Brake fluid as an additive

[Shimmy1]

Question was posed in a thread earlier today, and now some discussion on the other forum.

Is it just me, am i missing something? It seems like the most ridiculous, totally irresponsible thing a guy could do to a hydraulic system. Add brake fluid to swell rubber to slow/stop leaks. Thoughts??

 

[crane operator]

My Rt crane has hydraulic brakes - Master cylinder upstairs, wheels down - so that fluid travels through the hyd. swivel.

Per manufacturer- DOT 5 only - and I always thought it was so that if it gets contamination in the swivel from cross bleeding- the dot 5 wouldn't damage the hyd. seals and system.

 

[Welder Dave]

What do the hyd. stop leaks on the market use to rejuvenate seals?

 

[OzDozer]

It sounds like a stupid idea to me. Most hydraulic system seal components are not pure rubber anyway, and what's not urethane, nylon, teflon or some other thermoplastic, is NBR.

NBR seals are listed as "incompatible" with glycol-type brake fluid - so, in short, the brake fluid has the potential to damage them.

Even if the brake fluid does swell the NBR, the swelling also softens the NBR, so there goes its physical abilities which enable it to operate as a hydraulic seal.

And brake fluid soften and removes paint very rapidly, so any part of the hydraulic system that is painted will lose some of that paint, and the paint will end up in the hydraulic oil.

In short - No, a really bad idea to introduce a glycol brake fluid into a system that was never designed for it.

 

[JD955SC]

I have seen brake fluid added to a brake system that was supposed to be topped up by hydraulic fluid.

It really screwed it up. We ended up having to replace everything after the hoses started coming apart internally.

This idea of willfully contaminating a hydraulic system is stupid

 

[Zewnten]

What thread?

 

[HarleyHappy]

I’ve seen it done when trying to get a automatic transmission shifting till it sold.
Sumbag.

 

[Shimmy1]

What thread?

Hydraulic oil additives

I have heard that case IH uses certain additives in its oil that swells up orings and if you use any other oil they will shrink and start leaking. Is this true? Also, if you put some cheap oil in a case payloader and it started leaking, is there some sort of additive that might swell the o rings...

www.heavyequipmentforums.com

 

[skyking1]

I keep reading the thread title as " brake fluid is addictive".
That said, no I would not cook up some homegrown scheme to make some magic happen with worn out seals.

 

[JD955SC]

I keep reading the thread title as " brake fluid is addictive".

I hear it is when you turn it into meth…

 

[Northern mb]

At least if your addicted to brake fluid you can stop any time

 

[Shimmy1]

At least if your addicted to brake fluid you can stop any time

 

[uptight excavating]

Keep brake fluid out of any system that was not designed for it!

 

[cfherrman]

Dot 5 and dot 3/4 are different fluids