Re: hard shifting

[raf40@oes.amdahl.com (Richard Funnell)]

Sam,

I can't resist jumping in.

>Bob,
>
>Water and Brake fluid don't mix, you should know that.  If water is
>virtually incompressible why isn't it used in hydraulics like front end
>loaders?

I don't think water would have the sort of lubricating action you want in a
hydraulic system, let alone any tendency to resist corrosion.  I am
inclined to agree with Robert that water is downright tough to compress.

>They don't get hot enough to boil it away.

One problem with water in the brake lines is that if it boils, it isn't
"away".  It produces steam which is quite compressible.

>The Castrol is more
>moisture resistant than Dot 3, LMA stands for Low Moisture Activity, its on
>the bottle.  By the way what exactly makes the fluid so dirty when it's old?
>Water.  And just to prove the point why do the brakes feel better with new
>fluid?  Its because the fluid acts as a liquid rod and there are no
>contaminates in the fluid to affect it's work.

I would guess at low brake fluid temps, the effect is more related to
lubrication.

>If you still think I'm wrong
>put a little H2O in your master cylinder, pump it around the system and tell
>me the brakes aren't bothered by it's presence.
>
>And you are correct when you state Dot 4 is not bothered by heat as Dot 3.
>That's because since the 4 doesn't absorb water the way 3 does.  Therefore
>when it gets hot there isn't as much water to boil, causing fade and
>possibly VAPOR LOCK!!!!!

How can you get vapor lock in a pressurized system?  If I'm not mistaken,
vapor lock refers to the problem of trying to draw gas from the gas tank
using an engine mounted pump, when an air bubble develops in the gas line.


>
>Regards,
>
>Sam Strano
>Strano's Foreign Car
>strano@ncentral.com
>
>P.S.  That's why silicon (dot5) is good, although impractical.  It won't
>absorb water.

Richard Funnell,
San Jose, California
'83 urQ
'87 560 SL