Outer Limits 4x4 Board

As related to my post in the general section, is it better to use DOT 3 or DOT 4 brake fluid in my GV?

How much fluid does the brake system hold?

I always thought DOT 4 was better then DOT 3 but the discussion wrt toyota's only using DOT 3 is a bit strange. Why would Toyota only recommend DOT 3?

it should say on top of the cap on your brake reservoir what to use. if its not there have a look in your manual.
im not sure on the difference between dot 3 and dot 4. Could it be something to do with brake temp?

Just use dot 4 It's better than dot 3 and backwards compatible. Anything that takes dot 3 can take dot 4 but if it requires dot 4 then dot 3 is not recommended.

Ridge wrote:it should say on top of the cap on your brake reservoir what to use. if its not there have a look in your manual.
im not sure on the difference between dot 3 and dot 4. Could it be something to do with brake temp?

On top of the cap it says to use DOT 3, but everyone says use DOT 4

Another noob question, but how much brake fluid is in the system? Do I buy one or two 500ml bottles?

all i know about dot 4 is a lot of manufacturers are staying away from it. toyota and mazda went to dot 4 had bad results and have gone back to dot 3

The Dot number relates to the boiling point of the fluid. The higher the number the higher the boiling point. The latest DOT 4 has been designed with the technological advances in car brake systems in mind. For your application DOT 3 or 4 will be suffice, wont notice any difference between the two. Sure the zuks take about 500mls so id get 2 bottles and do a full brake flush while your at it. Hope this helps,
Dan

spamwell wrote:all i know about dot 4 is a lot of manufacturers are staying away from it. toyota and mazda went to dot 4 had bad results and have gone back to dot 3

Do you know why they are going back to DOT 3? Is it due to material degredation or something?

I thought both are very similar wrt material compatability???

Well it only took 1 bottle (about 470ml) of DOT 3 to do the flush. I thought I would need more fluid but it appears not - the colour changed from honey-amber to light blue so I assume it's flushed.

It actually says on the cap to only use DOT 3. I'm still not sure why DOT 4 can't be used since they are based off the same ingredients aren't they?

It also seems the GV has only 3 nipples - RL, FR, FL. The brake line to RL goes via RR hence no nipple. I don't have ABS.

The brakes now feel a little firmer when test driving.

I checked my 2004 XL-7 yesterday and it says DOT 3 on the lid (which surprised me.....) I didn't end up changing it because I didn't have the correct sized cap to fit my new pressurised bleeding kit onto the fluid reservoir So if anyone has a spare fluid reservoir cap they want to sell let me know.

I've got some Castrol Super DOT 4 that I'm planning on using (the bottle says it's compatible with most DOT 3 and DOT 5.1 systems.)

murcod wrote:I checked my 2004 XL-7 yesterday and it says DOT 3 on the lid (which surprised me.....) I didn't end up changing it because I didn't have the correct sized cap to fit my new pressurised bleeding kit onto the fluid reservoir So if anyone has a spare fluid reservoir cap they want to sell let me know.

I've got some Castrol Super DOT 4 that I'm planning on using (the bottle says it's compatible with most DOT 3 and DOT 5.1 systems.)

I was going to use DOT 4 since it was on special at SuperCrap as well until I saw the resevoir cap and it says to ONLY use DOT 3.

Is your pressurised bleeder bought or home-made? Do you have pics? Although considering how easy it was (I'm quite suprised) getting a second person to pump the peddle isn't a hard ask.

spamwell wrote:all i know about dot 4 is a lot of manufacturers are staying away from it. toyota and mazda went to dot 4 had bad results and have gone back to dot 3

as far as i know it was eating stuff yeah but i am unaware of the specifics i was employed after the change back to dot 3 had been made so i did not get a full understanding of the reasoning and never really asked.,

TheOtherLeft wrote:
I was going to use DOT 4 since it was on special at SuperCrap as well until I saw the resevoir cap and it says to ONLY use DOT 3.

Is your pressurised bleeder bought or home-made? Do you have pics? Although considering how easy it was (I'm quite suprised) getting a second person to pump the peddle isn't a hard ask.

I think I'll risk the DOT4.... I'll be the guinea pig!

The kit I've got is made by Gunsons in the UK - Eezibleed is the name. I got it off Ebay Uk for under AUS $40 delivered. It will beat the wife breaking down and balling her eyes out because her bung knee is hurting from pumping the pedal.... (yes that happended last time!)



It hooks up to a tyre and uses that to supply the pressure (20 PSI recommended) and that pressuriese a bottle that contains the brake fluid. Should be dead easy to use and supposedly pressure bleeding works better than using the pedal. All three cars have got ABS so might require quite a bit of pumping if doing it the old fashioned way?

I've also got three cars to do. The supplied caps in the kit will only fit one of them - so I ended up ordering a genuine Suzuki cap today for $40. Stuff paying a wrecker $20 for one that might have a dodgy seal....