Doing a bit of hacking. What do you think - assuming I can sort out the hydraulic connections will it work ?
No (I think).
Avid brakes use DOT 4/5 fluid, which will rot seals intended for Shimano mineral oil and vice versa IIRC.
Nope, juicys use dot fluid, shimano use mineral oil, one set of seals ain't gonna like which fluid you choose.
To be possible the master and slave cylinders need to be compatible in terms of which brake fluid you use and the ratio between the cylinder sizes needs to be ok. Gonna be interesting finding out!
My theory was to use mineral oil as I thought it was a bit more inert then DOT4 - the issue was then master cylinder volume ....
Mineral oil will make the seals swell up like a balloon.....been there,done that.
Mineral oil will make the seals swell up like a balloon.....havn't you got that the wrong why round,dots will ruin seals made for mineral oil but mineral shouldn't affect seals made to take dot fluid.as long as you can mate up hoses and fittings,and anything that has used dot fluid has been immaculately cleaned of any residue(ideally a full strip and clean)there's no reason why it shouldn't work.
Well it has when I've done it by mistake and on the ones that have come through my workshop.But I could be wrong as I'm only speaking from actual experience.
Rorschach's definitely right, seen too many DOT compatible diaphragms that look like elephants ears to think mineral fluid won't damage them.Try leaving what hasn't leaked onto the floor for a few more months and you may as well write the brake off as the seals turn to a sticky gunge that can't be removed.
maybe its the other way round then? but its what I was told by a vehicle technician. one way to be sure,get an old seal kit from car shop put some of seal in both fluids and see what happens.
Could you not use silicon to seal the system?
I seem to remember a bike shop doing a conversion of a mixed mineral oil/DOT fluid brake setup, was it Sideways Tim?