutch system once a year, with decent DOT
> 3 brake fluid.
>