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CAUTION: DO NOT USE BRAKE FLUID OTHER THAN THE SPECIFIC TYPE RECOMMENDED FOR YOUR VEHICLE.

For a ZIS it was recommended to use the original brake fluid. Well, that comes as no real surprise. But if not available it has been suggested according to the driver's manual to use a mixture made of castor oil and spiritus.


picture source: wikipedia

BTW The castor oil was the idea behind when coining the term CASTROL.

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Castrol oil based brake fluids where used on Soviet cars from 1930s-1992. The for runner for DOT-1 brake fluid did not come until 1970, with the introduction of a new car model VAZ 2101( Fiat-124 Soviet style).
In the late 80s most,new Soviet cars had DOT-1(2) has a brake fluid.
The Castrol oil based brake fluid was called BSK.It has a red or orange color and a distinctive smell.
The problem with Castrol based oil is that it gets sticky after 10 years(like a heavy lubricant) in use and can glogg the brake system. But unlike DOT fluids, the brake parts don't corrode as much.
Only problem is that they have stopped to import it into europe these days. :(
Also a lot of car owners don't recomment this fluid no more, instead they rebuild there systems on DOT-4 fluid.

A mixture of castor oil and an alcohol makes perfect sense for an early brake fluid; years ago a friend was restoring an Auburn Twelve convertible sedan and asked me (I was a working chemist then) to make some shock absorber fluid for him from the same two ingredients according to an "of the era" formula he had located.

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Dave, could you successfully help him? Do you remember the mixture ratio?

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No, I don't. And especially important is which alcohol and I don't think it was one of the more common ones.

But, I'd never use it anyway. Modern hydraulic oils (for shocks) like Mobil's, and modern brake fluids are so much improved over those primitive formulations. Even for me there's a limit to adherance to authenticity.

Quote:I'm shocked!

Mal, guard your tongue! There is a broad range of applications for castor oil emulsion.

Gerd,

Don't I know it!