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Mil H-5606A, H or G Brake Fluid?

Champ

Champ

Well Known Member
I was helping a friend bleed the brakes on his Aztec today. He ran short of the 5606G he had left from an old can. I had some 5606H & 5606A (plastic screw tops) ordered from ACS for the RV. Both ACS orders were for 5606A but on the older one they sent me 5606H.

Lots of threads/posts on VAF with debate on what?s the best brake fluid to use - don?t want to restart that here. But I am curious as to the difference between A, H, & G. Near as I can tell H & G are classified as ?super clean? with no water content and one google reference indicated A was obsolete (although ACS still handle it).

Anyway, can anyone lend more clarity to the differences? Which if any are more appropriate to use in an RV with standard Cleveland 30-9 brakes.
 
Revision Number

Champ said:
I was helping a friend bleed the brakes on his Aztec today. He ran short of the 5606G he had left from an old can. I had some 5606H & 5606A (plastic screw tops) ordered from ACS for the RV. Both ACS orders were for 5606A but on the older one they sent me 5606H.

Lots of threads/posts on VAF with debate on what?s the best brake fluid to use - don?t want to restart that here. But I am curious as to the difference between A, H, & G. Near as I can tell H & G are classified as ?super clean? with no water content and one google reference indicated A was obsolete (although ACS still handle it).

Anyway, can anyone lend more clarity to the differences? Which if any are more appropriate to use in an RV with standard Cleveland 30-9 brakes.
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The suffix (A, G, H) just represents the revision of the Mil-spec that the fluid was made to. Rev H. is the most recent version and has been out since 2002 (actual Mil-PRF-5606 is technically an inactive spec. but it's still used for civilian products). There is probably not much difference in the chemical properties of the various revisions of the fluid, but A and G stuff is likely very old. If it isn't in sealed containers, I definitely wouldn't use it.

My opinion is to forget the 5606 and use MIL-PRF-83282 (Royco 782). It's 100% compatible with 5606 but has a much higher flash point meaning it's less likely to result in a brake fire if you have a caliper O-Ring failure.

Skylor
 
Mixing 5606 and MIL-PRF-83282D

Question for everyone. My O-ring went out on my right brake so I replaced both sides with vitrile ones and did the brake pads while I had the calipers off. My question, is 5606 compatible and mixable with MIL-PRF-83282D. In other words can I just drain my brake system of the 5606 and then refill it with 83282 without flushing the system or is there a process to clean out the 5606 then refill with 83282?

Thanks in advance,
Dan
 
dbegeman said:
Question for everyone. My O-ring went out on my right brake so I replaced both sides with vitrile ones and did the brake pads while I had the calipers off. My question, is 5606 compatible and mixable with MIL-PRF-83282D. In other words can I just drain my brake system of the 5606 and then refill it with 83282 without flushing the system or is there a process to clean out the 5606 then refill with 83282?

Thanks in advance,
Dan
Click to expand...

Shell says you can drain the 5606 and refill with 83282, or just begin servicing with 83282. Completely miscible and compatible. See the third slide (page 6.4) here:

https://www.shell.com/business-cust...4fd5bff842b968/aeroshell-book-6hydraulics.pdf
 
I'd get rid of the 5606 and replace with 83282 just to get the higher flash point.

I'm not sure why 5606 is still being used... I had a line break and fluid was misting on top of a turbo and exhaust. I don't know how we didn't turn into a ball of fire.
 
Paul Thomas said:
I'd get rid of the 5606 and replace with 83282 just to get the higher flash point.

I'm not sure why 5606 is still being used...
Click to expand...

IIRC, lower viscosity at low temperatures, valuable in some jet hydraulic applications.
 
Assuming the carpet is removable, remove the carpet for cleaning. For synthetic carpet, I would use naptha first, then follow up with a good grease cutting soap and water. The naptha will get out the majority, and the soap and water the rest. Possible you could have some red staining if it is a light color. If the carpet is wool, use woolite, rinse and repeat until it is gone.

When I was a young mech, a hydraulic system failure doused me head to toe with 5606. It 3 or 4 wash and repeats in a shower to get it off. I swore I could smell it for days.
 
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