Berlina 2 litre brakes

[mickl]

Hello there
I am a new chum to alfas and have a 2 litre Berlina in many pieces in my shed at the moment. I hope I can get it together by Christmas but it seems like a big job.
I have just had the master cylinder under the drivers side floor serviced and the rear calipers have been resleeved etc and they are all back on the vehicle now.
I haven`t investigated the two vac boosters at this stage but I hope they are both Ok after reading some of the other reports on this forum about the cost of repairing them!
The question I have is "what type of brake fluid should I put back in?"
I checked the owners manual and my workshop repair manual and neither really answered this question other than to suggest using a couple of particular brands which I can`t seem to get locally. I have purchased 1 litre of Repco super dot 4 fluid which is their highest spec fluid. Is it the one to use?
Also, I am thinking the lines could well have some old gunk in them which needs cleaning out. Repco couldn`t help me with any brake line cleaner so is it Ok to run plenty of cheap brake fluid through them to clean them before loading up with the better quality and more expensive stuff?
I am sure to be on this forum seeking further advice as I progress the restoration.
Thanks in advance
Mickl

[105s alive alfa parts]

Hi Mickl,

yes use the dot 4, best thing to do befor you connect any lines up is use a air compressor to blow the lines clean with air, make sure you put a old rag over the other end or you will end up with nasty brake fluid over the paint, then you can use the cheaper fluid, but if you put in 500ml of the cheap stuff make sure you take that out plus some so you are only left with good fluid that won't brake down with the higher temps, as for the boosters, if there is any fluid coming out of the big side its normally a good indication that there stuffed, becarefull with master cylinder re-sleaving, i know a fair few people on here have had luck with it but alot of the time it dosn't work well as they dont bled out properly after as there is a small amount of air left in them that causes the system to not work well. good luck with getting it back together!

Ang

[mickl]

Thanks Ang...........Looks like I will now be undoing the lines to put some clean air through. I wish I had thought of it! Inexperience makes alot of the tasks a lot more difficult or lengthy. I think the boosters might be OK based on your description of leaks....I guess I will know when I fire her up in a couple of months time. The master was not resleeved as far as I am aware, just has seals/rubbers replaced. i will take precautions with bleeding nd hope it is successful.
No doubt lots of questions will follow in the next few months as I stumble along.
Mickl

[mickl]

Gents
having problems with bleeding. I cleaned out the lines with air then reassembled them. Cleaned out some very sloppy almost gel like sediment in the bottom of the reservoir then filled up the reservoir with new fluid. Loosened the left rear bleed valve then started to slowly pump the brake pedal.........nothing. The reservoir is not dropping so the fluid is not getting into the lines and into the master cyl under the drivers floor. Any ideas on what to do next??
Mickl

[mario-jnr]

had the same on my jnr it was coming from the twin boosters if this is the case hold on to your hat get ready to shell out close to 800 for either replace or repair i ended up getting new ones from the uk it was actually cheeper not much than repairing the old ones sorry to be the bearer of bad news but when you do bleed them you should do one side at a time ie drivers side then pasenger side not front then back hope this helps