brake fluid in center tunnel, how to clean? Options

[double-a]

the continuing saga of the orange 75 gets more interesting. i've had brake fluid disappearing from the reservoir every time i pump the brake pedal, but no leaks near the tires. now i find out it's coming from the mc, down by the pedal cluster. it's leaking bad.

so i pull the whole mess out, yank the mc outta there, and lo and behold, there is brake fluid all down the center tunnel. lots of it.

knowing that dot3 does bad things to paint, how the heck do i clean it up? i can't even reach under there...

~a

[SpecialK]

Bummer! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif)

How far apart is your interior at this point? I was thinking that maybe you could remove your shifter and rear access panel to gain the most access to the tunnel, and attach some cheese cloth saturated with brake cleaner to something flexible (bicycle brake cable housing, long mechanical fingers, etc...) and run it back and forth through the tunnel. Gonna be messy, stinky, and time consuming any way you do it.

At any rate, you're bumped up for more suggestions (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/icon_bump.gif)

[bondo]

In the roller I bought, the center tunnel was full of rodent droppings.. the shopvac only got the closest ones. I endedup cleaning it out with.. a garden hose. (I know water, 914, worse than water and the wicked witch of the west) I figured alot of water for a short period of time was better than having water absorbent mouse-nests in there keeping water against the floor. If you jack up the front of the car, and take out the shift rod, you can get most to drain out the back, and absorb the rest with a rag through the access hole. Brake fluid IS water soluble.. but if you get alot of paint coming out with the water you might want to send some por-15 in there too.

[SpecialK]

QUOTE (bondo @ Jan 18 2005, 11:21 PM)

In the roller I bought, the center tunnel was full of rodent droppings.. the shopvac only got the closest ones. I endedup cleaning it out with.. a garden hose. (I know water, 914, worse than water and the wicked witch of the west) I figured alot of water for a short period of time was better than having water absorbent mouse-nests in there keeping water against the floor. If you jack up the front of the car, and take out the shift rod, you can get most to drain out the back, and absorb the rest with a rag through the access hole. Brake fluid IS water soluble.. but if you get alot of paint coming out with the water you might want to send some por-15 in there too.

That's not a bad idea either. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/idea.gif)

When I painted the inside of my tunnel (with everything removable, removed) with POR-15, I kind of used the same process as I described above, except doused the cheese cloth with POR instead of brake cleaner.

Maybe something like bondo described, except use a bug sprayer with some Ospho or other phosphoric acid solution to remove the brake fluid. Then douche the hell out of it with water to make sure it's clean. May even help to slow down the formation of rust in the tunnel. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/confused24.gif)


Kevin

[J P Stein]

I used alcohol. ....and lots of it. Also, pull the pedal board and cluster. Not only does it eat paint, it is hydroscopic....meaning the R wurd. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif)

[7391420]

I had the same problem when I replaced my MC, I tool off the accelerator pedal, removed all the carpet back there, took terri towels, rolled them up, and sopped up as much as I could reach, if you have a cener con, remove the face plate, and get back there as well!, then I used brake cleaner, and shot a ton of it back there, and repeated the cleaning again! once its dry, I cleaned any remaining loose paint and then painted the whole area with por 15, replaced the mc, put new carpet in, and...by that time it was spring!

good luck!

[7391420]

also-Caution!!-when your down in there, wear goggles or safety glasses!! its really easy to splash some brake fluid in your eye and since you'll be trying to get as far down there as possible, you loose a lot of dexterity!!

[gklinger]

Check out this post for great tunnel maintenance advice:

Perry Kiehl's tunnel cleaning process

[rhodyguy]

if perry's tunnel tech isn't in the tech section, it should be.

kevin

[double-a]

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Jan 19 2005, 05:57 AM)

if perry's tunnel tech isn't in the tech section, it should be.

very good info, thanks guys.

~a

[scruz914]

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Jan 19 2005, 06:57 AM)

if perry's tunnel tech isn't in the tech section, it should be. kevin

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif)

I am a little leary about someone who uses "stainless toothbrushes" though. Are they ADA approved? (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

I think you could also use a garden sprayer for hard to reach spots in the tunnel.

[Porsche Rescue]

I'm sure Perry's method is excellent and does the job as well as possible. However, after reading it I have decided that a little rust in the tunnel is a good thing.

[double-a]

QUOTE (Porsche Rescue @ Jan 19 2005, 09:15 AM)

I'm sure Perry's method is excellent and does the job as well as possible. However, after reading it I have decided that a little rust in the tunnel is a good thing.

yeah, that's a little in depth for what i need to fix. the fluid has only been sitting in there for a few days, a week at most. i've jacked the rear up and removed all the interior, the fluid did not reach the back firewall, but it's in the tunnel. i put sawdust in last night to soak it up, now it's time for the garden hose and shop vac. fun stuff!

~a

[John]

I always thought that Perry's method was common knowledge (except for the undercoating crap). I've been using the cleaning method for as long as I can remember (dad taught that to me), but I try to use paint instead of the undercoating wherever possible.

The "sealed" boxes (like inner longs) are ok for undercoating (make sure the drain holes are kept open), but if I'm going to ever stick my hand in there, I don't want undercoating in there.

I used to use Eastwood's rust conversion paint, but more recently I have used and like the POR-15.

[SpecialK]

QUOTE (gklinger @ Jan 19 2005, 05:33 AM)

Check out this post for great tunnel maintenance advice: Perry Kiehl's tunnel cleaning process

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/huh.gif) I thought I invented that process (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/confused24.gif) , did the exact (more or less) same thing 3 years ago on the '73. But then again, how, without drilling spot-welds, are you going to get to all of the rust traps unless you get creative. The one gallon bug sprayer was one of the best investments rust-repair wise that I made. Plus, once you've killed off all of the rust, you can use it out in the garden to kill off....uuuh...bugs! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/slap.gif)

[RonD]

Just had the same problem with brake fluid leak in the tunnel a month ago.

During the process I discovered that there is a round plate under the pedal assembly that can be removed. Once all the sealer is scrapped away.

Under the plate the floor board metal is cut and you can pry it open a bit to let the water drain out.

I jacked the car up high in the back used brake fluid cleaner and then lots of soapy water and clear water, per Perry procedure. Cleaned up pretty good.

[double-a]

ok, i'm done. i used the shop vac and garden hose with variable intensity spray nozzle, plus a little dawn detergent (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif) sprinkled the dawn in the three access holes, and let 'er rip with the water, starting at the rear and spraying forward. the water comes out the front of the tunnel easily. when the floorboard got too full, it would drain out the hole where the mc used to be (and into a catch container), and i sucked up the rest with the vac. i did this five times, probably put 10 gallons through the tunnel, washed it real good the final time.

that brake fluid really travels, it had even leached into the passenger footwell, so i had to wash that area out too.

everything looks good, except for the pedal cluster area, where the paint is peeeling off like a bad sunburn. guess i'll have to take the wire wheel to that area and primer before i reassemble the cluster and all that stuff.

now i've got the small ceramic heater and a fan in there to dry it all out. the fun never ends (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

~a

[scruz914]

QUOTE (Porsche Rescue @ Jan 19 2005, 10:15 AM)

I'm sure Perry's method is excellent and does the job as well as possible. However, after reading it I have decided that a little rust in the tunnel is a good thing.

It is only a good thing if you are going to convert it using phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid doesn't do anything to clean metal and needs some rust to convert. You don't want to leave any unconverted rust behind.

[Cap'n Krusty]

Brake cleaner ain't gonna hack it. 2 things work: Hot, soapy water, and alcohol. Alcohol is best, soapy water is next best. I would lift the front of the car and blast away with a water sprayer of some kind, then maybe lift the rear and blast it from the aft end of the cabin. Blow air through for a while, then do the same trick with a couple of gallons of alcohol. Air dry for a couple of days. The Cap'n

[bondo]

QUOTE (Cap'n Krusty @ Jan 19 2005, 01:49 PM)

Brake cleaner ain't gonna hack it. 2 things work: Hot, soapy water, and alcohol. Alcohol is best, soapy water is next best. I would lift the front of the car and blast away with a water sprayer of some kind, then maybe lift the rear and blast it from the aft end of the cabin. Blow air through for a while, then do the same trick with a couple of gallons of alcohol. Air dry for a couple of days. The Cap'n

Don't forget to put out any pilot lights and have a fire extinguisher handy (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)