Brake Fluid?
Senior Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 422
Likes: 107
From: A.C.T
Funny this has come up now, not a while ago I changed all the brake and clutch fluids on all my vehicles, lucky that all three had the same rating and specified the same fluid.
I used Bendix Dot4, Brake Fluid By Bendix - For High Performance which I bought in 4ltrs. Have not found any of them to spongy on the pedal, quite the opposite rock hard and responsive to touch. My Xjs is 83 no ABS but my Pajero has ABS and is fine with the same fluid.
I use a pela vacuum oil pump with the correct size hose to change the fluid, takes me about 15min to totally change the fluid on my XJS starting from the right front wheel then to the left, then left rear and finally right rear, you will need about litre to be on the safe side.
Bendix recommends Dot4 for the XJS.
I used Bendix Dot4, Brake Fluid By Bendix - For High Performance which I bought in 4ltrs. Have not found any of them to spongy on the pedal, quite the opposite rock hard and responsive to touch. My Xjs is 83 no ABS but my Pajero has ABS and is fine with the same fluid.
I use a pela vacuum oil pump with the correct size hose to change the fluid, takes me about 15min to totally change the fluid on my XJS starting from the right front wheel then to the left, then left rear and finally right rear, you will need about litre to be on the safe side.
Bendix recommends Dot4 for the XJS.
Veteran Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,459
Likes: 695
From: Key West, FL
None of them should be spongy, Dot4 is what came in it from the factory. Most people are concerned with the compressibility of DOT5.
The XJS bleeds pretty easy, probably takes more time to get it high enough in the air than anything
The XJS bleeds pretty easy, probably takes more time to get it high enough in the air than anything
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 355
Likes: 143
From: Shiawassee County, Michigan, USA
For example, iif you had an MGB in the 60s and put dot3 commonly available in america in it, it would eat away the seals and the braking system would leak and fail. You had to put girling crimson in it
Mid-way through production, Dot4 became the standard on MGBs and the rubber was changed to synthetic.
Many people got all this confused and just continued trying to put the old stuff in the car to prevent it from being damaged. Not knowing better, they kept grabbing girling brake fluid, which was what they knew. This is why everyone thinks Castol GT LMA is the "right" fluid for the XJS, when it is just regular synthetic brake fluid.
Last edited by Dleit53; Jan 22, 2015 at 11:13 PM.
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 11,057
Likes: 2,271
From: Perth Ontario Canada
Oooooooh, snap. My very first car! I miss it so. Didn't really appreciate what I had at the time.
Agree on the confusion about DOT 3/4 fluids. It's simple subject made very complex with misinformation.
Agree on the confusion about DOT 3/4 fluids. It's simple subject made very complex with misinformation.
Veteran Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,459
Likes: 695
From: Key West, FL
exactly, it is just a marketing thing because the term has become recognizable with oils and to many buyers it just means "better".
The last time "brake fluid" wasn't synthetic was close to 50 years ago, when we used mineral oil
The last time "brake fluid" wasn't synthetic was close to 50 years ago, when we used mineral oil
Veteran Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,459
Likes: 695
From: Key West, FL
Not really. Confusing a bottle that says DOT 3 with a bottle that says DOT 5 is pretty hard to do.
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