Oh-oh, not sure what's going on here.


Just finished changing the brake fluids on my bike, 2001 Softail Standard

Front master reservoir cap said DOT 5
Manual said DOT 5
Indy said DOT 5

So I used DOT 5.


While cleaning up the rear reservoir, I noticed the rear reservoir was stamped DOT 4

So, my questions are:


What came out of the rear was clear fluid, like old DOT 5
What does old DOT 4 look like ?


Is it possible the front brakes would be DOT 5 and the rear DOT 4 ?
I don't think so, but I guess everything is possible.


Have I made a boo boo ?

 

DOT 4 has a purple tint. Mine was the opposite, no stamp on ant thing. But the manual said 5, I flushed with 5, and put in 5. DOT 5 is synthetic, and has a higher temp rating.

 

I don't have the answer to your question, but I do know that you can't go by color. ATE DOT 4 brake fluid comes in light blue or light amber (people commonly alternate colors so they can tell when the old stuff is completely bled out). Harley brand DOT 4 is clear, and Wilwood DOT 4 is dark amber. As if that weren't confusing enough, I've seen purple DOT 5.1 (which is compatible with DOT 4) and purple DOT 5 (which is only compatible with itself).

I think your best bet is to make friends with a local dealer service tech or indy, and have them look it up. GL!

 

Came upon the same situation once on a used bike. Bike had 5 stamped on the front reservoir and 4 stamped on the rear. Color of the fluids were similar. Google searching confirmed what Mr Lucky stated "You Cant Go By Color". Additionally I read that the color will change with age.

To be safe, I removed both brake systems and Bench Cleaned then with denatured alcohol then filled with appropriate type stamped on each reservoir.

 

Put dot 5 in both. No reason to use dot 4 unless you want to screw up your paint, on an 01.
I think flushing your system would be fine, with a bottle of dot 5 , but you can take it off and run denatured alcohol through it to be safe.

 

Ok guys, thanks for the tips.. I run her a day or two (slowly) and see if it seems ok.

 

mine was stamped 5...i used 4 synthetic by mistake...flushed it out with 5...all feels fine so far.

i guess the rubbers in the calipers get funked up....

 

What parts would you have to take off to flush with denatured alcohol?

Would it be possible to not disassemble anything, flush the system with denatured alcohol, then add the DOT type of your choice?

Thanks

 

Could be someone put the wrong MC cover on--only difference between MC covers for different years are the warning labels telling you which fluid to use. They will interchange.

 

If your switching from DOT4 to DOT5 you need to really clean out all lines and hardware. If that DOT 5 mixes with the 4 it will coagulate.