medent

I need to top up my brake fluid in my 1991 C4 that I bought a couple of months ago. Here's a photo of a sample of the fluid I took out of the reservoir.
Is this DOT 5? I was told at the store that if I mix type 5 with DOT 4 or 3 it will not work.
I'll be doing a flush when I put the car away for the winter in several weeks. I don't want to do the job right now and waste time away from driving.

Indycam

It looks like atf .
You got this fluid from the reservoir in the front trunk or from the engine compartment ?

I had a mechanic walk to the back of my vanagon and ask me to open up the engine compartment so that he could check the brake fluid .
I got stopped going onto base and asked to open the trunk to show what I had . The guard walked to the back of the 964 and waited for me to open the trunk , so I popped the lid and showed him that I was not having anything bad in the "trunk".

Getting back to your brake fluid , I think I would do a complete fluid change .
ATE blue or gold .
http://www.ate-na.com/generator/www/...f_info_us.html
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/acces...tail.jsp?ID=21

If you want to check to see if the fluid you have is "5" , drop a drop of water into a sample , if the drop flows into the fluid its not "5" , if the drop does not flow into the fluid it is "5" .

Ken D

You cannot tell by color. According to federal regulations, any of the DOT3, 4, or 5.1 non-silicone base fluids can be red.
DOT5 silicone base must be purple.
If necessary, you can mix DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5.1 non-silicone. You cannot mix anything with DOT 5. Since your fluid is not purple, I think you will be ok topping it off with anything but DOT 5.

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text...2.7.17&idno=49

S5.1.14 Fluid color. Brake fluid and hydraulic system mineral oil shall be of the color indicated:

DOT 3, DOT 4, and DOT 5.1 non-SBBF—colorless to amber.
DOT 5 SBBF—purple.
Hydraulic system mineral oil—green

medent

Thanks Indycam. I'll try the water drop test.
I took it from the back (engine compartment), just in front of the oil fill opening. Is there another reservoir up in the front trunk?

Ken D

You took fluid from the power steering reservoir.

The brake fluid reservoir is in the front trunk.

Makmov

Yeah, that is power steering and it's DeXtron.

Brake res is in the frunk under the carpet on the left side infront of the strut tower.

Laker

On the right facing the car....

Makmov

although that is not the proper rhs

I like the Carrera script on the fuel tank.

medent

Thanks for the correction. OK so now I know that I need to top up my power steering fluid and not my brake fluid.
Here's a couple of photos of the brake fluid reservoir up front. Mine has wires attached to it. It appears different from the previous photo.
The fluid is straw yellow and is filled up to the top line.
I also see a blue computer connector just in front of the tank.
Any ideas what the blue wire/plug might be for?

medent

Here are the photos

medent

Could it be for an external CD player?

medent

Looked closer and saw the wires are in the photo. So same as mine.

GoKart

Anyone use the Valvoline DOT 3 brake fluid?

I am having a tough time finding ATE locally, so considering the Valvoline stuff.

Any thoughts?

Marc Shaw

I used the Valvoline stuff for a flush after changing PDAS lines and it seemed okay but I swapped it for SRF as soon as some I ordered arrived.

Marc

boxsey911

Normal Castrol brake fluid will serve you well for road use. Or if you want a higher boiling point go for Castrol React brake fluid. Both are Dot 4 fluids.