Evaporating brake fluid, TIC Options

[930cabman]

My latest '75 model from Oregon came to me in parts, but mostly complete. I built a 2056 with Elgin cam and twin Weber 40 IDF's and am quite happy with the results. She has a decent kick and gets 30+ mpg cruising over 70 mph. One rear caliper was missing, but I had a newly rebuilt one and changed it out. I used my shop air with about 5 psi to bleed and it worked for the most part. My pedal is about 80% of where I would like it.

Q: where is the brake fluid going? I recently sold my 356SC that had the same issue, but it had a drip in the rear circuit. This time I cannot see leakage anywhere

thanks

[bkrantz]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

[brant]

I agree
M/C most likely

Pull the rubber boot to check

[930cabman]

Thanks guys, at some point it must reach the ground, nothing yet

[Superhawk996]

Thanks guys, at some point it must reach the ground, nothing yet

Negative

Well - I guess when the floor pan is sufficiently full with 10 or 20 gallons of fluid it might start weeping out to the ground somewhere. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Check pedal box under the plywood close out ASAP. Carpet absorbs the fluid. Likewise, the brake fluid then destroys the floor pan paint, leads to rust. Generally it’s a giant mess and a PITA to clean up.

[930cabman]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

[PatMc]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

The good news is that since brake fluid is hygroscopic, it cleans up easily with water.

[brant]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

thats not a super safe choice...
you could potentially have a full failure of your brakes...
the initial failure is a warning sign

its yelling...... "do not drive a car while the brakes are beginning to fail"

I suppose the fact that you posted on a public forum could be used against you were anything bad to happen and any one to be hurt... you would be negligent and responsible for anyone's injuries for having chosen to endanger others...



also... yes brake fluid is hydroscopic....
but it also eats paint and promotes rust better than anything....
so leaving it to pool... is a sure fire way to create rust in your floor pan
it also is really good and seeping in between layers of sheet metal and starting rust from inside the layers where you can not stop it...

cleaning it quickly is a priority... waiting a month or two is a bad decision.

and some folks are afraid to drive their cars in the rain...
brake fluid is 99times worse for creating rust than any rain storm...

brant

[930cabman]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

thats not a super safe choice...
you could potentially have a full failure of your brakes...
the initial failure is a warning sign

its yelling...... "do not drive a car while the brakes are beginning to fail"

I suppose the fact that you posted on a public forum could be used against you were anything bad to happen and any one to be hurt... you would be negligent and responsible for anyone's injuries for having chosen to endanger others...



also... yes brake fluid is hydroscopic....
but it also eats paint and promotes rust better than anything....
so leaving it to pool... is a sure fire way to create rust in your floor pan
it also is really good and seeping in between layers of sheet metal and starting rust from inside the layers where you can not stop it...

cleaning it quickly is a priority... waiting a month or two is a bad decision.

and some folks are afraid to drive their cars in the rain...
brake fluid is 99times worse for creating rust than any rain storm...

brant

yea, yea, yea, I know whats right. Just fix the damn thing.

Thanks for all the guidance and brake fluid does a number on any paint finish, the floor included.

I have read there is an easy and no so easy MC, and have a new one from Stoddard on the shelf, suppose I need to get off my lazy &*@ and just do it

[914_teener]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

The good news is that since brake fluid is hygroscopic, it cleans up easily with water.

That's not good news and that's not what "hydroscopic" means.

It means that it attracts water and is soluble in water.

What it also means is that it will act as an oxidizer (an electrical process) that will eat the raw metal whereever it finds it.

Besides being a safety issue which is first a side hazard to weaken an already vunerable unibody frame.

[930cabman]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

The good news is that since brake fluid is hygroscopic, it cleans up easily with water.

That's not good news and that's not what "hydroscopic" means.

It means that it attracts water and is soluble in water.

What it also means is that it will act as an oxidizer (an electrical process) that will eat the raw metal whereever it finds it.

Besides being a safety issue which is first a side hazard to weaken an already vunerable unibody frame.

Agreed with all the above, I was checking another project that happens to be on the lift and sure enough an area about 6" x 6" was void of any coating due to the nature of leaking brake fluid. I bet this is common and also commonly neglected. I'm going to gamble and put this off until she comes off the road in another month or so. It's going to be a long winter here in Buffalo, how bout them Bills?

[JamesM]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

thats not a super safe choice...
you could potentially have a full failure of your brakes...
the initial failure is a warning sign

its yelling...... "do not drive a car while the brakes are beginning to fail"

I suppose the fact that you posted on a public forum could be used against you were anything bad to happen and any one to be hurt... you would be negligent and responsible for anyone's injuries for having chosen to endanger others...



also... yes brake fluid is hydroscopic....
but it also eats paint and promotes rust better than anything....
so leaving it to pool... is a sure fire way to create rust in your floor pan
it also is really good and seeping in between layers of sheet metal and starting rust from inside the layers where you can not stop it...

cleaning it quickly is a priority... waiting a month or two is a bad decision.

and some folks are afraid to drive their cars in the rain...
brake fluid is 99times worse for creating rust than any rain storm...

brant

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I have had master cylinders fail with no prior warning on 2 of my 914s over the years (one of them even had no parking brake). Not something you want to experience. You are lucky enough to have been given a warning, LISTEN TO IT. Brakes should be taken VERY seriously.

[PatMc]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

The good news is that since brake fluid is hygroscopic, it cleans up easily with water.

That's not good news and that's not what "hydroscopic" means.

It means that it attracts water and is soluble in water.

What it also means is that it will act as an oxidizer (an electrical process) that will eat the raw metal whereever it finds it.

Besides being a safety issue which is first a side hazard to weaken an already vunerable unibody frame.

Yes, if it's soluble in water, it cleans up with water. It does other things too, but I was responding the "mess" comment.

[930cabman]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

thats not a super safe choice...
you could potentially have a full failure of your brakes...
the initial failure is a warning sign

its yelling...... "do not drive a car while the brakes are beginning to fail"

I suppose the fact that you posted on a public forum could be used against you were anything bad to happen and any one to be hurt... you would be negligent and responsible for anyone's injuries for having chosen to endanger others...



also... yes brake fluid is hydroscopic....
but it also eats paint and promotes rust better than anything....
so leaving it to pool... is a sure fire way to create rust in your floor pan
it also is really good and seeping in between layers of sheet metal and starting rust from inside the layers where you can not stop it...

cleaning it quickly is a priority... waiting a month or two is a bad decision.

and some folks are afraid to drive their cars in the rain...
brake fluid is 99times worse for creating rust than any rain storm...

brant

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

I have had master cylinders fail with no prior warning on 2 of my 914s over the years (one of them even had no parking brake). Not something you want to experience. You are lucky enough to have been given a warning, LISTEN TO IT. Brakes should be taken VERY seriously.

Point taken, she is on the lift and I will be going after it this weekend.

[914_teener]

Check the front floor inside the pedal box.

Nailed it. Hoping maybe I can limp along until the winter season.

Thanks all

The good news is that since brake fluid is hygroscopic, it cleans up easily with water.

That's not good news and that's not what "hydroscopic" means.

It means that it attracts water and is soluble in water.

What it also means is that it will act as an oxidizer (an electrical process) that will eat the raw metal whereever it finds it.

Besides being a safety issue which is first a side hazard to weaken an already vunerable unibody frame.

Yes, if it's soluble in water, it cleans up with water. It does other things too, but I was responding the "mess" comment.

Brake cleaner is best because it gets rid of both the water and the fluid. The solubility just adds to the oxidation. Not good on a teener....it just leeches more into the grains of the metal.

[brant]

my most recent brake system failure was the actual reservoir bottle had a small crack under the strap-band...

small leak that went down the seam under the fuel tank area... penetrated all of the metal layers and then dripped out through the seam of layers into the pedal area...

confused me at first because the MC was dry when I pulled the rubber boot...
but boy did it do a number on the paint... and the seam... and likely rust that will accrue even after flushing and washing it out repeatedly....

big mess...

[914_teener]

my most recent brake system failure was the actual reservoir bottle had a small crack under the strap-band...

small leak that went down the seam under the fuel tank area... penetrated all of the metal layers and then dripped out through the seam of layers into the pedal area...

confused me at first because the MC was dry when I pulled the rubber boot...
but boy did it do a number on the paint... and the seam... and likely rust that will accrue even after flushing and washing it out repeatedly....

big mess...

Yep...that same thing happend to me on my 73. On paint...safest thing there is to add an emulisifier like Dawn with water. If the paint is already stripped off you are screwed anyway, just use the brake cleaner.

[930cabman]

Thanks to all who replied, One more question: I have a new ATE M/C appears to match the failed unit to a T. I have the M/C on the bench, installed the rubber seals onto the steel tube ends, installed the new "washers" ( had to tap them in) and pushing, pushing pushing the new rubber seals into the M/C. I watched Ian's video and he mentions a "pop" sound when the seals are seated. I am unable to get a "pop". Is there another way to know if the seals are properly seated?

[76-914]

Thanks to all who replied, One more question: I have a new ATE M/C appears to match the failed unit to a T. I have the M/C on the bench, installed the rubber seals onto the steel tube ends, installed the new "washers" ( had to tap them in) and pushing, pushing pushing the new rubber seals into the M/C. I watched Ian's video and he mentions a "pop" sound when the seals are seated. I am unable to get a "pop". Is there another way to know if the seals are properly seated?

Measure and mark the tube with a marks-a-lot. I didn't feel it snap in either. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Jack Standz]

There is a much much much better alternative for brake fluid: silicone brake fluid. Among other things, it's not hygroscopic. It has a higher boiling point. It won't harm your paint or promote rust.

It's best not to mix with "conventional" types of brake fluids as it can creates so called "worms" when the different fluids interact. One of my projects this winter is replacing the 914's front suspension and rear trailing arms with 911 stuff along with the MC, all brake lines, pressure regulator, etc. A perfect time to upgrade to silicone brake fluid.

I've done the same upgrade to another vehicle of ours and it works as advertised.