Is 4dot better to use than 3dot?

**crystalball** · 7th December 2008, 12:33

Just drained and bled my front and back brakes but kept topping it up so no air will get in .I have now put 4dot fluid in them.It says to use 3dot but i heard 4dot will be better.

srry if silly question been 9 years since i owned a bike.
Any opinions will be a good read.
Thanks and merry christmas.

**racerhead** · 7th December 2008, 12:51

Originally Posted by crystalball

Just drained my front and back breaks.I have now put 4dot fluid in them.It says to use 3dot but i heard 4dot will be better.

Any opinions will be a good read.
Thanks and merry christmas.

Yes dot 4 will be a slightly better quality so its ok to use.
When it says to use dot 3 this would be a minimum specification

**crystalball** · 7th December 2008, 12:57

o.k thanks. Also when I drained the old fluid out (keeping it topped up so no air gets in) and bled front brake I forgot to do other side is it o.k to just do the one side.next time i'll do both.

**James Deuce** · 7th December 2008, 13:00

They're "brakes". DOT 4 has a higher boiling point (about 50 degrees F I think) than DOT 3. Don't use DOT5. It's just a PITA (and expensive) for no real gain.

Yes you need to do both. Brake fluid adsorbs moisture from the atmosphere, which reduces its boiling point temperature. The stuff left in the other side will now be contaminated enough by moisture that it may cause brake fade through the water boiling (lower boiling point than brake fluid) causing brake lines to expand or vapour locks.

**racerhead** · 7th December 2008, 13:05

Originally Posted by crystalball

o.k thanks. Also when I drained and bled front brake I forgot to do other side is it o.k to just do the one side.next time i'll do both.

Both sides should definetly be done and I wouldnt advise riding the bike until both sides are done because you will only have very weak brakes if any at all.
What does the lever feel like is it firm when you hold it in or can you feel a spongeness in the lever or is it coming back in to the bar?

**crystalball** · 7th December 2008, 13:47

year its about a inch from bar when pulled tight.
when i did it i made sure i kept topping it up so that no air would get into the line.
it feels o.k when pulling brake lever.
even tho no air got in do you think i should redo it again on other side.

**lostinflyz** · 7th December 2008, 14:58

kinda pointless doing oneside as there both linked so your new fluid will mix with the old fluid and end up being shitty fluid very fast. youve done 90% of the work, might as well finish it proper

**Hitcher** · 7th December 2008, 18:29

Originally Posted by crystalball

Just drained my front and back breaks.

One suspects that you've drained your brakes.

**crystalball** · 7th December 2008, 19:00

geez well went to take off the cap from the brake fluid container but..
one off the screws is new and i got it off real easy.The other was old and when i went to screw it out it started to thread

( i didin't screw it in to tight

)
So now i av a screw that only has a little bit off a grip in it.

On tuesday (as gota go in to pay for a part they ordering in for my bike)I am gona ask the motorcycle workshop to get it out and replace the screw with a new one

. So then i can get cap off.this time im gona do it properly both sides.Meanwhile i'll av to ride to work with it like it is.

**racerhead** · 8th December 2008, 01:13

Originally Posted by crystalball

geez well went to take off the cap from the brake fluid container but..
one off the screws is new and i got it off real easy.The other was old and when i went to screw it out it started to thread

( i didin't screw it in to tight

)
So now i av a screw that only has a little bit off a grip in it.

On tuesday (as gota go in to pay for a part they ordering in for my bike)I am gona ask the motorcycle workshop to get it out and replace the screw with a new one

. So then i can get cap off.this time im gona do it properly both sides.Meanwhile i'll av to ride to work with it like it is.

Ok yea professional help at this stage would be a good idea because your brakes are pretty much the most important part of any vehicle. It might be best if you could get the workshop to check over your work just incase there is anything wrong with what you have done. You dont get a 2nd chance with brakes so make sure they are always 100%

**Max Preload** · 8th December 2008, 08:56

See here.

**crystalball** · 8th December 2008, 16:37

Well after work I called into a auto electrical workshop and they removed and replaced the screw for free. Very nice of them to do that for me

. Tonight I will redo the front brake fluids again and make sure I do both sides.Took it to work today and the brakes seemed to be working fine.
Yes when i call into the motorcycle shop tomorro to pay for my part they orderd, i'll ask them if they dont mind having a check to see if ive done it properly. Will let use know if they are kind enougth to check it for me.