got a new front brake line and a speed bleeder...so went to 2 diff auto parts and all they got is synthetic brake fluid...the bottle says exceeds dot 3 & dot 4 specs...could not find one to be only dot 4, as the manaul recommends...both said shops i would be fine with this one, so i bought castrol brand...


has anyone used this?...is it safe or should i return it and wait till tomorrow and buy dot 4 from the hd dealer?

 

Good to go. I think the only reason they say 3 and 4 is so you know it's backward compatible with 3. They're both glycol based fluids so be careful about getting even a drop on your paint. If you do wash it off right away.

 

thanks...i'm starting to second guess myself, if i should do this or leave it to a mechanic....seems simple procedure, but no front brake would be...i'll sleep on it and decide tomorrow...

 

Simple enough procedure so I can't see paying someone else to do it. I just did my first brake line change/bleed on the wife's Deluxe. Had some trouble getting all the air out but I think I finally got it.

Brake lever is still lower than my Heritage. Don't normally ride her bike so can't say where it was before and she was of no help.

Plenty of help here if you need it.

 

that's the encouragement i needed...thanks...

got any tips you wish you knew before doing the line change?

did you use "pure" dot 4 fluid?

does her bike have the speed bleeder?

 

You may find some tips in here:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...ing-issue.html


I had good success with the lever/ziptie trick. You may not have any issues like I did though. Give those speedbleeders a try and see what happens.

One thing I would do next time is not to put the cable clamps on till I bled it. I think the bends and angles may have been my problem. Sure hope it doesn't have anything to do with the swivel connector in the Magnum brake line.

I used Vavoline synthetic DOT3 and 4. Like you it was all I could find.

 

i hope they aren't problematic, cause that's what i bought...