adding brake fluid to your oil for valve seals? (1 Viewer)

[landcruiser3DP]

i had a land cruiser tech suggest adding a half a quart of brake fluid to my oil to cut down on oil consumption. idea being that it can help fluff up the seals.

sounds rational enough to make sense but i wouldn’t do it unless it cleared the MUD gauntlet.

any old hands willing to offer some advice on this say for a long haul to try to cut down on consumption?

 

[84shortyota]

Why not use something designed for this...like a seal conditioner? Not that they are the end all fix, but they can work temporarily til you do a top end rebuild and fix it the right way.

 

[84shortyota]

I see the idea of using brake fluid is all over the internet. This is the first time i've heard of it!

 

[Mighty690]

Probably not too far off Marvel Mystery Oil, which has a long history and quite a following.

 

[MoJ]

Are you burning oil or leaking oil?

Either way I wouldn’t dump brake fluid in my engine.

 

[nukegoat]

Don't do that

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Are you burning oil or leaking oil?

Either way I wouldn’t dump brake fluid in my engine.

burning. just did a PCV valve until i go in for the full head gasket this winter. thought it might help for a long haul. but if it’s a bad idea obviously won’t...

 

[inkpot]

Kind of a waste of time unless you are burning quarts of oil every 1000 miles. Before I did my valve job and seals I was using 1.5 quarts every 10,000 miles. After the first refresh I burn 0.5 quarts every 10 000. This is on an engine that is driven hard, boosted, and has 218,000 miles on it.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Kind of a waste of time unless you are burning quarts of oil every 1000 miles. Before I did my valve job and seals I was using 1.5 quarts every 10,000 miles. After the first refresh I burn 0.5 quarts every 10 000. This is on an engine that is driven hard, boosted, and has 218,000 miles on it.

hey man. thanks. yeah, HG is on tap over here. i’ve been slowly prioritizing. plan to do it this fall/winter.

so i guess what i should ask you is if you were burning just shy of 3 quarts per 1000 miles and you planned on heading out cross country into the mountains with a motorcycle trailer - would you put in the brake fluid?

or would you just take the motorcycle?!

it does really need suspension as well sooner rather than later.

i suppose i could also trailer the motorcycle with the old taco but that would not be my preference and i’m not sure i’d go this route.

i’ve never really had a rig like this or this kind of issue i guess.

 

[LC4LIFE]

I’d just run thick oil and keep it full.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

I’d just run thick oil and keep it full.

thanks man. 20W50 these days.
and a new PCV valve because i have to keep hope alive...

 

[mudgudgeon]

Take the motorcycle.

Not sure I'd do it on the suggestion of a grease monkey without seeing some science behind it.

What's it going to do to the oil composition?

Glycol gives off toxic fumes if burnt or heated so don't sniff the exhaust.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Take the motorcycle.

Not sure I'd do it on the suggestion of a grease monkey without seeing some science behind it.

What's it going to do to the oil composition?

Glycol gives off toxic fumes if burnt or heated so don't sniff the exhaust.

thanks. coolant level is steady. and blackstone report came back good with no coolant and no metals after buying it.
no oil leaking.
i’m guessing it is just the seals unless the PCV valve magically helps a lot.
but i am certainly no genius with this stuff...

 

[inkpot]

Brake fluid or any other flavor of Snake Oil will do very little, if any, to reduce oil consumption due to worn valve seals. The seals have cracks and chips in them due to age and wear and the only significant fix is REPLACEMENT. I have tried a variety of snake oils over the last 60 years or so and I have seen little to no benefit from any of them. Can you put the bike IN the pickup? How far cross country? 500, 1500 miles?

 

[mudgudgeon]

coolant level is steady.

So in case you're not aware, brake fluid is basically glycol with is own blend of 11 herbs and spices.

If you're adding 5-10% brake fluid to your sump and burning 3 quarts of oil per 10k miles, you're burning a significant amount of glycol IMO

 

[old87yota]

Don't mix fluids that are not designed to be mixed!

 

[shocktower]

Wow that is some BS, never let that dude touch your rig That is so ridiculous, like using 3n1 oil as a lubricant for a high quality machine . @nukegoat as normal you nailed it but I have a question for you where the hell, do people pull these idea from, I guess people have no clue

 

[inkpot]

Well. A long, long, time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, rubber products were made from tree juice, not crude oil like here and now. So MAYBE brake fluid made it swell up. Back then. Back there?

 

[nukegoat]

Wow that is some BS, never let that dude touch your rig That is so ridiculous, like using 3n1 oil as a lubricant for a high quality machine . @nukegoat as normal you nailed it but I have a question for you where the hell, do people pull these idea from, I guess people have no clue

Same thing that drives homeopathy and other 'alternative' medicines, I think

 

[BILT4ME]

Do you believe EVERYTHING you read on the internet?

**** no, don't put brake fluid in your engine.

And, it's OIL that makes BRAKE seals swell, not the other way around.

Find this dumbass at the shop and Kick him in the nuts.

****in idiots!