Military Vehicle Repair: 85 Blazer brakes, petroleum product, dodge van

Question
Van,  Good call on the ether. It fired up on the second turn.  I checked Memphis Equipment for the glow plug circuit card.  They did have one but wanted $260 for the whole assembly.  Too much but I found a used one on ebay that worked fine for $20.50.  Can I use regular DOT 3 brake fluid or do I need some type of special silicon fluid?  Would it be wise to flush the system anyway?  Thanks  Joe

Answer
Hi Joe,
I finally was able to connect.
Good deal on the controller.

Brake fluid...Hmmm. I bet that has a metal tag hanging on the master cylinder saying Silicon fluid.
I honestly don't know what happens if you mix it. Luckily, I am right beside Fort Sill, and the trucks I work on belong to the government, so I have access to the govt silicon fluid, and have not had to dig into any of them yet, so can't help you on the mix question.

Flushing would be a chore, as I HAVE been through the problem where someone added OIL to the master cylinder of a Dodge van one time, and replacement of most of the parts was required.
But that was due to the swelling of the cups from the petroleum product. I don't think there is anything in the silicon brake system different from regular, except the fluid. So a good flushing could possibly work, but to be sure it was ALL changed, you would need to open all of the wheel cylinders completely....not just the bleeder screws.

I don't know who could give you a good scientific answer about the interrelationship of those two fluids.

If you do fing a good source for that info, send me something on it.

richard_vannatta@sbcglobal.net

Thanks,
Van