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Replaced the twin pots front and rear with 4 pots, just the calipers so lines and master cylinders still have fluid in them. Now need to bleed everything but only half one and a half of the little 50ml shimano bottles from a long time ago. Will roughly 75ml be enough to blled front and rear brakes?
Struggling to find any shimano oil without getting bent over on ebay, the 1l bottles are looking out of stock and I don't fancy using LHM+ or non shimano mineral oil.
Cheers
Non Shimano is fine. People have used vegetable oil without problems.
People have used vegetable oil without problems
@bensongd where are you based? I've got a litre bottle that you can have some out of if you're local?
I'm based near Whaley Bridge.
Si
Seth on Seth’s bike hacks ran a shimano brake for a year with baby oil as a test. The result was, it worked fine.
I've used beef dripping in mine - fine as long as it's not cold out
Goose fat for superior stopping power.
Can sell you a small bottle if you're stuck.
Msg me if you need it.
Been using LHM+ in Shimano for years, not died yet.
Goose fat is great after a long steep descent. Mmmmm...
If you have any Reverb fluid that also works.
However, the boring answer is that 75ml should be enough.
Get down to the liposuction clinic. Their oil is great on the descents.
@scc999 sadly I'm south Derbyshire so a bit too far but thank you for the offer.
Have read a out people using LHM, mineral oil etc but wanting to stick with shimano to be on the safe side. I do have a bottle of lhm from my citroen days but have read that people have had mixed results.
Yawnsville, prove it's wrong
A rear brake only holds 20-25ml in total so that 75ml should do you fine. Don't forget that the mineral stuff doesn't go off so you can always use the fluid you bleed out to top up the reservoir.
@reluctantjumper was hoping to hear that. The bike has seen little use so was going to re use the oil if it didn't look to filthy.
Can you mix baby oil with shimano?
Can you mix baby oil with shimano?
Unless you've bought a tiny bottle why wouldn't you just flush the whole lot through. Not that I'd use it.
Just get a big bottle of Citroën fluid for the same price as a thimble of bike fluid.
Unless you’ve bought a tiny bottle why wouldn’t you just flush the whole lot through. Not that I’d use it
For a top up
I havent tried LHM in Shimanos, but it did seem thinner than the original stuff in another brand
I'm in north staffs not too far from Derby and about to take delivery of 1l of shimano oil for exactly the job you're doing (moving from XT 2 pot to 4 pot). I'll bleed the other shimano sets in the family while I'm at it. That should leave me at least 0.5l if you'd like to collect some 😉
I bought a 1 litre bottle of Halfords Citroen ATF fluid for about 6-7 quid a few years ago which has worked well. I don't see any point in buying the same stuff in a Shimano bottle for way more.
For a top up
I havent tried LHM in Shimanos, but it did seem thinner than the original stuff in another brand
Thats rather my point. An bone dry brake takes about a thimble full of oil. If you're going to the lengths of using baby oil then the smallest bottle you'd get would fill a fleet of bikes brakes, why mix them? I can't see a scenario where you have bike needing 1ml of oil and you just happen to have a bottle of baby oil that if upturned for an hour has enough in it!
I just fitted my 4pot callipers tonight. I dropped way more oil on the cellar floor than was needed in the brakes! I'd have been pushing it with 75ml just because it helps to avoid bubbles if you have more in the syringe than you need. And also I squeezed some grey, manky looking stuff out the levers. I guess I could have managed if it was all I had.
It is possible to rig something up so you catch any lost oil rather than piss it all over your floor.
In the past I’ve just used a second syringe to suck excess oil out of the bleed funnel or drain jug and return it to the bottle. Car power steering fluid is generally the same stuff so you could probably steal a bit from the tank there at a pinch.
I've used LHM in all my Shimano brakes for years, can't say I notice any difference compared the the assorted new brakes I've had. Think I'm finally getting towards the bottom of the litre bottle I bought from Halfords donks ago.
If you haven't got a kit, the Epic Bleed Solutions one is decent and their process is easy to follow.
@dc2.0 will take you up on the offer, I'm Burton way so hopefully not too far.
I've had too many issues using the non-shimano stuff. Not all mineral oils are the same, even if it doesn't instantly destroy your brakes, the heat capacity/boiling points etc might be different, it might damage seals and plastics inside. Not worth the risk of a spoiled ride/gear to me. Just buy the big bottle then you'll never worry about not having enough.
the heat capacity/boiling points etc might be different, it might damage seals and plastics inside
Any evidence or pure speculation?
Only anecdotal, so not up to much scrutiny. There was an article a few years a go I found that tested various brands of mineral oil and compared their boiling points and stuff.
"Mineral Oil" brake fluid is proprietary, its not a controlled standard like Dot fluids. Yes lots of mineral fluids will work but the brakes are designed with a specific fluid in mind.
A litre of Shimano fluid isn't expensive when you consider it would easily do 20+ bleeds.
Unless I was stuck, I'd always use the correct fluid.
A litre of Shimano fluid isn’t expensive when you consider it would easily do 20+ bleeds.
This. The last bottle I bought was £16.50. It lasts forever and I don't bleed brakes very often (normally only when fitting or changing hoses). On a £/bleed basis I can't see there's any major saving to be made. Knowing other fluids can be used is handy in the event of some sort of emergency I guess.
Unless I was stuck, I’d always use the correct fluid.
Yeah, this everytime, I don't understand why you wouldn't.
my outlook is partly from living in rural cambodia etc, not knowing whats in a brake when I get it, and the amount of hassle it can sometimes be to empty and refill a brake properly
Just get a big bottle of Citroën fluid for the same price as a thimble of bike fluid.
+1
Rolls royce also use it.
Have just ordered 1L of shimano oil from leisure lakes for £20 showing as despatched. If its any use to anyone else.