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Triumph TR6 - Substitute for red rubber grease

Just in the process of doing a MC and PDWA job on my new to me, TR6. Can anyone tell me if there is a substitute for red rubber grease that is sold in Ontario.
Brakes look very new, front and back. After rebuild should I change to DOT 5? I read the archives. Interesting. Should anything else be replaced if I decide to go with 5?

This is a great site for info as well as the Buckeye. Thanks guys.

Brian



Brian

Hi Brian, and welcome. I'm unaware of a substitute for the Lucas grease, but I bet you could use silicone dielectric grease in a pinch. If your system's seals are in good shape, just be sure to flush the glycol out using denatured ethanol before installing the DOT 5 fluid.

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

Brian,
I used methyl hydrate to flush out my brake system
and it worked well.
Maybe its the same thing as denatured ethanol, I don't
know, not much of a chemist.
Chris
Christopher Trace

Thanks for the replies. I'll check out the liquids you have suggested and see which one is available here.

Brian
Brian

Chris - methyl hydrate is methanol (methyl alcohol), a bit different than ethanol, but probably not in this application as a solvent.

I don't know how well it does as far as breaking up deposits and getting the dot 4 fluid out. What I did find when going from dot 4 to dot 5 was that EVERYTHING needed an overhaul/replacement within about 2 years.

First was sticky calipers - rebuilt them (didn't have to "split" them) and got lots of black goo out of the cylinders. Was able to buff & reuse the pistons.

Then had a rear wheel cylinder leak. I just replaced them and bled the lines well again.

Then the master cylinder leaked. Corrosion pitting at the rear seal. Again, black goo was the culprit. Fixed the pit with metal filled epoxy (like JB weld) since it was at the seal and not in a pressure zone. Worked fine.

Then the PDWA leaked - more black goo. After fixing that, there have been no problems. I mean, what is there?? Hopefully the alcohol flush will get the black goo and save you from that - I don't know. Also, I can't say for certainty that what happened was because of the change over. It may have been due to water absorption and the settling out of rubber that formed the goo in the first place.

Brent B

Brian--Here in the US denatured alcohol (ethanol) is readily available in the paint supply departments of the big box retailers (Home Depot, Lowes). Yes, you could use methanol if you can find some that hasn't been diluted with water. However, I've read that methanol is corrosive to fuel system components which is why I prefer ethanol for this work.

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

This thread was discussed between 04/01/2005 and 06/01/2005

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