Brake Fluid Upgrade

[7TFord]

Am considering a change over to the "ATE SL.6" low viscosity brake fluid in our 08 5-speed Toyota. The main reason is to hopefully enhance cold weather hydraulic clutch performance, but it will likely quiet down my squawking ABS as well. I'm wondering if there is any downside to the switch in a vehicle recommended for a Dot 3 fluid?

 

[novaracer69]

i dont think it will quite down the squaking at all. I would clean and relube all contact points on the pads and clean and relube the slides front and rear. that should help with the noise.

 

[mechtech2]

The fluid may be fine with your ABS system, but I'd check it out further from Toyota.
ABS systems can be sensitive to the fluid used, and their requirements are specific.

And for the 'sqwak' noise - get it looked at by the dealer under warranty. If it truly is from the ABS unit, get something in writing now.

 

[Steve S]

I am not sure about an upgrade but flushing out the old fluid is always good.

 

[nthach]

I'm running Super Blue in an 05 Sienna and a 91 LS400, it works fine. Super Blue/Type 200 are the same, they could be classified as DOT 5.1 fluids thanks to their crazy specs.

 

[Ken2]

Sounds like great stuff:

"Since the introduction of electronic systems like ABS and ESP, the brake fluid has acquired a far greater importance than it had before. The hydraulic units of these systems have a large number of small bores and ducts, some of them smaller in diameter than a human hair. Consequently, the wrong choice of brake fluid can have disastrous results for the operation of state-of-the-art brake systems.

"Since the introduction of ESP, brake fluid must decelerate individual wheels in fractions of a second in order to stabilize the vehicle in critical situations (e.g. a skid). The development of particularly thinbodied brake fluids such as Original ATE SL.6 have been essential in ensuring the rapid response times required for ESP can be attained. The requirement for such fluids has already been incorporated into the design of the ESP system. With conventional brake fluids the system's reaction times (in critical situations) may be several times longer than with Original ATE SL.6. In practice this may mean that the system cannot stabilize the vehicle."
http://www.ate-na.com/generator/www/us/e.../bf_sl6_us.html

If your system doesn't like this fluid, it should be easy enough to change back.