[alfaman]

just drained the complete brake and clutch system in my 69 spider and was about do buy some regular dot 3 fluid from autozone, nothing fancy...just the autozone brand

the salesman there told md that all brake fluid is now synthetic (including dot 3)

I know enough not to use silicone type in my car, but unsure about what's in the synthetic.....

so I'm a bit confused...any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[papajam]

DOT 3 & 4 brakefluids have been synthetic since forever as far as I know. Any off the shelf DOT 3 will work fine. Some folks, myself included, prefer the higher dry and wet boiling points of DOT 4. I've always had good results with Castrol LMA.

 

[kredden]

I like Castrol LMA as well, use it on everything except the track car for which I use ATE Gold (used to use Super Blue until they took it away!).

Kevin

 

[ganunez]

For years now I've used Valvoline Dot 4 in all my cars because Castrol is no longer carried by the local parts.

 

[horsewidower]

Don't confuse synthetic with silicone.

 

[nunki]

Allow me to mention my favorite: ATE Super Blue Racing DOT 4. Most recently I bought a liter of it for circa $15 on Amazon. ATE fluid for ATE brakes, it has always made sense to me.

Bob

 

[alfaman]

thanks everyone..i was confusing synthetic with silicone

can anyone give me an estimate on how much I will need to fill both the brake and clutch system in a 1969 spider...I understands I will need a bit extra due to bleeding both systems

I've looked around for the Castrol product....anyone know where I could buy it in southern California...if not i'll go with the super blue from amazon

 

[alphil]

I bought a case (,12-12oz.) of the new Castrol synthetic dot 4 brake fluid off of Amazon,pt.#12509,now at $31.68,w/prime.The 12oz. containers are a little easier to handle,plus most of what you don't use remains sealed.Don't have a clue as to how much your car will need,but my Giulietta brake bleed took almost six bottles.According to Pegasus auto racing,this fluid was formerly Castrol/Girling LM-GTA.

 

[alfaman]

Thanks alphil...just bought it from amazon

will use on my alfa and if I have any left over my other cars (sienna and civic) are due for a change...good deal on these from amazon!

 

[IRONBLOCK]

Don't confuse synthetic with silicone.

That is exactly what I did. The old bottles of Castrol LMA said "Compatible with conventional brake fluids". The new bottles say "Synthetic."

How are we to safely dispose of old brake fluid anyway?

Mark