A neighbour gave me an old, opened bottle of castrol brake fluid. When I say old, we're talking maybe 5 years-ish. The fluid seems good and being the cheap b*stard that I am, who can refuse?

Question though - is it worth using? Little bird told me that old brake fluid looses it's functional abilities when sitting on shelves

yep, throw it away!

brake fluid is hygroscopic, wich means it attracts moisture. this is good since when it's in your brake lines there aren't any seperate drops of water wich can boil up and turn to a gass wich gives a spongy feel on the pedal when you're doing a bit of braking.

the older the fluid gets, the more moisture there's in it and the lower the boilingpoint of the fluid.

normal in car life of the fluid is 2years, maximum lifespan of 3 years. opened tins have to be used as soon as possible

brake fluids hygroscopic meaning its absorbs water and causing you to have a spongey pedal, lets just get striaght to the point, CHUCK IT!

didnt see that post before mine

Awww. Cheapness ftl

when it gets warm it makes water vapour, may as well be air, causing spongy pedal, when it reaches 100oC it makes steam, locking the brakes suddenly when you're giving it the beans.

Speedy88 wrote:Little bird told me that old brake fluid looses it's functional abilities when sitting on shelves

Well it doesn't loose as such on the shelf, just when moisture gets into over a long period of time and reduces the boiling point. Hence you should change your fluid every 18-24 months.

Speedy88 wrote:Question though - is it worth using?

Not in the braking system, but probably has some use somewhere else in the garage (paint stripping?), if you really are that cheap.

If disposing of it, dispose of it correctly, blah, blah, blah.

it can be used to clean brakes very effectively and it doesn't damage the seals.

Pour it over one of your enemies (cars). I wouldn't risk using it in the MC.

I've been told recently that clean brake fluid that hasn't been in a car, wont damage car paintwork?? I have a bottle (opened) somewhere. there's 2 quid's worth still in it, i'm not chucking mine. Maybe in an emergency it would be better than having no brake fluid in the car.

I've poured it over a car before (cunt deserved it) and it did SFA. I am inclined to agree with you mate.

L14MNP wrote:I've poured it over a car before (cunt deserved it) and it did SFA. I am inclined to agree with you mate.

Bricks are cheaper.

oof.. valve cutting paste smeared on the wipers.....