Small seepage of brake fluid.

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Arya2.0S
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Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Just noticed this today, it seems to have accumulated and dripped down onto the chassis rail and melted the paint on there too.

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Brakes work absolutely fine however. Any idea what could be causing this? Master cylinder was new only a few years ago.

When you move the reservoir you can see a small bubble appear around one of the seals, maybe this is where its coming from and over time enough builds up that it can drip down and work its way onto the chassis rail?
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Paul G »

I'm afraid to tell you that that's coming out of the master cylinder me thinks.

If the master cylinder isn't that old you may get away with a seal kit to repair the problem.

edit;- make sure the fluid level is OK and you won't have to panic about doing it straight away but obviously do get it done asap.

Oh the joys of classic cars!

Paul.
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Arya2.0S
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Paul G wrote:I'm afraid to tell you that that's coming out of the master cylinder me thinks.

If the master cylinder isn't that old you may get away with a seal kit to repair the problem.

edit;- make sure the fluid level is OK and you won't have to panic about doing it straight away but obviously do get it done asap.

Oh the joys of classic cars!

Paul.
Fluid did need topping up, but considering it hasnt been done since we last bled the brakes (around 3 and a half years ago now) i dont think thats too bad.

Is this the right kit?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brake-Master- ... SweW5VJSLw

So you dont think its servo related?

How involved is a master cylinder rebuild? Is it something that I could possibly do myself or does it require specialist tools i.e. a mechanic to do it? ( aka more expense, lol)
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Peter-S »

Arya2.0S wrote:[
So you dont think its servo related?
It will be fluid leaking past the final seal out of the back of the cylinder, nothing to do with the servo. It just runs down the servo due to gravity.

Fitting seal kits is easily a diy job, no special tools required but I think pinto master cylinders are fairly cheap and you might check the cost of a cylinder against a repair kit which has no guarantee of success before going that route.
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Arya2.0S
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Peter-S wrote:
Arya2.0S wrote:[
So you dont think its servo related?
It will be fluid leaking past the final seal out of the back of the cylinder, nothing to do with the servo. It just runs down the servo due to gravity.

Fitting seal kits is easily a diy job, no special tools required but I think pinto master cylinders are fairly cheap and you might check the cost of a cylinder against a repair kit which has no guarantee of success before going that route.
Ok, many thanks! I will look into it and try and get it done ASAP.
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by andyd »

My 3.0 Ghia had an identical leak, I fitted a new Master Cylinder.
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arnoldhar »

There are three places that fluid can leak from and show the same dribble on the servo. Personally I would try the the first and second as both can be done with out removal of the master cylinder .

If the reservoir is slightly over filled , looked at the side and there is a line, when you go around a corner the fluid rolls and you get a drip out of the pin hole for air it then drips down the cylinder to the servo

Next the rubbers that hold the reservoir to the cylinder, as you have said that you can see an air bubble when you move it. Again this is quite an easy job, if you get a kids medicine syringe suck out the fluid in the reservoir then you can pull it off swap out the rubbers replace the reservoir and refill , do not touch the pedal doing this and the brakes will not need bleeding.

Finally if that doesn't fix the issue it's a cylinder rebuild or replacement, drain the system of fluid, remove the three brake lines, undo the two m10 nuts 17mm spanner that hold it to the servo and if it is the cylinder you should see dampness on the rear of the cylinder. Then of course you need a total fluid change.

Hopefully it's the second of the tasks as you did see a bubble and that's a very straight forward job plus you say you pedal is good as normally if it's the cylinder the pedal would slowly drop.
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

You're lucky that the MC for your car is still available to buy new.
I would be tempted to buy a replacement and, for what it costs, I would also buy a rebuild kit for your curent one. You can then rebuild your MC at you leisure. Not only will you be broadening your range of skills, you will also have a good MC on the shelf ready for future use.

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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Paul G »

It may be the right kit and Bigg Red is a well known brake expert company - i got my seals from there.

Ford used several makes of master cylinder over the years and you will find the make stamped on the side of the casing;- mine was a Girling but they could be ATE or Lucas. Probably best to find out which it is then contact Bigg Red to get the right kit direct from them.

As for fitting the kit, basically straightforward but you will need circlip pliers and a small (2 or 3 mm) allen key to undo a spring retainer inside the cylinder. That is the PITA bit of the job and can be tricky. Follow your workshop manual and it's not too bad.

Here is a link to Bigg Red site with the Lucas kit which I think is the same as the Girling.

http://www.biggred.co.uk/caliper-repair-kit-2

Re the servo, when the cylinder is off I'd give it a clean up and some paint to stop it rusting where the fluid has stripped the paint.

Other people are right in saying fit a new cylinder, it's best practise if you can afford it.
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Arnoldhar wrote:There are three places that fluid can leak from and show the same dribble on the servo. Personally I would try the the first and second as both can be done with out removal of the master cylinder .

If the reservoir is slightly over filled , looked at the side and there is a line, when you go around a corner the fluid rolls and you get a drip out of the pin hole for air it then drips down the cylinder to the servo

Next the rubbers that hold the reservoir to the cylinder, as you have said that you can see an air bubble when you move it. Again this is quite an easy job, if you get a kids medicine syringe suck out the fluid in the reservoir then you can pull it off swap out the rubbers replace the reservoir and refill , do not touch the pedal doing this and the brakes will not need bleeding.

Finally if that doesn't fix the issue it's a cylinder rebuild or replacement, drain the system of fluid, remove the three brake lines, undo the two m10 nuts 17mm spanner that hold it to the servo and if it is the cylinder you should see dampness on the rear of the cylinder. Then of course you need a total fluid change.

Hopefully it's the second of the tasks as you did see a bubble and that's a very straight forward job plus you say you pedal is good as normally if it's the cylinder the pedal would slowly drop.
Awesome info! I will definitely try the second idea first and go from there! I wasn't aware they could be changed separately from everything else so thanks!
Andrew 2.8i wrote:You're lucky that the MC for your car is still available to buy new.
I would be tempted to buy a replacement and, for what it costs, I would also buy a rebuild kit for your curent one. You can then rebuild your MC at you leisure. Not only will you be broadening your range of skills, you will also have a good MC on the shelf ready for future use.

Andrew.
Hmm, good idea though a tad on the expensive side (new MC is over £50+rebuild kit which around £15 if im looking at the correct one), though i am very tempted as i do enjoy learning new skills and would be great to have a back up.

We'll see how things go after replacing the reservoir rubbers first, that might even be the issue. Come to think of it there is strong evidence to back it up because there seems to be dirt stuck onto the areas under the reservoir which suggests its leaking out (getting dirty/capturing engine bay dirt) and running down the MC and onto the servo and then eventually onto the chassis rail.
Plus theres the whole bubble evidence as well.
Paul G wrote:It may be the right kit and Bigg Red is a well known brake expert company - i got my seals from there.

Ford used several makes of master cylinder over the years and you will find the make stamped on the side of the casing;- mine was a Girling but they could be ATE or Lucas. Probably best to find out which it is then contact Bigg Red to get the right kit direct from them.

As for fitting the kit, basically straightforward but you will need circlip pliers and a small (2 or 3 mm) allen key to undo a spring retainer inside the cylinder. That is the PITA bit of the job and can be tricky. Follow your workshop manual and it's not too bad.

Here is a link to Bigg Red site with the Lucas kit which I think is the same as the Girling.

http://www.biggred.co.uk/caliper-repair-kit-2

Re the servo, when the cylinder is off I'd give it a clean up and some paint to stop it rusting where the fluid has stripped the paint.

Other people are right in saying fit a new cylinder, it's best practise if you can afford it.
Many thanks for the link and info.

I can easily get this sorted now thanks to all your help and suggestions. Cheers!
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arnoldhar »

You have a PM
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arnoldhar »

You have a PM
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by nigecapri »

If you decide to fit the seal kit then before removing any seals from the plunger take a few photos of it, then take photos of them laid out the correct way round.

The servo fastenings are a pita to get a spanner on. When mine was last off I cut slots in the worst of them so that I don't need to completely undo them next time - just loosen a bit & slide sideways. Bone idle, me ;)
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Huge thanks to Arnoldhar! He hooked me up with a brand new master cylinder for free! Just literally gave it to me! What a diamond!

Thanks again dude! Great to meet you.
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by andyd »

Arya2.0S wrote:Huge thanks to Arnoldhar! He hooked me up with a brand new master cylinder for free! Just literally gave it to me! What a diamond!

Thanks again dude! Great to meet you.
Well done! It's not all about making money is it :D
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by pbar »

There are some tremendous people on this site, it's great to hear stuff like that :)
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by Arnoldhar »

Your welcome Arya, sorry that I didn't have longer to talk, needed to get off to my meeting, I expect our paths will cross again in the near future. Hope you can now solve your small leak, as I said it looks to me to be the mounting rubbers of the reservoir, either way you now have what you need to fix it.
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Re: Small seepage of brake fluid.

Post by rshyndy »

Arnoldhar = LEGEND
I KNOW MY CAR IS OLDER THAN ME......WHATS YOUR POINT???
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