magic disapearing brake fluid - see title

alfesti

alfesti

Member
Evening all,

Ive got a weird problem with my fluid retention. When the car is driven I have no noticable problems, brakes are sharp and responsive and no brake fluid is lost through use of the pedal. When I park the car up for a week I come back and it has lost an inch or more of fluid from the reservoir.

I thought I had solved this problem a few weeks ago when initialy the fluid loss started while driving and I discovered a loose conection to the tail light switch, but now just when static.

I have gone under the car and looked for damp joints and puddles on the garage floor but there dont seem to be any.

Any one got an idea where its vanishing to?

Befuddled of Maidstone

Thanks

matt
 
2 possible causes are:
rear calipers leaking - doesn't show up for ages as they fill up inside the dust cover before leaking externally.

servo seals leaking internally, pull the vacuum pipe out of the servo and insert a probe, if there is fluid in there it needs looking at.
 
Hi Alfesti,

I have had this problem.

When I bought the car the guy told me it lost a bit of fluid. Luckily I had it sat in the same place for months whilst deciding what to fix first. I spotted a fluid patch under the rear callipers.

I rebuilt the whole brake system and the day before the MOT I noticed a loss. And as Necpwa says it had filled the dust cover. It is easy enough to check.

I also Have to other sugestions.

The flexible pipe which comes from the fluid res can perish giveing a slow loss.

The other is if the cap seal is not properly seated then the fluid seeps past when the car is at slight angle. If you look at the top you should be able to see the black seal evenly through the cap.

Hope this helps, it took me ages to find my leaks even after a complete rebuild.

Arthuy
 
Hi, I notice Rover, covering their backs, stated in the handbook that all the hydraulic seals should be replaced at
40000[?] or something like 3 years. you can be sure an un-
restored car has got seals in it 10-15+ years old, so if you
replace the lot all you are doing is giving it a long overdue
service, then you can have confidence in your brakes.
Incedently, Rover also said if you use it on salty roads it could
go rusty, quite unusual at the time when cigarettes were
said to be good for your throat, Rover were either worried
about being sued or really cared for their customers...
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. It turns out it was the master cylinder. I had driven to a classic garage near home to get a quote for a full brake system rebuild and the pedal hit the floor in their car park!

Bad luck it failed, or good luck it was there not at 70 on the way home?

Needless to say I accepted the quote and the whole system is being rebuilt, hopefully with a couple of upgrades...
 
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