Help ... leaking brake line in firewall!

Ehab · 12:01 AM

Hey guys, I really need some help here. I've finally located the area where the brake fluid has been leaking for a couple of weeks, and it is at the bottom of the front driver's side fender, where the fender meets the skirt below the door, at the rear of the wheel well.

I basically find little spots of brake fluid under the driver's side door after leaving the car for a few hours. It is apparently coming from INSIDE the firewall, and I can't see where the brake line enters or leaves the firewall.

Can anyone who has changed this brake line please please help me.

Thank you.

Ehab

Booster · 11-18-2001, 03:25 PM

It is probley not your brake line leaking, your clutch master is probley the culpret as they will leak through the shaft into the inside of the car, the brake and clutch use the same reservoir for their fluid. I have seen this problem on two other cars.

Ehab · 11-18-2001, 11:51 PM

Thanks Booster, that is what I'm starting to think as well. How can I check this? Can I see the part that's leaking from under the car?

Thanks.

Ehab

iepie944 · 11-19-2001, 03:38 AM

The easiest way to check this is to remove the shiftknob and -booth and then remove the center console. From there you should be able to see if the oil is coming from the clutch.

Ehab · 11-19-2001, 07:40 AM

So even if there is no fluid on the outside of the clutch master cyl., it is still possible that it is leaking from inside?

If it the clutch master, can't I check that from looking at the shaft and the cylinder from inside the car under the dashboard in the footwell?

Thanks.

e

Britwrench · 11-19-2001, 05:39 PM

Get a flashlight, put your head down by the pedals and look up;
you will see the back of the clutch cylinder. Pull the boot back and probably fluid will run out.

Replace the master and slave cylinder at the same time, also renew the blue hose from the cylinder to reservoir.

Make sure you clean all the old brake fluid off the pedals, carpet and floor.

Ehab · 11-19-2001, 11:59 PM

You guys were right, I looked down there tonight, and the fluid was all over the inside of the footwell, and it was dripping down from the boot of the master cyl.

I called the mechanic who replaced Both the master and slave cyl.s a year and a half ago, and he claimed that the parts were new, and warrantied for a year, but that if the cyl. was faulty, he is going to replace it. So now that I'm sure it is the master cyl, he will have to replace it and get a refund ... I wonder if it was the part, or if he installed it incorrectly causing the damage to the part.

The leaking is getting so bad that fluid is coming out of the whole driver's side skirt under the door, I guess as I'm driving, the fluid just travels to the back from the acceleration. Thank you all for the tips ... I would have been stumped otherwise, again, this BBS saved my ass ...

I'll keep you posted with the results ... I'm taking her in tomorrow.

E

divezic · divezic's Garage

Same thing happened to me. I replaced the master cylinder in 1999 and in 2000 it was leaking. It's an easy fix but when my cylinder failed, it left me stranded. Speed shifting is an option on my Chevy, but not on my 944.

Make sure you clean up that brake fluid in your passenger compartment. It will ruin your carpet and the protective paint under the carpet.

Ehab · 11-20-2001, 09:27 AM

Divezic ... why did it fail again? was it a faulty part, or was it installed incorrectly?

Thanks for the tip on the cleanup.

E

divezic · divezic's Garage

I would never install a part incorrectly....as my wife is laughing uncontrollably behind me calling me a liar.

Seriously, though, it was a bad seal in the new part. The second new one is holding tight, so far.

Have you guys tried the pressure brake bleeder? I helped a friend pressure bleed his brakes on a Mercedes and it worked great! MUCH easier than a manual bleed or a vacuum bleed. This would make the clutch bleeding on a 944 a snap.

Ehab · 11-21-2001, 07:48 AM

I wouldn't know ... cuz the shop is dealing with it, and has dealt with it in the past when they first replaced the cylinders ... he did mention that it was a b**** to bleed the system though, but I didn't care, cuz I paid him a ****load to do the job.

How is a pressure bleed different than a vacuum bleed?

E

AFJuvat · 11-21-2001, 07:58 AM

Pressure bleeding pressurizes the fluid in the master cylinder reservior, forcing it through the system, as opposed to a vacuum bleeder which sucks the fluid through at the caliper or slave cylinder.

According to the guy that does a lot of the work on my cars, there has been a problem with the master and slave failing shortlly after they are replaced. It is speculated that this is caused by many of these parts being NOS (New Old Stock) - a new part, but still 15 or so years old.

AFJuvat

Ehab · 11-21-2001, 08:03 AM

Makes sense that it would fail if it is NOS, since the rubber is the part that needs to be fresh ... and so the seal fails ...

I'll find out what the dilly is today.

Thanks everyone for the help.

drowning in brake fluid ...

Ehab

Booster · 11-21-2001, 02:17 PM

I gotta replace mine also, I have the parts just not the time and as diveic said clean your carpet, you should remove your seat when you do the cleaning also because the carpet acts like a wick and that fluid is probley all the way to the back seat floorboard, put a sheet of paper in the rear floorboard and see if it soaks in some fluid over a couple of days. In my car I can't feel or smell any fluid in the carpet but a letter fell in the floor and in a couple of days it was almost black (black carpet).

Ehab · 11-21-2001, 02:23 PM

Damn Mechanics ...

$150 to replace the part ... I feel so ripped off, but If I did the job myself, I would have had to pay for the part ($80), which he didn't charge me for ...

so all in all, $70 extra for the labor is not so bad I guess ... I'm just pissed that this all came out of the blue.

E