Question about Russian military van clutch fluid. weird question i know.

[The rabbit]

Hi
Probably one of the most strangest questions to ask in this forum , but maybe because of our international members I might just get an answer.

Im after information regarding clutch fluid for russian military vehicle.

Ive been told that a product called Pistilik known also as pistili is the only type of clutch fluid , or the best for such a vehicle and can only be gotten from Estonia.

Ive also been informed of the following and why only pistili or pistilik is the only product that will do the job.

normal Dot 3 or Dot 4 fluid will eat all of the Russian rubber in the clutch system eg in the master and slave cylinders.
It is hydraulic and linked to the brakes.

Any one know about such things or can advise.

here is truck which needs fluid to move on.

Just wondering if it can be gotten from somewhere closer to home , western europe etc.

Thanks

 

[tractmec]

Hi Away

Here in Canada there are only two types of fluid which would be used in hydraulic clutch systems such as this with the possibility of a third.
The most common would be Dot 3 or Dot 4 Brake fluid which you have been told is detrimental to the seals in this truck.

The unlikely third type is called Dot 5 and is a silicone based fluid that can be used in Dot 3 Dot 4 type systems but can only be installed in a new system or in one that has been thoroughly flushed of all Dot 3 or Dot 4 residue. I find it unlikely that this is what you have based on the seal issue.

The most likely is what is used in some farm tractors with unassisted hydraulic brakes, much construction machinery and a lot of aircraft braking systems, which is an petroleum based product akin to automatic transmission fluid.

This would be the most likely. If the oil in the system is a reddish colour and oily to the touch like engine oil and does not dry the skin on your hands after wiping and does not cause paint to peel if left on a painted surface for two or three minuets then automatic transmission fluid would probably be safe.

In fact some of the master cylinder caps (they look identical to a Dot 3 master cylinder) on some tractors specify automatic transmission fluid or hydraulic gear fluid which is an oil used in farm tractor transmission and hydraulic systems nearly world wide.

I am only offering an educated guess based on 37 yrs in the agricultural repair industry and this what I have come across in the German and some Russian equipment I have worked on and seems quite common in my experience.

Hope this helps

 

[The rabbit]

Hey Thanks for this Tractmec
Have to say that what you have written does not make sense to me in any way what so ever , not knowing about vehicles of any shape or manor at all.
The situation is , is that i have told the owner of the vehicle that he has to leave my property by the end of this month. We are not conversing in any way what so ever due to a difference in the way of being , and so i have heard via a third party that he cant move his truck until he gets said clutch fluid. Very sad story.

As I have no intentions of him staying longer than the time frame I have given him , I am trying to help him leave , if indeed that is what he plans to do . He may have other plans.


Oh , Pistilik known also as pistili could not be supplied from estonoia i was told by his friendly third party person. Not my problem and does not change my decision or deadline for his vacating the premises from my side of things.

 

[domi]

I am only offering an educated guess based on 37 yrs in the agricultural repair industry and this what I have come across in the German and some Russian equipment I have worked on and seems quite common in my experience.

Tractmec! I get it now.

 

[tractmec]

From Away With The Fairy's

The situation is , is that i have told the owner of the vehicle that he has to leave my property by the end of this month. We are not conversing in any way what so ever due to a difference in the way of being , and so i have heard via a third party that he cant move his truck until he gets said clutch fluid. Very sad story.

Sorry Away. I had assumed you were asking for yourself. Sad story Hm mm! A little stalling tactic perhaps? If he is a mechanic or has access to one then researching substitute fluids might be difficult but not impossible. Unless the engineers in Russia are doing something different but in my experience I find that doubtful!

It is also possible to move vehicles such as this under there own power with a non disengaging clutch. I have several times over the past 37 yrs, loaded tractors and trucks onto trailers by starting the machine in low gear, driving it on at idle and shutting it off to stop. I have also moved vehicles several miles by the same starting stopping procedure and shifting gears without the clutch,the latter, something most truck drivers here do as standard operating procedure.

My point is, if you want it moved and he has the will to move it, a way can and will be found.

From domi

Tractmec! I get it now.

Sorry domi if I was not clear.

 

[The rabbit]

Tractmec wrote
My point is, if you want it moved and he has the will to move it, a way can and will be found.

Hey thanks for this and the information you have given me , it has taken a heavy load of my mind (If its a pun its intended) ;)

Whether its a stalling tactic I do not know. as I have no knowledge regarding the vehicle mechanical - ness side of things.
I will send some of your helpful suggestions along to him in the hope that he can use them

If not I have a friend who has a vehicle that can tow such a vehicle off the land.

Cheers.

 

[domi]

From domi

Tractmec! I get it now.

Sorry domi if I was not clear.

You were very clear, but it's just that a light went off in my cranium as far as your forum handle based on your posting: tract(or)...mech(anic)...in short 'tractmec'
I was the one not clear in what I was saying.

 

[dant]

Yes, I saw it the same way as Domi hinted, but
I wonder if 'tracmech' was intended in this way.

What's in the name, curiously? Did Domi get it right? :)

 

[tractmec]

From domi

You were very clear, but it's just that a light went off in my cranium as far as your forum handle based on your posting: tract(or)...mech(anic)...in short 'tractmec'
I was the one not clear in what I was saying.

From dant

Yes, I saw it the same way as Domi hinted, but
I wonder if 'tracmech' was intended in this way.

What's in the name, curiously? Did Domi get it right?

The light in your craniums is/are correct. The handle represents what has been paying the bills for the last 37 or soon to be 38 yrs. The last 20 of them have been self employed.

tractmec is short for Tractor Mechanic! The only reason the "h" is missing is because when I first started using the name on the web,{early 1999} the handle tractmech was taken so i just shortened it by removing the "h" and the web form accepted it and I have been using the name ever since. Embarrassingly, I misspelled the word Mechanical without the "h" when I painted the logo on the doors of my first service truck. Took a lot of ribbing for that one! It appeared as Mecanical so using tractmec seemed to fit. I Never changed it until I totaled that truck in a rollover in 1996.

If you see the handle "tractmec" any where on the web it is most likely me.

 

[Johnno]

It uses Dot 4, specs here (if it's a Gaz 66)

http://www.gaz66.co.uk/Service.html

 

[tractmec]

From Johnno

It uses Dot 4, specs here (if it's a Gaz 66)

http://www.gaz66.co.uk/Service.html

Thanks Johnno. Although that service sheet does not specifically state Dot4 for the clutch hydraulics, it does say Dot4 for the brakes and if the clutch and the brakes share a common fluid reservoir which Away's post suggested, then it would have to be Dot 3or4 brake fluid.

From Away

It is hydraulic and linked to the brakes.

The sheet specifies areoshell fluid which is aircraft hydraulic oil or Tellus oil, which is a hydraulic fluid for low temperatures, in the steering which is a hydraulic gear type fluid used here in North America and many other brands are compatible with it.
It would be the second most likely fluid in the clutch hydraulics if they are separate systems as I posted in my first reply.

I saw nothing else in that spec sheet or in the pictures at Johnno's link which would not be found in any vehicle produced here in North America in the last 50 years. In fact according to the history at the above link the company was started as a joint venture between the USSR and Ford Motor Company in the 1920's

In a quick and dirty search on the web between Johnno and I we found enough service and parts info including links to buy parts for this truck, if it is a Gaz66, to have gotten it moving long ago

Bottom Line!! In my opinion! Away's reluctant truck owner is stalling!!