Report on Rykon oil for brakes

[Rich and Cork]

I was just at a big truck shop getting my Castrol TranSynd and Allison filters today and asked the service manager about bleeding my brakes. I have about 52,000 on my '01. He asked if the pedal was mushy or anything weird. I said no. He said it was still most likely OK. Of course he would look at it, but sounds like it could be OK. I know I have overheated my brakes coming down some steep mountains about once a year. Probably should bleed them anyway.

[OldForester]

FWIW, when we replaced my brake fluid in March, we used Valvoline Premium Synthetic brake fluid. The brakes were good and didn't require excessive pedal pressure before the brake fluid change, but they are take even less pressure now. It's enough of a difference to be noticeable. Perhaps just changing to new fluid made the difference, but if Rykon is not readily available, the Valvoline Premium Synthetic appears to be a good alternative.

[dgerstel]

OldForester,

The Rykon is for the hydraulic system used for the fan, power steering and power brake booster, not brake fluid used in the hydraulic brake system. I would not recommend using anything other than the Rykon in the late coaches due the reasons I stated in Post #25.

Our coaches have 3 hydraulic systems.

1) One for the fan, power steering and power brake booster.
2) One for the brakes.
3) The HWH system for jacks, slides and Smart Beds where applicable or gen slide on early coaches.

Different oils are used in #1 & #3 depending on the year.

[NorCal Hal]

Mike;

I saw the same thing in my 06 Owner's Manual "Inspect at 10,000 miles and replace as needed". I was told by a mechanic that unless you have water in the fluid or it is black it probably does not need to be changed. I don't think I ever changed the brake fluid on my cars or trucks even at 100,000 plus miles.

I also emailed Mark Harrah and he responded that he doesn't think WRV ever specified a brake fluid drain, flush and replace interval - just the inspect and replace as needed.

Guess I'll draw some out of the master cylinder with my ole Turkey baster and check the color and clarity.

I found Chevron Rykon Premium 46 here in Redding for $ 48/5 gallon and an "equivalent" Imperial ISO 46 for $ 34.... Think I'll stick with the Rykon.

Thanks for the responses.

Harold

[Dave Fernandez]

Hello Rick & Cork:

If you have not change the brake fluid in eight years it is way over due. I know of several Alpine owners that have had brake problems due to bad brake fluid. They had no problems until a caliber stuck and caused the loss of brakes. Brake fluid will absorb water and other contaminates over the years. I have learned that the fluid should be flushed every two to three years. We as Owners have neglected this service for years.

After I learned that they (other Alpine Owners) had problems I checked my brake fluid and found it to have the consistency of honey which was not good.

[EngineerMike]

Dave- How many miles & years did it take to cook the honey?

[NorCal Hal]

[quote=Dave Fernandez;504169]Hello Rick & Cork:

I know of several Alpine owners that have had brake problems due to bad brake fluid. They had no problems until a caliber stuck and caused the loss of brakes.

If the Caliber/ brake pad stuck it was probably due to lack of cleaning and lubing the caliber mount / track - which most of us fail to do. If the PISTON stuck then I would say contaminated fluid was to blame.

[NorCal Hal]

I have the WRV recommended hydraulic system oil replacement procedure which requires disconnecting 4-5 fittings and blowing out the fluid in the lines. I'd like to hear your comments about this method:
1) Disconnect the return line to the reservoir to drain the ATF fluid.
2) Replace the filters.
3) Plug the reservoir hole with a temporary plug leaving the return line disconnected - direct the return line into a 5 gallon bucket.
4) Fill the reservoir with the new Rykon fluid.
5) Start the engine and let the pump flush the system.

I figure I can watch the flow into a 5 gallon bucket and when it gets to 2-3 gallons have my assistant stop the engine and most, if not all, of the old fluid should be discharged. I was told by a mechanic that this was the method they use.

I was concerned that the fluid would spray all over the place under 1500-3000 psi pressure but the mechanic assured me that the return pressure should be quite low and the flow a reasonable and controllable rate.

Harold

[dgerstel]

Harold,

I hope your coach, 2006?, didn't have ATF in that system. WRV changed from ATF to motor oil some time ago. I think when they went to the adjustable pedals.

This is the only WRV recommend procedure that I am aware of.

http://alpinecoachassociation.com/ch...%20Process.pdf

The problem with the method you have is it would be very hard to get a good flush without wasting a lot of the new oil. The oil does not circulate in a series, I am not sure of the exact flow path. If you look you will see many flow paths. You have the fan, steering and brake booster.

[EngineerMike]

Not sure what logic was employed, but I know of an 07 coach that had ATF for hydraulic fluid. Perhaps they were out of the erstwhile preferred motor oil?

Regardless of how it happens, each coach has whatever fluid it has. Just important IMO to acknowledge what is actually in the hydraulic system & lend an appropriate level of effort to evacuating (nominal if you are replacing w/same fluid, substantial if changing to a new type) when doing a change.

[Dave Fernandez]

To answer the questions; I discovered my fluid at 7 years and 50,000 miles one of the coaches was 5 years old mileage unknown. They had fixed calibers and piston stuck which caused the problem. I due know that older Alpines with floating calibers have been neglected if you read Rusty Bear’s Post that is what caused his problem.

[takepride]

When I read the above posts, I see Harold and Dave talking about changing the brake fluid. I see Dale talking about changing the hydraulic fluid that runs the brake booster, fan, power steering, etc.

I read here that we ought to be changing the brake fluid.

Ought I also change the hydraulic fluid, too?

My brake system says DOT 3.

My hydraulic says ATF.

My pedals are not adjustable.

If this thread is leaving me confused, I cannot imagine what it is doing to others. I know Cummins is clueless on schedules and recommendations. I'm hoping we Alpine owners can come up with something more definitive.

[EngineerMike]

07 Owner's Manual says change hydraulic filters every 6K miles, and fluid every 10k. IIWM every year or maybe 10k on filters would be fine, and every 20k for fluid.
All that assumes no unusual events like heavy driving on dirt roads (e.g. Alaska) which would shorten intervals.

[NorCal Hal]

Originally Posted by takepride

When I read the above posts, I see Harold and Dave talking about changing the brake fluid. I see Dale talking about changing the hydraulic fluid that runs the brake booster, fan, power steering, etc.

I read here that we ought to be changing the brake fluid.

Ought I also change the hydraulic fluid, too?

My brake system says DOT 3.

My hydraulic says ATF.

My pedals are not adjustable.

If this thread is leaving me confused, I cannot imagine what it is doing to others. I know Cummins is clueless on schedules and recommendations. I'm hoping we Alpine owners can come up with something more definitive.

Go back and read Dale's post # 31. He gave a good explanation of the Alpine's three systems.

Dale: Thanks. I'm familiar with the hydraulic system oil replacement procedure I supplied it to Mike for the library.

Harold