From: Mark J. Blair (mblair1@cox.net)
Date: Sun Apr 28 2002 - 19:09:30 PDT
Hi!
The brake fluid in one of my M109A3 2.5-ton 6x6 shop vans is yellow. I
tried mixing a little bit with some DOT 3, and the two didn't seem to
mix. I also tried mixing some with some purple DOT 5, and the two
seemed to mix. Can anybody with more experience in this area help me
figure out what kind of fluid is in my truck, and whether I can safely
top it up with either civvy DOT 5 or surplus BFS without flushing the
whole system out?
If I remember correctly, the brake fluid in my HMMWV is also yellow.
Is there any such thing as yellow silicone brake fluid, and can it be
mixed with purple DOT5/BFS safely?
Incidentally, I'm just finishing up the job of replacing the front
axle seals on my truck. Man, what a lot of work. I tried making a
home-made tool to remove the seal retainers with a little slide
hammer; no luck. Then I got a pilot bearing puller with a larger
(2-pound) slide hammer; no luck. Then, based on a friend's suggestion,
I tried the pilot bearing puller after shooting the retainer with a
CO2 fire extinguisher to cool it down and shrink it; no luck, but it
was kind of fun. Finally, I bought a 6' length of 1/2" galvanized pipe
at Home Depot, and hammered each retainer out from the opposite side,
through the differential, with a 3-pound hammer. I wish I had tried
that first! :-) While everything was apart, I installed some Speed
Bleeders (www.speedbleeder.com, part number SB71620) on the front
axle, as recommended from time to time on the list. They made the job
of bleeding the front brakes by myself very easy! I also got their
"bleed bag". It's a plastic bag sort of like an IV bag, with a
silicone rubber hose. It made the job a lot neater than it would have
been otherwise. I plan to install the bleeders on my rear axles (and
all of my other trucks, too!) when I get around to them. I do not yet
know the correct sizes for trucks other than my deuces. If anybody
happens to know the sizes of the bleed valves on the HMMWV, Gama Goat,
M103A3 1.5-ton trailer chassis, etc., pleas share them with the list!
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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