Which Brake Fluid ? Prestone Valvoline or Castrol

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 19, 2004
Messages
811
Location
NH
Just like the title says, Which brake fluid for my 1995 Camry, and my 2003 Ford Windstar ?

I will be doing a complete brake flush.

Both have the original fluid, and have never been changed.
See my sig for the mileage.

Which do you guys think is better ? The Valvoline seems to have the best temp numbers. They are all marketed as synthetic, and Dot 4 fluids. I plan on doing a 1 year change interval, as the process is fairly straight forward, and the fluid is cheap.

What are your thoughts ?

Thanks,
Justin
 
Prestone is $6, Valvoline is $7, and the Castrol is $8.

All prices are for the 32 oz bottle.

Cost is not a factor, as they are all under $10.00
 
Most of those are hard to come by out here in New England.
Though the ATE Super Blue can be purchased from my local Subaru dealer for $16.00 a quart. It's a little more than I want to spend.

I even thought about using the supertech stuff, but it's only DOT 3.
I figure I'll upgrade to DOT 4 if I'm doing the flush.

Maybe I'll use it on grandpa's truck. (He's cheap, and doesn't care) I'm sure the truck won't mind. It's a '93 and it has the original fluid.
 
I cheaped out and got 2 quarts of Wearever from AAP for $5.

Only used about a pint of one of them to flush all four bleeders.


Make sure your grandpa knows about clutches. Mine can drive one, but somehow didnt know the difference between the clutch and brake and everytime I said down only a drop would come out because he was hitting the wrong pedal.

Almost gave up and quit but just happened to watch him do it when I tried a different wheel. Kind of funny now, but a bit frustrating at the moment.



PS, you'll be glad you did the flush. I now get a much firmer pedal (almost solid now). I like it alot. It seems to use pressure now instead of distance traveled to actuate.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys,

I just did my Camry this morning with Valvoline Synthetic Dot 4 fluid. I did it by myself with an old water bottle, some clear vinal tubing, and a coat hanger to hold the bottle. I just started with some fluid in the bottle (above the tube) so it wouldn't suck any air back in. Then I opened the bleader, climbed in and pumped the brakes. Then just kept checking the master cylinder. It took about 20 pumps per bleader, and I went through 1 32oz bottle.
(I bought 2) I'm not sure if my van will take any more than this. I'll probably pick up some more fluid today before I do it.
I'll probably do grandpa's truck myself as well. (that's a good point about the brake, vs. the clutch). Honestly the only hard part was climbing in and out of the car through the window.
(I have an a symetrical lift so you can't open the doors when the car is in the air)
I think I'll do grandma's Camry too if I have time today.
I'm going to the range with grandma today to sight in her new .38
Then I have to change the oil in the van, and the brake fluid.
Thanks Again
 
I just bought WEAREVER DOT3 B1G1 free from AAP for about $5.99 for the qt bottles($3/qt). They had the 12oz bottles B1G1 free for about $2.99($1.50 ea)
 
Justin - With brake fluid, anybody's is just fine. And this is coming from a lube and snake oil guy!

But your bleed method is relying on luck. You really need to open and shut the bleeder in concert with a helper pressing and releasing the brake pedal. Your method is only guaranteed to work with speed bleeders - an aftermarket replacement. Or use a vacuum like a Mity Vac. Super easy.
 
Brand really isn't important... what is important is that you follow your mfg's guidelines on whether the recommend dot 3 or 4 and even more important....use FRESH fluid... when servicing the break system use an unopened bottle and discard the rest unless you have another car to do. Brake fluid does not save well
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Justin - With brake fluid, anybody's is just fine. And this is coming from a lube and snake oil guy!

But your bleed method is relying on luck. You really need to open and shut the bleeder in concert with a helper pressing and releasing the brake pedal. Your method is only guaranteed to work with speed bleeders - an aftermarket replacement. Or use a vacuum like a Mity Vac. Super easy.


My method worked fine on my Camry, and my van already.
When I opened the bleader, I waited for some fluid to flow by gravity before I pumped. 1 pump was more than enough to fill the tubing, and I already had fluid in the catch bottle so it wouldn't suck any air back in. Then just keep pumping, and checking the master cylinder, until the fluid in the tubing became clear. It took about 20 pumps for the rear wheels, and 15 for the fronts.
 
Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
You should more concerned with the Wet and Dry boiling points. THe higher the better!
Dot3 has a minimum of 284.
scroll down to the table and then read the definitions
http://www.afcoracing.com/tech_pages/fluid.shtml

As mentioned in my first post the Valvoline had the highest boiling points of the 3 listed. 343 Wet, 503 Dry.
 
Originally Posted By: ps49556n
Brand really isn't important... what is important is that you follow your mfg's guidelines on whether the recommend dot 3 or 4 and even more important....use FRESH fluid... when servicing the break system use an unopened bottle and discard the rest unless you have another car to do. Brake fluid does not save well


You can run dot 4 in any vehicle that specifies dot 3, dot 5 is another story though.
 
I'm all for the Ate Blue. Pricey yes, but I can do easily 2 cars off 1 litre can. And I just like the blue color.

Otherwise, I have 2 bottles of sealed Valvoline Synpower dot 4 that I found a few weeks ago, so eventually that'll get swapped in somewhere!
But I've used the Castrol as well, it works just fine.

I believe the Ate blue can hit 575F, and the Wilwood Dot4 can peak at 576F
The Ate Blue is easier to get.
 
Originally Posted By: Jss21382

You can run dot 4 in any vehicle that specifies dot 3, dot 5 is another story though.

Better check the spec first, not all DOT 4 can be used on DOT 3 system, that is why they develop DOT 5.1.
If you live in North you don't want your ABS failed to cycle during winter just because DOT 4 fluid
31.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top