Folks,
I'm going to start by being honest. I'm a mechanic. And sometimes, I know it's broken but I know what's involved with fixing the problem so I put it off as long as possible until it leaves me stranded. Long story short, I can be an idiot.
Such a situation happened in September of 2017 during my evacuation from Hurricane Irma. We had the Deli packed to the gills with whatever we could fit. Two chihuahuas, a bunch of dry food, blankets, a 7 month old, and two stressed out parents. I knew that the master cylinder had been leaking for a few months but had neglected to do anything about it. About 20 miles in, the brake fluid light came on and the pedal went softish. GREEEAAAAT. With the interstate starting to jam and the hurricane at our heels, I stopped at an advance auto and just filled the reservoir up. It actually lasted the entire trip north and back, only to come on when we got home. But it really leads you to wonder where in the hell all that brake fluid was going?! I was really hoping that the master cylinder wasn't pumping fluid into the brake booster, which would surely murder the diaphragm inside and kill the power brakes. After the hurricane was over and things settled, I decided to order the parts needed to fix the master cylinder. See below for the teardown.
Is your Booster bracket wet? You better get ordering parts.
The dash panel must come out to remove the booster/master/pedal assembly
Brake Booster and Pedal assembly with master cylinder removed. Note how the brake fluid leak ate the paint off the booster body.
Beginning to rebuild the Master Cylinder with an OEM Rebuild Kit.
You must source MB004276 Brake Reservoir Cap gasket/o ring x2.
Using mechanics wire, secure the caps like so. Try not to apply too much pressure, as it just needs a touch of pressure to keep fluid from escaping from under the cap. If it ever leaks or weeps in the future you can simply tighten the mechanics wire!
K
I'm going to start by being honest. I'm a mechanic. And sometimes, I know it's broken but I know what's involved with fixing the problem so I put it off as long as possible until it leaves me stranded. Long story short, I can be an idiot.
Such a situation happened in September of 2017 during my evacuation from Hurricane Irma. We had the Deli packed to the gills with whatever we could fit. Two chihuahuas, a bunch of dry food, blankets, a 7 month old, and two stressed out parents. I knew that the master cylinder had been leaking for a few months but had neglected to do anything about it. About 20 miles in, the brake fluid light came on and the pedal went softish. GREEEAAAAT. With the interstate starting to jam and the hurricane at our heels, I stopped at an advance auto and just filled the reservoir up. It actually lasted the entire trip north and back, only to come on when we got home. But it really leads you to wonder where in the hell all that brake fluid was going?! I was really hoping that the master cylinder wasn't pumping fluid into the brake booster, which would surely murder the diaphragm inside and kill the power brakes. After the hurricane was over and things settled, I decided to order the parts needed to fix the master cylinder. See below for the teardown.
Is your Booster bracket wet? You better get ordering parts.
The dash panel must come out to remove the booster/master/pedal assembly
Brake Booster and Pedal assembly with master cylinder removed. Note how the brake fluid leak ate the paint off the booster body.
Beginning to rebuild the Master Cylinder with an OEM Rebuild Kit.
You must source MB004276 Brake Reservoir Cap gasket/o ring x2.
Using mechanics wire, secure the caps like so. Try not to apply too much pressure, as it just needs a touch of pressure to keep fluid from escaping from under the cap. If it ever leaks or weeps in the future you can simply tighten the mechanics wire!
K
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