I read a few tutorials and some people had lots of tips and tricks. Some of them didn't really catch on for me so I just did it my way. I figured since I'm one of those people that thrives off of digging through info to "find my way" to doing something I would share an internet tutorial for others that may be having the same frustrations or just want to get things replaced.



In this one I used a master cylinder 19mm 911 master cyl to replace it with.

Step 1. prepping. Get your 914 up on all 4 donuts. Jack up the car, get the wheels off. Get those bleeder caps off. Crawl under the car and take off the pan that covers and protects the braking and steering system.

Step 2. Begin to drain the system. With the pan off you should be able to directly see the master cylinder where it sits in the car on the wall of the car. Using your 11mm wrench CAREFULLY undo the lines one at a time on the master cylinder. You'll have them marked "F" and "R". This is not german, so don't worry about getting out a dictionary to translate. Crack the lines, let them bleed. Let it do it slowly, go get a cup of coffee or a beer, give it 5 minutes or so, come back and check on them till they are done draining. If there is still fluid in the reservoir something isn't draining right, keep draining till the reservoir is dry and no more drips.

Step 3. Now that lines are dry, use the 13mm wrench to take the nuts off the master cyl. Take the lines off ENTIRELY before prying to get it out, you do not want to bend or crunch lines. There are 2 feed hoses up above that simply slide out, don't bend them, they just slide easily out. Then the 2 brake lines simply unscrew. The master cylinder will slide out, and the rod will slide right out from the boot, may hang a little, just give it some wiggle power and you're good to go.

Step 4. With the master cylinder off, now is a good time to visually inspect the lines. Make sure the lines have not been tweaked, no splits, no signs of visual damage. Check the ends, make sure there is no rust, make sure there is NO visual damage to any of the hard lines. If there is, let your 914 sit on stands till you've replaced them. Any signs of pending damage is the potential for you to experience it while driving, it's unnerving to have brakes fail, and very difficult to have confidence in stopping thereafter... I'll speak from experience there.

Step 5. Swap sensors. Your 911 master cyl has a sensor designed for a 911. Take a wrench or vice grips and take it out. Then take the sensor out of your old master cylinder, swap them out. Torque it down nice and tight. Don't mangle the nut end on it, or strip it, just tighten it down and don't re-use the old seal, use the new seal on your 911 Master cyl to mount the sensor or you fail.

Step 6. Put in the feed lines. I found that if you use some hair trace amounts of brake fluid (new fluid) on the rubber collars that the feed lines will slide in easier. However, it is easier if you hold the master cylinder at such an angle that you sort of "edge" the feed lines into the master cylinder since they flare. Then push down, starting with the closest to you first, then the furthest (closest to the wall of the car), then push down until they sit. Slide the master cylinder over the bolts.

Step 7. Assuming no damage, no split, pending split, crimped or mangled lines... time to install the new master cylinder. The tricky part is lining up the pedal rod into the master cylinder. Make sure it is lined up. You can alternatively remove the floorboard cover and unscrew the rod from it's holder and pin, put the master cylinder in first, then slide the rod into the boot, then screw it back into it's holder if that is easier (but it's not).

Step 8. Put each line in it's place. No specific order. One will have a near 180 Degree bend, this one can be a bit tricky, I found that if i bolted the master cylinder up it was harder to get it on. So I slide the cyl down the threads a hair, put the line on finger tight, then slide the master cyl the rest the way down the threads and put the nuts on finger tight.

Step 9. Tightening it all up. Ensure that the rod fit inside the boot. Test this by going in the car and pressing down on the brake lightly, if it freely flops around it's probably not in all the way. If there is a little force (cyl has no fluid in it, but will meet /some/ resistance) you're good. You can also feel around if you're nimble and look down past the board with a flashlight to tell. Long as the rod is there, tighten up the end nuts for the master cylinder.

-Trick to brake line tightening... make sure they go in finger tight. This way they don't strip. Use your 11mm wrench to tighten them up. Then back off with the wrench slowly till it's barely loose, then tighten. This time when you tighten them up it'll go another quarter turn, back it off then do it again, repeat this 3 or 4 times till you turn the wrench to the same consistent spot. This ensure that the line is actually seating in with a good fit into the spot it needs to go and not potentially loose in a spot. This means it is seated and ready to go. Again, this is a brake job, your life depends on it's reliability every time you hit that pedal.

Step 10. All your lines and feed lines should be tightened, the rod is not sitting in the boot. Your master cylinder should be bolted up. Now time for bleeding. BE SURE TO FIRST PLUG OR CRIMP THE OVERFLOW LINE TO YOUR RESERVOIR OR YOU WILL GET FLUID ALL OVER! Attach your power bleeder (again, recommended a motive with adapter 0100) and fill it with a good quality fluid. I use true blue in all my vehicles. Don't worry about topping off your reservoir, just put a bottle of brake fluid in your power bleeder and pump it up to about 8psi (that's really all you need for these little cars i've found, even 5 is fine). Let the fluid take place in the reservoir till you see it filling. Go under the car and visually ensure all the places you attached lines are not leaking. Even 5-8psi is enough to see any visual leaks. If no leaks, proceed to the next step.

Step 11. Check the pedal rod, you should be able to push down and feel that there is a small gap between the pedal rod and it hitting the master cylinder. You want NO PRESSURE on the plunger. Adjust it back if there is pressure till no pressure is on the master cylinder.

One side at a time, bleed the lines. Easiest to start with back to front. Bleed it until the fluid is clear, or blue (if you use trueblue) until the stream of fluid runs CLEAR with NO AIR BUBBLES. If you see even tiny bubbles, keep going till no bubbles remain. Do this for the rear side left and right, front left and right. You should do this to all sides till no more fluid comes with any bubbles. Once each side is done check your pedal pressure. You should have full pressure. If you do not, or it goes slightly or close to the floor, do it again until no more bubbles are in the system. I always repeat the process on each side briefly since some bubbles can surface to the top of the calipers. By the time you make your rounds back to square one and pop the line again to check any potential troublemaker bubbles should be present. If not, good to go.

Double check for leaks at the master cylinder, the lines, any ends, bleeder screws, make sure no fluid is present. If it's good to go then take the power bleeder off, wipe any excess fluid up, uncrimp the overflow line and put the cap back on.

Step 12. Bolt everything back up. Spray off the areas around the bleeders with brake clean and any areas you got wet with any fluid. Put the cover pan back on. Go drive it around the block and test it to make sure nothing is sticking, that it is reliable, and make sure it handles good pressure. I usually do low speed stops, then find a place no one is present and give the brakes a hard pressure test to ensure that it will not be questionable in a worst case scenario. Remember, if your brakes cannot handle the pressure of stopping suddenly, you shouldn't be driving it. Just do it in a parking lot and at low speed, just don't be an asshole about it with anyone around. You can test your brakes without being a jerk about it.

Nice write up. Candidate for the classics?

No. Why? I didn't really understand the washer difference. It appears to be a direct fit and operating as intended. If there is a difference or explanation I'm happy to update the guide.

Only thing I removed and moved over to the new master cylinder directly was the sensor (since the sensor on the other master cyl was different). The adapter for the line was the same fit for the other cyl, and did not see anything fitting that description when I disassembled it (unless they weren't there in the first place upon doing it).

I am open to feedback either way and would appreciate any insight. However, everything is working as intended. But for safety sake, if there is info I am missing here or info pertaining to this, again, I am open to feedback and am happy to edit/update my guide accordingly.

Unless you're talking about the grommets and washers on the /top/ of the master cylinder. In which case if you look at the grommets at the top of the master cylinder in the picture above they are entirely cracked and completely destroyed and not at all worth reusing. Upon inspection they looked identical to the new master cylinder I installed and the feed lines seemed to fit great.

Great write-up!

Ok - i checked with pelican parts, they said it's not necessary to swap the grommets and the washers, it is a direct swap over.

Checking with the community here - is there differences with 19mm master cylinders? I would like to add any technical info to this if at all possible. Again, feedback would be appreciated.