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brake fluid question

1.7K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  N4HHE  
#1 ·
i am planning on replacing the brake fluid on my f800s soon. i have a pint of castrol dot 3-4 fluid. bmw specifies dot 4 fluid. i believe that the castrol dot 3-4 should be ok. informed opinions would be appreciated. thanks.
 
#2 ·
I would stick with dot-4.

Quite aside from whether or not you'd get away with it, it's simply not worth the risk & let's face it, it's not expensive stuff.
Besides which, if you were to be involved in an accident (your fault or not) then I'm sure the insurers could use this as a means of wriggling out of a settlement..
 
#5 ·
Ditto. There is nothing "DOT 3" about it any more than any other DOT 4. Its just marketing addressing those who shop by matching numbers.

DOT 3, 4, and 5.1 (but not 5) are 100% backwards compatible. The primary difference is 5.1 boils at a higher temperature than 4 which boils at a higher temperature than 3. The trade off for higher temperature is a greater affinity for water. Seriously doubt you will be able to notice the water thing, but it makes the "use unopened container" advice more important for 5.1 than for 3.