Caliper locked up today. Need Brake fluid info.

[VIPR PWR]

Had the front drivers caliper lock up today.. After searching the site I am going to try flushing the system and replacing the brake fluid ... The thrreads I found were not clear on the best type of brake fluid to use for a daily driver...
What type of Brake fluid is factory recommended ?
What type brake fluid is the best to use?

 

[dragon]

BRAKE FLUID
The brake fluid used in this vehicle must conform to DOT 3 specifications and SAE J1703 standards. No other type of brake fluid is recommended or approved for usage in the vehicle brake system. Use only Mopar brake fluid or an equivalent from a tightly sealed container.

CAUTION: Never use reclaimed brake fluid or fluid from a container which has been left open. An open container of brake fluid will absorb moisture from the air and contaminate the fluid.

CAUTION: Never use any type of a petroleum-based fluid in the brake hydraulic system. Use of such type fluids will result in seal damage of the vehicle brake hydraulic system causing a failure of the vehicle brake system. Petroleum based fluids would be items such as engine oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, etc.

 

[Vman455]

Anything DOT3 or 4 will work. Lots of people swear by Motul 600. I use Valvoline Synthetic (reasonably high dry and wet boiling points, cheap, and readily available).

 

[VIPR PWR]

Is the factory fluid Synthetic ??? IF NOT, Is there any special procedure to switch to synthetic ??? Will using DOT 4 be a problem mixed with DOT 3 ???

 

[ZCx]

then you will have DOT 7 ??????

 

[Chuck B]

Main difference from Dot3 to Dot4 is boiling temps. Both are interchangeable. Petroleum based and silicone based (5.0) should not be used. Dot5.1 is ok...confused yet?

As for synthetic...my understanding all brake fluids are now processed from synthetic base stock. Marketing knows they can ask more $ if its labeled as such.

I use Motul in my race bikes but off the shelf for truck and other vehicles. I just make a point to flush my systems more often...truck gets flushed annually. Clutch every oil change.

 

[VIPR PWR]

Went with the valvoline dot 4, read it exceeds the SAE J1703 standards. removed the old fluid and there was a lot of black specks and had turned almost the color of coffee.....caliper seems to be working mostly except for a slight pull on hard braking to the left...I'm going to give it a few days and see if it clears up ---then probably flush it more.... I have no idea what the black specks are they were in the master cylinder resevior !

 

[kickinassrt-10]

Mine locked up back in January. Don't mean to disappoint you but I highly doubt changing fluid is going to free up a locked caliper. Might as well save yourself the hassle of changing fluid and just buy a new caliper. Fairly easy to swap out and not too messy. They actually self bleed too. I didn't end up with "spongy" brake pedals either. Also just used DOT3/4 fluid and has been working fine.

 

[hcetzneb]

Just clean the pistons up... I think the caliper seals are cheap just remove both front calipers and remove the pistons ( with air) clean them up with emery cloth and new o rings and seals they will feell better then new

 

[Chuck B]

Have to agree with others. pistons locking up is separate issue. I'd look at standard rebuild kit rather than replacing the caliper. They are easy to rebuild. 600grit with mineral spirits on the pistons and new seals and you are good as new. Based on your description of your brake fluid you let it go far to long before flushing. I'd never allow brake fluid to go more than two years without a complete flush. On my SRT I've found I need to flush annually.

 

[VIPR PWR]

Mine locked up back in January. Don't mean to disappoint you but I highly doubt changing fluid is going to free up a locked caliper. Might as well save yourself the hassle of changing fluid and just buy a new caliper. Fairly easy to swap out and not too messy. They actually self bleed too. I didn't end up with "spongy" brake pedals either. Also just used DOT3/4 fluid and has been working fine.

The caliper froze up and I noticed a dragging feel and then saw a puff of smoke from the driverside front ---I stopped asap in a parking lot and let it sit a cool for about 10 minutes,,, Then I tried backing up and moveing forward a few times.... seemed to be free again ---then I drove about a mile and stoped to eat... had about 20 miles to get home. When I left the restaurant it appeared to still be free.. drove it home from there without a problem...Of course after getting in the house went straight to the VTCOA questions Garage:rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: and start the thread, did a search for the problem ---seems to be happening a lot! Why was my question to myself!! I started looking at the fluid from a post FSTJack posted on another thread... "CHANGE THE FLUID". Thats what made me think about flushing the system --I was not sure of the type of brake fluid that would be the best to use. Had no idea there was a synthetic:dontknow: ... When the replies started coming in I started looking from here to there on the web for barake fluids ,recommendations and all info I could find..I started with the sae that Dargon posted and the valvoline Dot 3 or 4 that vman455 posted...after comparing the types lists I found I decided that the Valvoline was a good synthetic upgrade to the Mopar dot 3....compatibility is not a problem with dot 3 to 4 to 5.1 fluid types,, the 5.0 is NOT compatible and is silicone based Thanks Chuck B.... Motul 5.1 was left out due to pricing ,availibility and would of been a waste and over kill for street driving...OH and sorry CZx, I found nothing on the DOT 7 .
From what I found ,,,Synthetic brake fluid absorbs water as soon as it is opened at a higher rate than the non-synthetic from past years, Anti corrosion addatives break down , pedal starts to get soft, That is the reason that you should flush the brake system on a yearly basis... I believe the reason for mine and others locking up was due to the corrosion build up in the calliper from this break down of synthetic brake fluid. My hope is that adding new fluid will remove or clean up the corrosion ,,, fully understanding that I may still have to pull and rebuild them....At this time it seems to be ok. Yes I let it go to long .Never changed it out to be exact. I promise to never let it happen again:elefant: .. If it does it again then rebuild time is guarenteed ... What a great site with great people:rock: VTCOA Family :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:

 

[popstoy]

if your caliper locked up it will do it again i also just went through this recently rebuild kits are cheap just time cunsuming if you go this route order yourself spare piston just in case because air alone might not get seized piston out (ask me how i know) it may chip on you.and remember brake fluid is highly corrosive will fade or stain caliper finish.good time to repaint.if it pulls to one side shes not retracting[stuck]