[Scoop Burt]

I did many searches and haven't been able to find and answer to the questions what's the difference and can you use regular mineral Oil in a pinch.

I have found a couple of post on other boards that say there is a difference in the viscosity. Other than that the other forum said it will not ruin your seals since it is the same type of fluid.

Where as Brake Fluid is a highly corrosive fluid.

FYI for those that don't know or understand. Most fluids require different kinds of seals specific for there type.

What I have done.

I have a 2004 Louise FR. My LBSs are all out of Magura Blood and say it's could take 2 weeks to get some in. I don't have that kinda time. I wanta ride. I'm also in the market for some new brakes (just because) The Magura Louise FR has been a Great brake and has tons of stopping power. I'm just looking around for something else to play with

I went and bought regular Mineral from the Pharmacy at my local Grocery store and have done a through flush on my braking system.

I will place several updates from time to time to let people know how everything is holding up.

to include if there is a seal failure because of this type of fluid.

If anyone has any questions or wants to check up and see how it's going for me feel free to Email me I will get back with you asap

[email protected]

Other than that after this weekend I will make my first post. About preformance

Later I'm off to ride

Scoop Burt

P.S. The brake has never leaked. I had to bleed the system because I crashed and knocked the cap lose. I have put over 4,000 miles on these brakes and I'm only on my 3rd set of pads. This brake has been incredible.

 

[Brianjonesphoto]

On my old hs22's I have used baby oil and 5wt shock oil in a pinch. Both worked but there each are a little thicker.

 

[Scoop Burt]

update 4/30/05

Well the mineral oil from the pharmacy works fine. Actually I can't really tell the difference in braking quality from regular mineral oil compared to Magura blood.

However, Regualr Mineral Oil is much thicker than Magura Blood and the air bubbles move through the lines very slowly.

Honestly, it was a real pain in the butt to get all the air out. I wouldn't recommend this unless you are in a pinch, which I was. I wanted to ride and no LBS had Magura Blood Available.

We'll See what I do Monday...

Bottom Line It works fine no issues about performance Only the amount of time it took to bleed. I would tap on the lines and wait, tap and wait, tap and wait. If you have no patients don't even try this. This worked for me. However, because I wasn't thinking about the fluid being so much thicker than the regular Magura Blood it took me a bit to get the kinks out. If you don't understand what I'm talking about shake up a bottle of mineral oil at the pharmacy next time you are there. now flip it upside down and watch how long it takes for all the bubbles to get the the other side of the bottle. Now do the same with Magura Blood.

If you need to do this, Follow the Magura instructions as they are written.

General Info
http://www.execulink.com/~dtierney/wmc/Magura/geninfo.htm

All the info about Magura Brakes you could want (Including Braking info Near bottom)
http://www.execulink.com/~dtierney/wmc/Magura/SelfAdjDisc.htm

Step 6 in the directions above is very important. I had a soft lever until I did it this way because the viscosity of the regular mineral oil is so high.

change to step 6
>>> While you are pushing the fluid up from the bottom you need to tap the caliper and line all the way up. Start at the bottom and move to the top. After you have pushed 20-30cc (at least) up to the top stop and weight. Tap the line from bottom to top several times for the next 10 or 15 minutes. This fuild is thick and the bubbles travel slowly. Remember you are doing this because you can get the right stuff and want to ride. (Magura Blood is much thinner) Yes this part is a pain in the but but it works.

After you have tapped and waited for the bubbles to rise Now push another 30cc (at least) from the bottom to the top.<<<

Now move on to the rest of the regular steps. DO NOT let the upper resivoir get to low. If you do you need to push fluid back up to the top again and start step 7 over again. If you pushed to much down you may need to do step 6 over again.

This works if you are in a pinch.

If you have any questions feel free to email me. I will update this if I try any other types of fluid. Other fluid types are listed on the websites I have included above. They are Magura Websites

Take your time and good luck if you need this info. I did and couldn't find it

 

[Brakemeister]

does it smell good ?

maybe the only reason to use mineral oil instead of brake specific oil ( magura or shimano)

In a real pinch .. I mean real pinch... not just as an excuse not to pay the next day overnight freight charge ,,, but a real vacation breaker .. one can use shock oil 5 weight.

Mineral oil.........nah way to heavy and comes in way to many viscosities , wich nobody knows ...but usually it smells pretty nice... or was that baby oil ?

brakemeister

 

[lebikerboy]

Most pharmacies carry 2 weights of mineral oil, light and heavy. Light is close to magura/shimano fluid. Some trials friends of mine use paedalight (spelling) which is a super light mineral oil designed for use with infants. Seems to work quite well in their hydraulic brakes and comes in a variety of flavors, grape, cherry etc.

does it smell good ?

maybe the only reason to use mineral oil instead of brake specific oil ( magura or shimano)

In a real pinch .. I mean real pinch... not just as an excuse not to pay the next day overnight freight charge ,,, but a real vacation breaker .. one can use shock oil 5 weight.

Mineral oil.........nah way to heavy and comes in way to many viscosities , wich nobody knows ...but usually it smells pretty nice... or was that baby oil ?

brakemeister

 

[Scoop Burt]

Well the regualr mineral Oil worked just fine with the exception that It was a real pain in the a$$ to get the bubbles out. It's so thick that it takes the bubbles a long time to get to the top. and Nextday Frieght doesn't work on Friday... At trip to the local Pharmacy and 2 bucks was fine for me. Would I do it again? If I needed to...

 

[Hecubus]

My biggest worry about doing so would be the boiling point of the fluid. Shimano claims their oil has some additives to increase the boiling point of the fluid and I would imagine so does Magura. The only way to test this out would be to, well, go on a really nasty downhill ond heat them up as much as possible. Not sure I'd like to be the one to test that out. I would not use baby oil either, just plain mineral oil since its anyones guess how the scent additive in baby oil reacts to the seals in the long term or what the effect on the boiling point might be. The viscosity will not really affect the actual performance of the brake. What it can change is the lever engagement point or pad retraction if its too thick. Magura had an issue with some brakes a few years ago when they shipped the wrong viscosity oil on them. Riders complained the lever engagement was very inconsistant when actuating the lever very fast or successively. When it comes down to it even filling them with water will work. I just wouldn't get them too hot...

 

[liatdraH]

You might try a drive to the airport

Airplanes use a mineral based hydraulic fluid, MIL-5606, it works well for airplane brakes and other systems, it's a lot thinner than drug store mineral oil, and it's even red! I don't know how it really differs from Magura Blood, but I would bet it's close, if not the same thing.

 

[Pat T.]

I have used both water and mineral oil in my HS-33's, the water worked better for an emergency. The mineral oil was a pain to bleed, and an even bigger pain to get out of the system, that was with larger diameter lines. I would not even consider using mineral oil in my disc brakes, you don't know how that stuff will expand with heat and it could lock up your brake without you wanting it to.

 

[Pat T.]

LOL..... just make sure you don't pick up some Skydrol, that would ruin your brakes and everything else close to them.

 

[Scoop Burt]

reply

I did what I did because I couldn't get any Magura blood and wanted to ride.

I have posted what I have because the first thing I did was a search of these forums and after looking through over 1000 posts. (for those that like to argue. I did 2 searchs with different words. each search on MTBR returns a max of 500 post. Mostly I read the subject line and if it look promising read the post.)

Anyway after looking at 1000 post I found nothing that related to this topic. So I started a thread. I advocate the use of the products that are supplied for use with your each and individual breaking system. I'm simple offering the information that I have about what I have done. My intent is to try one other replacement fluid after seeing what happens to this in the next week or so, then return to the use of Magura blood.

I'm getting new brakes next month so if this doesn't work I'm not out anything and at least others will have the info I was looking for.

Enjoy and please post your comments and experiences.

Also the above post include the websites where I got my info "Magura" Sites I might add.

 

[Pat T.]

Also the above post include the websites where I got my info "Magura" Sites I might add.

Yea I know, I helped write a small portion of it, I also helped write some of the brake FAQ on this page, neither of those site will tell you to put mineral oil in your disc brakes. The reason I stated what I did was because it takes less fluid movement/volume to move the pads on a disc brake. If you take a thicker fluid and put it into your system you can run into two problems. First your pads may not retract quick enough, two your fluid may expand too much for the pads to retract at all. The first problem compounds the second. Your brakes may be fine, and they are your brakes so you can do with them whatever you wish. Personally I would rather not ride than to take the risk, actually that's not true I would just put my other brakes on.

 

[Warp]

I'm also in the market for some new brakes (just because) The Magura Louise FR has been a Great brake and has tons of stopping power. I'm just looking around for something else to play with
[email protected]

P.S. The brake has never leaked. I had to bleed the system because I crashed and knocked the cap lose. I have put over 4,000 miles on these brakes and I'm only on my 3rd set of pads. This brake has been incredible.

Scoop... dude, May you want to get rid of your Louises, you'd rather sent them to me instead of trashing them...

 

[Zomby Woof (MCM700)]

Not that I have any reason to substitute....

a different oil for the correct mineral oil but, I was just wondering if Marvel Mystery Oil may be a good substitute. It looks just like the Magura Blood and is not too viscous. Plus it seems to be a pure oil without any additives.

I always used it when I raced R/C gas cars to protect the engine. For that it just meant running the fuel dry (the methanol will eat the aluminum) and running Marvel Mystery into it to coat the parts.

 

[Scoop Burt]

Another different oil

Decided to try something different. I was talking to a guy at the LBS and he said he had heard of people using Sewing machine oil in a pinch. So I thought I would check it out.

Relatively cheap. 3 bucks for 4 oz 120ml. I ending up pushing it all through the calipers and the first 2 time I did it I went back and forth several times trying to get as much of the regular Pharmacy Mineral oil out.

Quick recap. I did get a reply from Magura saying that I could use regular mineral in a pinch but it would do all the things that I had all ready discover.

Anyway back to the sewing machine oil. Much thinner. It was much easier to bleed the brakes and get the bubbles out. It feels just as good as the brakes did originally. My only concern is I don't think it can handle the heat. I have been out 4 times off road and the feeling of the lever seems to change from time to time... I'm not sure if there a small bubble in there or if the fluid is heating up. I'm going to bleed them one more time and this weekend I'm heading out to a trail with some much bigger and longer hills. I'll report back what I have found.

this information is for you if your in a pinch. Magura blood isn't that much but if the LBS doesn't have it it may as well be a 1000 bucks and 1000 miles away. Always buy the big bottle.

Marvel mystery oil is great for alot of things. I have used it for the past 12 years and my great-grandfather has used it for at least 50 years. Great Stuff. But it does have at least one additive "Peppermint" Thats why it smells so good. I'm NOT sure I would try M.M. More research needed.

 

[Warp]

Decided to try something different. I was talking to a guy at the LBS and he said he had heard of people using Sewing machine oil in a pinch. So I thought I would check it out.

Relatively cheap. 3 bucks for 4 oz 120ml. I ending up pushing it all through the calipers and the first 2 time I did it I went back and forth several times trying to get as much of the regular Pharmacy Mineral oil out.

Quick recap. I did get a reply from Magura saying that I could use regular mineral in a pinch but it would do all the things that I had all ready discover.

Anyway back to the sewing machine oil. Much thinner. It was much easier to bleed the brakes and get the bubbles out. It feels just as good as the brakes did originally. My only concern is I don't think it can handle the heat. I have been out 4 times off road and the feeling of the lever seems to change from time to time... I'm not sure if there a small bubble in there or if the fluid is heating up. I'm going to bleed them one more time and this weekend I'm heading out to a trail with some much bigger and longer hills. I'll report back what I have found.

this information is for you if your in a pinch. Magura blood isn't that much but if the LBS doesn't have it it may as well be a 1000 bucks and 1000 miles away. Always buy the big bottle.

Marvel mystery oil is great for alot of things. I have used it for the past 12 years and my great-grandfather has used it for at least 50 years. Great Stuff. But it does have at least one additive "Peppermint" Thats why it smells so good. I'm NOT sure I would try M.M. More research needed.

Scoop, thanks for the report in the first place. But to be realistic, Maggies are so reliable and need so little maintenance, that I find it hard to believe that you really need to have to find out another substitue for long term.

Fork oil should be my pick if I would be in that situation. At least Magura is honest about saying it's a 10wt oil and you can use water in a pinch as opposed to Shimano who will always say their thing its the 8th marvel and can't be got from anyone else but them.

 

[Hecubus]

At least Magura is honest about saying it's a 10wt oil and you can use water in a pinch as opposed to Shimano who will always say their thing its the 8th marvel and can't be got from anyone else but them.

They didn't asy you could use water (right?)! Water will work except that it will boil at about 1/4 of the temp the oil will. Did they actually say its 10w fluid? I thought it was more like 2.5. Shimano's oil is definately lighter than that as far as I can tell.
Oh, and their oil is actually 7th on the list of marvel, not 8. That special mystery pink ingredient is actually magic . I do understand why shimano wouldn't officially ever want you to use any generic mineral oil. There are too many possible viscosities, ingredients and qualities and if it causes problems, in the end would most likely reflect as a problem in their product if anything goes wrong. That and they can just sell the magic ingredient for $10 for a 2oz bottle. Realistically you can probably use just about any fluid in there and it will appear to work fine. I'm sure you could fill them with orange juice and they would work You have to test it extendedly, on many different setups and to extremes to see what problems arise.

 

[Warp]

They didn't asy you could use water (right?)! Water will work except that it will boil at about 1/4 of the temp the oil will.

It's mentioned on their website somewhere...
Thanks for the insight... I didn't know water boils at 212F while oil is higher...

Did they actually say its 10w fluid? I thought it was more like 2.5. Shimano's oil is definately lighter than that as far as I can tell.

Yes, it's mentioned too.

Oh, and their oil is actually 7th on the list of marvel, not 8. That special mystery pink ingredient is actually magic . I do understand why shimano wouldn't officially ever want you to use any generic mineral oil. There are too many possible viscosities, ingredients and qualities and if it causes problems, in the end would most likely reflect as a problem in their product if anything goes wrong. That and they can just sell the magic ingredient for $10 for a 2oz bottle.

Magura covers their arse too in a similar way. They're just a bit more honest about their oil.

Realistically you can probably use just about any fluid in there and it will appear to work fine. I'm sure you could fill them with orange juice and they would work You have to test it extendedly, on many different setups and to extremes to see what problems arise.

Orange juice actually is water based so it will boil close to 212F like water and leave sticky residues due to the sugar contained in it....

Why fix it when it's not broken?? Shimano and Magura oils work. Just get a big bottle from time to time and that's it.

Now... if the stuff is overpriced, I ain't gonna argue. It is expensive for being just brake oil.

 

[MTBeing]

Old thread revival, I know, but I had a similar question for my Magura MT-S brakes. Anyway, found this article which may clarify some stuff.

Tech Speak: Brake Fluid Break Down & Implications for Road Disc

 

[Jman0000]

I've tried both, Mineral oil from the pharmacy and Magura blood. plain mineral oil was a real pain to bleed with because it is so much thicker than the Magura. I like the the thinner Magura oil because it bleeds easier. The other thin oils mentioned here are probably OK too because I think viscosity is the key.