Eagle Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Folks -- either use silicone brake fluid, or flush your brake system annually. I have a 2000 XJ Sport 5-speed that I bought new at the end of the 2000 model run. Jeep made very few 5-speed Cherokees that year -- mine is one of only 2 in all of New England, according to my dealer. I've been doing my best to preserve it -- it only has 40,000 miles on it. Because of a transfer case problem with the other 2000 XJ, I have been driving the Sport for the last few days. Yesterday (Tuesday) I drove it to work, which on Tuesday happened to be at a construction site that's a bit more than 80 miles up-state (each way). Traffic is light in the morning because I have to leave very early, but it's a nightmare on the way home. Last night, as I approached the exit from one highway to switch over to a different highway, traffic was very slow and bumper-to-bumper. Being my usual olde pharte self, I was trying to keep plenty of space between me and the vehicle in front. A young woman wanted to take the same exit, but she didn't feel like joining the queue so she came up in the center lane, saw the space I had in front of me, and jumped into it. She was going to fast, though, and had to slam on her brakes to not hit the car in front. I stood on my brakes -- and a brake line popped. BIG ouchie. We were going slow enough that my airbags didn't deploy, but the right front corner was manged badly enough that I had to be towed. This Cherokee has spent most of its life in a garage, and I had it professionally rust-proofed when I first bought it. I'm sure the brake line rusted from the inside due to the hygroscopic nature of conventional brake fluid. I'm angry at myself because I always had intentions of converting it to silicone, I have the silicone brake fluid sitting on a shelf ... and I just never got around to doing it. Don't let the same thing happen to you. Silicone brake fluid doesn't attract water vapor like regular brake fluid. It's not cheap, but once you use it you should only need to replace it when you do a brake job. It's a lot cheaper than rebuilding the front end of a vehicle you can't hardly find parts for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinkrun Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Dam that sucks sorry to hear that. Something My dad always did was slam his brakes on (in a safe place) once or twice a year old his old rusty trucks just to check them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula69 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Eagle - Does 100% Synthetic DOT 3+4 qualify as silicone? I looked at the bottle but it does not say..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 No. Silicon will say DOT5. My commercial manager told me that regular DOT3 and 4 were actually synthesized now anyway because it's cheaper than the conventional so he wasn't sure what the benefit was of the stuff labelled as synthetic beyond being able to sell it for a higher dollar... But don't take my word for it, just something to think about. Eagle: this hasn't been a great winter for that XJ. Hopefully the people involved are doing okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 How does moisture get absorbed into a sealed brake system? Osmosis? Sorry it happened, but isn't it possible that salt and corrosion had more to do with the steel brake line failure than from corrosion from within? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie66 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 One article I read said that silicone brake fluid can't be used with ABS. Seems odd, but worth checking before converting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 From: http://www.mossmotoring.com/conventional-vs-silicone-brake-fluid/ "Conventional vs. Silicone Brake Fluid" onventionals Silicone Brake Fluid April 9, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I popped a brake line on my Silverado a few months ago. Coming up on a T-intersection on a country road, stood on the brakes a little hard, popped a rear and did a 180 before ending up in the opposite lane, facing the other way, at the stop sign. Could have been much, much worse. Luckily I wasn't towing, and there was no other traffic. I don't know what your lines looked like, but mine were rusted from the outside. I even noticed, but thought they would be fine. My takeaway is don't ignore rusted brake lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 Eagle - Does 100% Synthetic DOT 3+4 qualify as silicone? I looked at the bottle but it does not say..... No. As has already been noted, Silicone brake fluid is DOT 5. The synthetic DOT 3 and DOT 4 are just that -- synthetic versions of conventional brake fluid. A friend and I were discussing just last night whether or not the synthetic stuff attracts moisture as much as the standard DOT 3 and DOT 4 -- neither of us knows, and we don't know how to find out. I've had silicone brake fluid in the brakes and the clutch of my old '88 XJ for at least 15 years. It's great stuff, and now I'm mentally kicking myself for being to lazy to have switched the new XJ over to it as soon as I brought it home in 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 One article I read said that silicone brake fluid can't be used with ABS. Seems odd, but worth checking before converting. I've heard that but nobody has ever (to my knowledge) articulated a reason. Doesn't matter to me -- I don't have ABS and I hope I never do. Just another (expensive) solution in search of a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 How does moisture get absorbed into a sealed brake system? Osmosis? Sorry it happened, but isn't it possible that salt and corrosion had more to do with the steel brake line failure than from corrosion from within? Nope. First, I had the vehicle professionally rustproofed as soon as I bought it. Second, until this year (and only because the other one was in the shop) it has never been driven in winter, so no exposure to road salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictlyxjs Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 what does it need we have tins of xj body parts at work. whats the paint code I'm in RI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 28, 2016 Author Share Posted December 28, 2016 what does it need we have tins of xj body parts at work. whats the paint code I'm in RI Don't know what it needs yet. I dropped it at the shop this morning. What I can see it will need is: Header Grille RF headlight assembly RF parking light assembly RF side marker assembly Front bumper RF bumper extension/cap RF inner fender liner RF fender Front lower air dam J E E P letters for the header Possibly a RF fog light. Lens isn't broken, but the bracket may be mangled Won't know until they get into it whether or not the radiator and/or a/c condenser need to be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strictlyxjs Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 whats tthe paint code we have complete header panels and fenders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 whats tthe paint code we have complete header panels and fenders Dunno, and the XJ is now 15 or 20 miles away. Dark blue -- I think for 2000 they called it Patriot Blue. Send me a PM with your work phone and I'll pass it on to the shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now