David,
        You just said the magic word: corrosion. I've never believed the
stories about the seals going away, but DOT 5 doesn't mix well, and it
_must_ be changed frequently. "I thought it lasted forever," I hear you
cry. Well, _it_ does, but it doesn't absorb water _at_all_. This means that
all the water that condenses in the brake system (and believe me, it does)
will pool in the low points of the system and rust through.

        Go get some Ford Super Duty...lasts forever, very high boiling
point, etc. etc.

        -Zandr

At 14:10 -0400 990405, David Beierl wrote:
>Eric, are you sure that you don't have DOT 5.1 there?  Bentley clearly
>states that you *must not* use DOT 5 in the vanagon as it will lead to
>serious internal corrosion.
>
>david
>
>At 20:18 4/4/99 -0400, EMZ wrote:
>>   I think you better tone down your mouth there buddy! I have a
>>bottle of DOT 5 in my hand right now. It state in very clear
>>letters "compatible with all dot 3 and dot 4 systems. Go back to school!
>>This has been discussed on the list in the past. Therefore I am not
>>going to waste anymore of my time on this topic or with you.
>>
>>            Eric                   86-VW4x4
>>            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
>>            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler
>>
>>
>>On Sun, 4 Apr 1999, Karl Wolz wrote:
>>
>>> WRONG!  DO NOT USE DOT 5 FLUID IN VANAGONS OR ANY OTHER VEHICLE NOT
>>>DESIGNED
>>> FOR IT.  DOT 5 is designed for use with silicon seals and will dissolve
>>> those in your vanagon.  Brake failure is imminent!!!  The other info on DOT
>>> 3 vs. DOT 4 is correct, although I have used the two interchangeably
>>>and had
>>> little difficulty, even on long (30 mile) downgrades.
>>>
>>> Karl Wolz
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>>> Date: Sunday, April 04, 1999 8:53 AM
>>> Subject: Re: Brake fluid DOT 3-4-5-?
>>>
>>>
>>> >  Nothing. The only time you will have a problem is if you
>>> >used dot 3. DOt 3 will boil at lower temperatures. If you
>>> >get the brakes hot, the fluid will boil, and that create air (boiled
>>> >brake fluid) in the lines, just as you need the brakes most.
>>> >Your brake  pedel may feel mushy or go right to the floor,
>>> >but will pump up. After stopping and letting the brakes cool
>>> >everything will return to normal. This has happend to me
>>> >twice, as I'm very demanding of my vehicles, with all the hills
>>> >here in W. PA. The fix is simplly bleed out all the old and in with the
>>> >dot 4. (reference the filler cap)
>>> >
>>> >  This is just one more detail of the vanagon personality.
>>> >
>>> >            Eric                   86-VW4x4
>>> >            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
>>> >            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >On Sat, 3 Apr 1999, MtnGal wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> >       DOT 4 only.
>>> >> >         Eric
>>> >> Dot 4 only in Vanagons??
>>> >> What will another dot # do to the parts?
>>> >> [[[I took a 600 mile (round trip to the warehouse)and half way through
>>> stop
>>> >> and go 80mph rush hour traffic I felt I was about to lose my brakes.
>>> >> All I had in the van was DOT3 so in it went!!]]]
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>
>David Beierl - dbeierl@ibm.net

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Aleksandr Milewski                                              N6MOD
n6mod@amt.org                               http://www.amt.org/n6mod/