Looked at bleeding a set of Deore brakes and found the fluid in the system is clear and not the red I was expecting as shimano use red Mineral oil.

Can you get clear looking mineral oil or has a DOT brake fluid been used instead?

What are the implications if a Dot fluid has been used instead of Mineral.

Advise welcome.

DOT fluid will knacker the seals on a mineral oil-based system, and the brakes will fail. No reason why mineral oil has to be red though so it could well just be clear mineral oil.

You can get many many different types of mineral oil, colours etc.

As above, using brake fluid would result in failure very quickly.

I had it with a set of KTM clutch/brakes and they died within 3-4 miles.

You do get clear mineral oil. The red colour is just an additive. I’ve just bled my Saint’s with some green Cyclo mineral oil.

If DOT had been used instead of mineral oil for any length of time it would have perished your seals and would have very likely leaked out

Mineral oil is a very generic term, but Shimano mineral oil should be red. It’s true that many colours and types of mineral oil exist, but that doesn’t neccesarily mean it’s OK to put in your brakes. Magura Royal Blood blue mineral oil will definitely knacker Shimano brakes just as quickly as DOT fluid for example.

My guess would be if you’ve got clear fluid in them but haven’t had any massive problems, it may be because Shimano don’t bother putting the red colour in their factory oil and these brakes have never been bled since.

EDIT: sauce http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/04/11/tech-speak-brake-fluid-break-down-and-implications-for-road-disc-updated/

Citreon Liquide-minerale-hydraulique from halfords is green. Same stuff.

Dont muck about. I hear people saying they tried bleeding their brakes and had to rebleed a few times etc.

Use the recommended stuff. I’m now on brand new brakes as a shop used magura mineral oil in my shimano brakes. Fisher warranty tech said they’d never be right.

jimoiseau – Member

…………
Mineral oil is a very generic term, but Shimano mineral oil should be red. EDIT: sauce http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/04/11/tech-speak-brake-fluid-break-down-and-implications-for-road-disc-updated/

read that last week and was about to go looking for it excellent article

EDIT: sauce http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/04/11/tech-speak-brake-fluid-break-down-and-implications-for-road-disc-updated/

Oooh that’s an interesting read, cheers for posting.

Shimano oil can also lose colour over time, mine came out a very pale orange colour, almost clear, on 2 yr old deore’s that had never been bled.

EDIT: sauce http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/04/11/tech-speak-brake-fluid-break-down-and-implications-for-road-disc-updated/

Please note no brake fluid makes a good sauce. 🙂

Use the recommended stuff. I’m now on brand new brakes as a shop used magura mineral oil in my shimano brakes. Fisher warranty tech said they’d never be right.

So they put Magura fluid in Shimano brakes, and you’re taking advice from the warranty department who deal with SRAM brakes… Ok.

Mine are Citroen green. 8)

Different colour fluid’s nothing to worry about, i’m regularly opening up new Shimano brakes with either colour in them, sometimes one of each on the same bike.

“What are the implications if a Dot fluid has been used instead of Mineral.”

For a brake fluid to be a DOT fluid, and therefore comply with FMVSS116: it must be non-harmful to brake seals and hoses.

DOT “Brake fluid means a liquid designed for use in a motor vehicle hydraulic brake system in which it will contact elastomeric components made of styrene and butadiene rubber (SBR), ethylene and propylene rubber (EPR), polychloroprene (CR) brake hose inner tube stock or natural rubber (NR).”
FMVSS116
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title49-vol6/xml/CFR-2012-title49-vol6-sec571-116.xml

Although some older DOT fluids may not have been tested on ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) rubber.

But some newer DOT fluids are OK with virtually any type of brake seal eg
DOT 4 LV
http://www.eurol.com/en/37-products/1952-eurol-brakefluid-dot-4-lv.html

http://www.mossmotors.com/SiteGraphics/Pages/brake_fluid/page5.html

Motor car brake fluid is designed to be used with seals made from EPDM material info here
http://o-ring.info/en/products/by-compound/epdm/

So they put Magura fluid in Shimano brakes, and you’re taking advice from the warranty department who deal with SRAM brakes… Ok.

❓

I’ve owned 3 sets of brakes since 2005. Only when they’ve been bled (two shops) have they gone wrong. So I’ll take the Tech’s advice as it also makes sense. These new brakes wont be touched by any shop. Only me but then they wont need bleeding ever.