Motorex brake fluid?

I ordered several .5L bottles of Motul DOT 5.1 brake fluid from
a motorcycle parts shop (several seemed to have the best prices
and shipping costs). I'm not sure exactly what the snafu was
(perhaps a mistake with their supplier), but I ended up receiving
five 250 ml cans of Motorex DOT 5.1 brake fluid, and that's not
even listed in their catalog. The invoice clearly says
"DOT 5.1 1/2L" - 5.

The Motul DOT 5.1 was $5.49 for that .5L bottle. This Motorex
stuff (made in Switzerland) seems to be listed at anywhere from
$6 and up for that tiny little can on various websites. I wanted
enough to do several drain/fills, including ABS and clutch, and I
only received half the volume I ordered.

Any idea of the quality of this brake fluid should I be stuck
with it? Ideally, the seller and I will sort this out, although
I'm not sure if that would be by sending additional brake fluid
or by sending this stuff back for the Motul. One of the big
selling points for the Motul was that they claim to package it
for a longer shelf life (using certain plastics and nitrogen
filling the airspace in the container).

I believe what you have is silicone brake fluid. I personally love that
stuff. I have had it in three of my last cars and it's absolutely
fantastic at keeping corrosion down in the brake system. Since it's
non-hydroscopic (doesn't absorb moisture) unlike DOT3 fluid, it all but
eliminates rusty fluid... so common in a cars golden years.

Professor
www.telstar-electronics.com

On Sat, 16 Apr 2005, Professor wrote:

> I believe what you have is silicone brake fluid.

Silicone fluid is DOT-5.

DOT-5.1 is *not* silicone fluid, it is glycol-based, like DOT-3 and DOT-4.

> it's absolutely fantastic at keeping corrosion down in the brake system.
> Since it's non-hydroscopic (doesn't absorb moisture)

....it doesn't absorb water, so the water that *inevitably* enters the
system simply sinks to the lowest points and causes accelerated, localized
corrosion.

DS

On Sat, 16 Apr 2005, y_p_w wrote:

> One of the big selling points for the Motul was that they claim to
> package it for a longer shelf life (using certain plastics and nitrogen
> filling the airspace in the container).

Wow. Automotive hypochondria.

Cool!

Dude, only Dot 5.0 is non-hygroscopic and is used primarily for Show Cars where
it might be important to keep the corrosion down. Ever notice that when using
DOT 5 the brakes feel kinda spongy? That's because DOT 5.0 is compression-able
due to exposure to air and can foam under normal braking operation thus may
cause brake failure! Moisture can enter (through condensation, humidity and the
occasional car washing) the system and because it's non-hygroscopic, moisture
will not be absorbed. So as moisture enter the system it won't be absorbed by
the fluid, results in beads of moisture moving thru the brake system, moisture
ends up at the calipers or wheel cylinders. Because it's not uncommon for the
brake system to reach temperatures up to and over 212 F, i.e. water boils! It
may cause vapor lock thus the system will fail My recommendation would be to use
ONLY DOT 3 & 4 for normal usage & 5.1 for high heat (air cooled motorcycles) or
racing applications
_
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"Professor" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> I believe what you have is silicone brake fluid. I personally love that
> stuff. I have had it in three of my last cars and it's absolutely
> fantastic at keeping corrosion down in the brake system. Since it's
> non-hydroscopic (doesn't absorb moisture) unlike DOT3 fluid, it all but
> eliminates rusty fluid... so common in a cars golden years.
>
> Professor
> www.telstar-electronics.com
>

one is swiss and the other is french - I like Motul as well and would recommend
that you make a big deal out of this apparent "we don't have the stuff in stock
so we'll just replace with a similar named product" don't let them get away with
this crap - this **** happens all the time and customers let it go because it
takes too much of their precious time - I say get self a baseball bat and start
whacking some heads
--
There are no words that can be heard unless someone listens....
Remove *flaps* to reply

"y_p_w" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> I ordered several .5L bottles of Motul DOT 5.1 brake fluid from
> a motorcycle parts shop (several seemed to have the best prices
> and shipping costs). I'm not sure exactly what the snafu was
> (perhaps a mistake with their supplier), but I ended up receiving
> five 250 ml cans of Motorex DOT 5.1 brake fluid, and that's not
> even listed in their catalog. The invoice clearly says
> "DOT 5.1 1/2L" - 5.
>
> The Motul DOT 5.1 was $5.49 for that .5L bottle. This Motorex
> stuff (made in Switzerland) seems to be listed at anywhere from
> $6 and up for that tiny little can on various websites. I wanted
> enough to do several drain/fills, including ABS and clutch, and I
> only received half the volume I ordered.
>
> Any idea of the quality of this brake fluid should I be stuck
> with it? Ideally, the seller and I will sort this out, although
> I'm not sure if that would be by sending additional brake fluid
> or by sending this stuff back for the Motul. One of the big
> selling points for the Motul was that they claim to package it
> for a longer shelf life (using certain plastics and nitrogen
> filling the airspace in the container).
>

Backbone wrote:

> one is swiss and the other is french - I like Motul as well and would
> recommend that you make a big deal out of this apparent "we don't have
> the stuff in stock so we'll just replace with a similar named product"
> don't let them get away with this crap - this **** happens all the time
> and customers let it go because it takes too much of their precious time -
> I say get self a baseball bat and start whacking some heads

It was a motorcycle shop, but I was upfront that I wanted it for a car.
They did ship the four liters of Motul Gear 300 75W90 gear oil that I
ordered.

It wasn't a matter of "we don't have that in stock". The guy who took
my order said they didn't have either item in stock, but that they could
get them from their supplier in one day and ship it. I probably
wouldn't bother to return it if the Motorex brake fluid came in the same
size (it's half). I believe that .5L should be enough to do the brake
lines and clutch of my 2004 WRX. I think there might have just been a
mistake when they ordered it from their supplier, and the guy in the
stockroom shipping it had no idea exactly what was ordered.

Daniel J. Stern wrote:

> On Sat, 16 Apr 2005, y_p_w wrote:
>
>
>>One of the big selling points for the Motul was that they claim to
>>package it for a longer shelf life (using certain plastics and nitrogen
>>filling the airspace in the container).
>
>
> Wow. Automotive hypochondria.
>
> Cool!

Seems like overkill, but some places are filling tires with nitrogen.

This isn't where I ordered it, but they have a description:

<http://www.motorspot.com/brakefluid.html>

"Not Silicone - Long life. 100% Synthetic
509 degrees dry and 365 degrees wet. Polyglycol based. Exceeds the
highest DOT specs. For use in all systems that require a DOT 3, 4 or
5.1 fluid. Container is filled with nitrogen for inreased [sic]
shelf life and to eliminate contamination"

** ** **

Now the "100% Synthetic" part is a riot, if only because any
glycol based brake fluid is "synthetic", including the cheapo
99 cent bottle of DOT 3 fluid.

Maybe you'll explain to me how moisture enters the system through a
DOT5 barrier that will not allow water absorbtion...


Daniel J. Stern wrote:
> ...it doesn't absorb water, so the water that *inevitably* enters the
> system simply sinks to the lowest points and causes accelerated,
localized
> corrosion.

Well, I can only speak from my 15 years experience with DOT5. I have
had no failures of any kind. I have noticed a great reduction in rust
corrosion in all systems I have used it in. I have never experienced a
spongy pedal. If you believe all the stuff you've said... then by all
means stick to a fluid you're comfortable with.

Professor
www.telstar-electronics.com