gti_al 1 Posted October 3, 2006 Last night i kinda lost all brakes, and when i checked the reservoir it was very empty. As there are no leaks showing up i'm not entire sure where to start. What are the chances that it is being sucked through the inlet? Would it suck so much through so quickly if the master cylinder suddenly died? I'm going to go and look for leaks again, but i'm just wondering about the brake booster as i don't want to do anything until i get my head around how it works... I'll probably send the car to a mechanic, but i wouldn't mind trying to find the problem first. Thanks guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim21070 2 Posted October 3, 2006 Yep, very possible. I once had a V***o that lost its brake fluid into the servo. The servo was full to the brim and it will hold a lot of fluid. That was caused by Master Cylinder seals failing. Strangely as long as the fluid was kept topped up there was no effect on the brakes. I'd go straight for a new Master Clyinder... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ledders 1 Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) I agree the master cylinder, but if in dought get it checked not worth wasting your car/cash on a might be fix.. I say send it to a pro!! Edited October 3, 2006 by ledders Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davemar 16 Posted October 3, 2006 Might still be worth checking the various unions around the brake pipes, such as the rear compensators. There might be a bit a of leak which gets blown or washed away while the car is moving. I had a slight ooze from the union with a compensator and had to top the resevoir up every couple of weeks a little. But eventually it stopped losing fluid, so probably the tiny leak sealed itself up through rust or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted October 3, 2006 A new master cylinder is probably a good move - thanks for the advice guys. I could send it to a pro, but by the time they find anything and fix it i could have repaced everything myself for the same money. Leaks are hard to find as the brake fluid is still very clean from when i replaced the front hoses 1000kms ago, but i'll check out the rears more closely tomorrow. (even though i was careful with the pedal stroke while bleeding them i probably screwed it up and killed the master cylinder) As i plan on getting 307/306 brakes soon, would it be an idea to fit a different master cylinder? (Currently it is running whatever is standard for a Phase 1 with drums) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bonzai 2 Posted October 3, 2006 ive just had similar symptoms myself, ive put perhaps a half pint of brake fluid into the reservoir in 2 days and ive noticed teh brake pedal travel can be quite extreme when stopped (until now the brakes are working alright though) In honesty i havent checked for leaks yet i get the feeling that will be quite an awkward job. Is there any sure fire way of telling the MC is buggered? GTI_Al, for what its worth, the 306 brakes do need a different MC, the 307 brakes dont, but if youre gonna change it anyway its as good a time as any time change it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) That is interesting that the 307 setup doesn't need a different M/c... i'll ring some places tomorrow and see which setup will work out cheapest. And i would have a look at yours if it is playing up - it was quite alarming when the pedal went to the carpet... It would have been even more alarming if it had done it 24 hours earlier while i was in traffic though. Edited October 3, 2006 by gti_al Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bonzai 2 Posted October 4, 2006 ive traced mine to a leak where the f/n/s flexi hose meets the copper union. Bugger. but atleast its not the MC i guess Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dream Weaver 2 Posted October 4, 2006 A new MC is only £25 so worth doing anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
205007 12 Posted October 4, 2006 not read this post properly but if you have 1600 rear beam the most likley cause is rear cylinders leaking into the drum ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted October 5, 2006 not read this post properly but if you have 1600 rear beam the most likley cause is rear cylinders leaking into the drum ?? That sound interesting... I haven't had time to look at it yet, but that sounds very possible. My back brakes have been behaving very strangely so i'll have a look at that. What is the easiest way to inspect the rear cylinders? I have never looked at drums before... (i will have a search, but any pointers are appreciated) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BrainFluid Posted October 5, 2006 My best advise would be to buy a second hand haynes manual or the australian equivalent it tells you how do do all sorts of thing at the flick of a page... It will lie to you every now and then but you can always ask on here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted October 5, 2006 (edited) My best advise would be to buy a second hand haynes manual or the australian equivalent it tells you how do do all sorts of thing at the flick of a page... It will lie to you every now and then but you can always ask on here. Thanks mate, but my car would have been burned long ago without my haynes... I usually ask for pointers as well though, as there often seems to be a better way to do things. And i have just found some 307 calipers, (for 283mm disks) so i may as well get a MC to match. I just did a search, and it looks like 22mm is the way to go. (a lot of wading was required to get that though - is anyone willing to back it up?) Edited October 5, 2006 by gti_al Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted October 5, 2006 Ok, i just decided that i wasn't actually doing the assigment i was pretending to be busy with, so i pulled the MC out... guess what the servo was full of. lol I am so slack - that took about 5 minutes to do! So will a 405mi16 cylinder be good for the 307 brakes? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted October 12, 2006 I finally got around to fixing this today... I got all the brake fluid out of the servo, fitted a new MC and went to bleed everything, but strange things are going on. I've got a weird gurgling noise when i press the pedal, and it looks like there is brake fluid leaking down the inside of teh bulkhead. Does this mean that the servo is dead as well? Or is this happening just because it has been full of brake fluid for a week and a half? Any pointers appreciated! Alistair Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim21070 2 Posted October 12, 2006 I've got a weird gurgling noise when i press the pedal, and it looks like there is brake fluid leaking down the inside of teh bulkhead. Does this mean that the servo is dead as well? Or is this happening just because it has been full of brake fluid for a week and a half? Any pointers appreciated! Alistair If the brakes bled OK and you now have a nice hard pedal, then your diagnosis is correct. It is very hard to get all the fluid out of the servo and it'll gurgle around a treat! I used a scrap SU electric fuel pump to suck the servo out last time it happened to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted October 12, 2006 If the brakes bled OK and you now have a nice hard pedal, then your diagnosis is correct. It is very hard to get all the fluid out of the servo and it'll gurgle around a treat! I used a scrap SU electric fuel pump to suck the servo out last time it happened to me. I actually picked up a syringe which came with the perfect length bit of tube to get the fluid out... I'll just bleed everything and see how it feels. A fuel pump is a good idea though - much less mucking around and dripping of brake fluid all over everything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
