So I finally got that family member that owes me a favor (dad) to help me with bleeding the brakes today as there is no pressure at all after sitting for some time. We get the first rear wheel done and are happier.. until we see the puddle under the front of the car... after a quick "whiff" it is definitely brake fluid.

I remove that underpan thing (first time!) and reveal the master cylinder(?) which is clearly covered in brake fluid and leaking.

I was not aware of any pre-bleeding steps that involved the master cylinder so I don't think it was caused from that.

What should my next steps be here? I believe it to be a stock master cylinder that has never been removed.

Is this a DIY or another "let the car sit for another few months until I feel brave enough to try to tackle it" type job?

thanks guys!

'73 1.7L if it matters.

The most difficult part is getting the tubes from the resevior pushed back into the new master cylinder. If fact, the grommets maybe be bad and need replacing. It might be a cheap fix. The last time I had to do it I unscrewed the resevior and let it hang down. This gave me a couple of extra inches of clearance to be able to force the lines back into the new master cylinder. Then, I mounted everything back up. It's not a difficult project. You can do it in an hour and a half by yourself.

Can you tell where it is leaking?

The MC is not that hard. Just a little awkward as you're laying on your back working upside down.

I thought you were selling your car before. Are you keeping it now or getting ready to sell it? When you sell your car, something expensive always breaks. For my 74, the windshield cracked about the same time I put it in the classifieds.

lol too funny. this one has a broken windshield as well! trying to source that currently as well.

it's "for sale" and so is the chalon, but you know how that waiting can be. while back i decided to wrench on it and enjoy it until someone makes an offer.

fun car. this one is almost road-worthy (brakes, windshield and the infamous oil leak)

"one day at a time" as joe walsh would say

I thought you only had the Chalon. What car are you working on? Got a pic or 2?

and this is how we wet:

hey guys, just want to confirm before purchase:
would this be a worthy buy? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-Mas...sQ5fAccessories

That should work. It's an upgrade from the 17mm that is stock. Remember to prime it first. You submerge the new master cylinder in brake fluild and pump it a few times. The suction will pull the brake fluid into the chamber. Then, install and bleed.

NO! NO NO NO!
That is Chinese garbage! They leak when brand new. Spend the money to get a real ATE 19mm cylinder from Pelican or AA. Stay away from that URO trash.

Zach (who thought to save some money by getting one a few years back, and had to buy the proper MC to replace it within a month.)

quite a price difference there... $200ish... are those two vendors the cheapest place to pick one up?

found this one which is not chinese made: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-911...sQ5fAccessories


looking for the cheapest solution obviously, but i dont want crap either.

Just my 2 cents: I don't buy 914 parts from ebay.

Pelican and AA and other specialty 914 vendors are better to work with and will be there if anything goes wrong.

A 19mm ATE MC from Pelican is listed for $221.

perdy little thing arrived today from pelican

wanted to try to get the old one off before it got dark, so i went to work...


... but didn't get too far... bled the system, then set to remove the 2 brake hard lines... now the walkthrough said they'd be tight, but DAMN! I could already see that I was "rounding" off the outside of the nut, and not wanting to do a "rush" job, I came in just before dark

to confirm, it's the smaller nut that I'm loosening correct? also i noticed the 19mm from pelican has the 1-prong switch and my existing has 2-prong. what's the normal "fix" for that?

tomorrow will be a busy day! MC on the teener and new plugs for the Box!

Yes, the smaller nut is the want to work on. I had to hose mine down with WD40 overnight to break them loose. Not sure on the workaround for the switch. Good luck with this...it sucks...just take your time.

ahh i won't say that was a hard job, but not the easiest (working upside down)

got it all buttoned up, got the first caliper bled (pressure building!), go to the next (driver rear), the nipple thing was COMPLETELY rounded off... the thing finally "snapped" off and I imagine the other part of it is still threaded in the hole... what now????

the MC stayed dry at least, so it appears the replacement part was ok. dad said he'd pick up an "Easy Out" on his way home tonight, so we'll see what that is, and if it can get that nipple thing out...

do they sell those as a replacement?

took the long covers off while waiting and was surprised at how clean it was underneath them!!! so that made me smile a bit. gonna sand em and repaint them for reinstall.

why is it that 40yr old nuts/screws never come off/out without shearing, rounding, disappearing, tightening... ugh... slowly replacing all the hardware on the car as stuff gets replaced/taken off.

so the brake bleeding saga continues.. dun dun dun

I also only plugged in the one wire with the white stripe on it to the new switch on the 19mm MC as it was a 1-prong switch. Is that correct?

Does anything need to be "Attached" from inside the car at the cluster or does the pedal just push against it? I popped the MC back into the chassis hole and the pedal and everything feels right, just didn't want to leave something unchecked.