topping off brake fluid

[ricardo jamin]

Hi guys,

I just bleed my brake. previously had blue ATE so now I’m using yellow ATE.
I barely made it at the end, after putting all the fluid I’m only slightly above min.
Ok now the silly thing is I don’t have extra yellow but have extra blue. I assume I can just use the blue to top off, right? they only different in color so they are mixeable, correct?

thanks,
–ricardo

[Rob Powers]

I believe the yellow and blue Ate fluids (superblue and typ200) are identical except for the color.

If you mix them, you’ll end up with a lighter-blue color, but it won’t cause any problems.

Question: when you say you have ‘extra’, do you mean ‘unopened’? Because once you open a container of brake fluid, you should use it right away due to the hygroscopic nature of the fluid (it absorbs water from the atmosphere). Even if you keep the container tightly sealed after opening, the clock starts ticking after you break the seal, and it really needs to be used within a short timeframe (I’d avoid using it if it has been open for more than a few weeks).

When I flush my fluid, I make sure to buy 2 liters of fluid. If you don’t open the bottle, it has a very long shelf life, so it’s not a big deal if you end up not needing the additional fluid.

– Rob

[ricardo jamin]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the answer. I do have both opened in a tight seal and sealed one. I had 1 yellow(the one I just used) and 3 blue(two sealed and one opened). Either I made a mistake when I ordered or they send me wrong color(and I didn’t bother to check.)
Anyway breaking open the blue in hand is still better. As I remember retail price at brick and mortar is about $30 and I got these for $14 online.

thanks.
–ricardo

[an nguyen]

i’ve used brk fluid long after breaking the seal; i figure it’s no more hygroscopic in bottle than in car, unless bottle is big/nearly empty and able to hold a lot of moist air. anyway i didn’t notice any issues in my cars.

you can mix certain dot rating/types like Glycol-based (DOT 3, 4, 5.1); they do not mix w/ silicone dot 5

[Author]

Posts