Worn master cylinder seals (pics)

[306Puggy]

Just wondering if this crap in the brake tank is rubber from worn master cylinder seals?



Am I better off having a bash at refurbishing it or buying a replacement unit!?

[Jtrigga]

Best bet is to drain out all the old fluid put in some new stuff and see if the bits come back again.

[Jonny81191]

looks like you've just got shit in there from filling it up and knocking the bonnet liner

[Niall]

Yeah where the hell is your fluid strainer? That should never be removed for this exact reason. To try and stop shit getting in there.

Fluid looks a bit manky though. Id suggest a full system flush. Think you would be surprised at the effect it will have!

[Piggy]

^^^ as above should be a strainer.

and that fluid needs changing, so just flush it all out

[samass]

ew, that's manky!


drain out all the old fluid, then flush the system out by pumping some washing up liquid and water through a few times, then put some fresh brake fluid in, that'll sort her out nicely

[306Puggy]

Yeah where the hell is your fluid strainer? That should never be removed for this exact reason. To try and stop shit getting in there.

Fluid looks a bit manky though. Id suggest a full system flush. Think you would be surprised at the effect it will have!

^^^ as above should be a strainer.

and that fluid needs changing, so just flush it all out

Fluid strainer!? Never had one! What do they look like and where could I get one? No, no, I am not trolling :roll: I had flushed 1 litre of fluid through but then I jacked up one side too high to bleed the brakes with the tank too low so air got into the master cylinder and then I didn't have enough fresh fluid left over so had to flush the old stuff back through again Had to get it done before the MOT you see

ew, that's manky!


drain out all the old fluid, then flush the system out by pumping some washing up liquid and water through a few times, then put some fresh brake fluid in, that'll sort her out nicely

Alright then, should the washing up liquid be with water or just washing up liquid? Gonna get this done next week hopefully. I also have some white spirit, should I chuck some of that in there? Thanks. Oh yeah, I saw you just mentioned water in your post, haha. Gonna start as soon as possible, thanks for the advice

[Niall]

It's literally just a metal gauze in a plastic ring that sits over/in the filler hole. I'd go to Peugeot and see if they stock them. Can only be pennies.

[tigerstyle]

Perhaps before the flush, either vacuum out (syringe?) or just remove and tip out that reservoir, no point pumping that crap in there through the system.
And a litre of brake fluid costs about a fiver, so no excuses to reuse dirty stuff!

[Niall]

Yeah I'd siringe that all out. Will do some damage if that dirt gets into a calliper.

[306Puggy]

Perhaps before the flush, either vacuum out (syringe?) or just remove and tip out that reservoir, no point pumping that crap in there through the system.
And a litre of brake fluid costs about a fiver, so no excuses to reuse dirty stuff!

Heh, it was more a case of how to get fresh brake fluid when my only form of transport was up in the air and the MOT was a couple of days away! I hardly think I would reuse the brake fluid if there was fresh available

Yeah I'd siringe that all out. Will do some damage if that dirt gets into a calliper.

Okay. Gotta get myself a turkey baster then!

[306Puggy]

Right, got myself a turkey baster, sucked a good amount of fluid out, but I couldn't see the suspected rubber particles in the reservoir anymore? Hopefully it hasn't gone down and buggered something up.

Anyway, got the reservoir nice and empty as possible, you can just about see the old fluid is still covering the inlet for the master cylinder:

   

Then I tried gravity bleeding in the same fashion as you would bleed the radiator, but I couldn't get a decent seal, resulted in about half a litre of wasted brake oil!

   

After bleeding the best part of 2 litres through (allowing for the wastage from my unsuccessful gravity bleeding attempt) I had nice fresh fluid all the way through and a firm pedal, save for a few drops of rain as it had annoyingly decided to start raining on the one day I had free to do the job

   

[swampy]

ew, that's manky!


drain out all the old fluid, then flush the system out by pumping some washing up liquid and water through a few times, then put some fresh brake fluid in, that'll sort her out nicely

Man you realy do line to bodge things don't ya!!!

Never ever put water in to the brake system!!
If any parts get trapped in the lines you will waste all of your time changing the fluid and end up with a spongy pedal!!

If you must flush it thru with anything either get an extra liter of brake fluid or use meths.

[Piggy]

I didnt wana get ripped into again by highlighting this before but I agree too.

You gota be an idiot to flush with washing up liquid and water or any liquid other than brake fluid.

a litre of brake fluid isnt all that expensive to do a job properly and avoid water and bubbles in your brake fluid...then boiling nicely when you need them. or ruining your seals

[swampy]

I didnt wana get ripped into again by highlighting this before but I agree too.

You gota be an idiot to flush with washing up liquid and water or any liquid other than brake fluid.

a litre of brake fluid isnt all that expensive to do a job properly and avoid water and bubbles in your brake fluid...then boiling nicely when you need them. or ruining your seals

Don't worry by the sounds of things samass likes to do things totally wrong on his brakes!!

(Look at the braided line thread, he is running 306 lines on his 106 which are 20cm too long!!)

[samass]

Sigh.


Can't spot a troll post can you.


And if you're so high and f*cking mighty about my brake lines, come and f*cking show me where they are going to catch and cause a f*cking issue. Jesus.

---

Oh and they aren't 20cm too long, nor are pattern ones 20 quid, get your f*cking facts straight before shouting your mouth off like you know f*cking everything about brake lines because you used to be shit at selling braided ones on here.

[swampy]

Sigh.


Can't spot a troll post can you.


And if you're so high and f*cking mighty about my brake lines, come and f*cking show me where they are going to catch and cause a f*cking issue. Jesus.

---

Oh and they aren't 20cm too long, nor are pattern ones 20 quid, get your f*cking facts straight before shouting your mouth off like you know f*cking everything about brake lines because you used to be shit at selling braided ones on here.

Hmm you are the big man sat behind your screen!!!

106 hose length 290mm
306 hose length 545mm

Dimensions taken from the Delphi website , that's actually closer to 25cm extra in length!!
As for the cost around here a pair of pattern lines for a 106 or 306 are that price from the local factors, yes they can be got slightly cheaper off line but only if you plan ahead.

At least I'm not the idiot suggesting people run washing up liquid and water thru your BRAKELINE, for some one who is after advice on cleaning an mc out the OP could of taken you at your word and ended up in a hole heap of trouble

[Piggy]

easy easy lads.

personal preference on the lines perhaps, but lets keep it on topic for Puggy and others reading this for advice.

there is another topic on this already.

[Seb_Ryan]

Samass is just trolling back.. anyone can see that.. lol

[Mattcheese31]

counter-troll . . . . . .for real . .

[samass]

Well, it's nice to see that there are one or two people on the Internet that aren't total retards

[Mattcheese31]

that header tank for the brake fluid is one of the funniest things i've seen in a good while . . . .

[daddyfixit]

to end this one;

brake fluid is hygroscopic (it attracts moisture from the atmosphere ) so it changes its colour as it gets older due to the moisture its absorbing. the moisture is water, so the older it gets---the more diluted it becomes. before manufacturers started defining fluid change intervals, it was common to see seized wheel cylinders with pistons rusted in place---high water content in the fluid. all these bad things were happening before most of the forum were even born, so now we have fluid change intervals and higher spec tuff, we don't see it anymore.
fluid changes are done roughly every 2 years or 20k miles (which ever comes first) and don't put anything else in there---just the correct dot grade as told by a reputable manufacturer.
the results of putting other substances in the brake reservoir can be found by asking about ford fiesta brake recalls at any ford main dealer from about 1994 onwards..................some bright soul refilled fords fiesta manufacturing plant with the wrong stuff.
after a short while it ate the master cylinder seals causing brake failure. we were over-run with fiestas and ford ran out of master cylinder rebuild kits, complete master cylinders and also brake servos !!!! the following year the front flexy hoses started bursting, so they got recalled again................
at one point I had a keyboard with around 40--50 sets of customers keys, al waiting for parts---and those customers were in hire cars that ford were paying for !!!

finally just to give a moments thought;
I know that here is one on-line performance company selling dot 5 synthetic fluid to anybody who wants it, but mineral and synthetic fluids don't like each other do they ??

[swampy]

Stick with dot 4

Just change it regularly

[Piggy]

5.1 fully synth ftw.

just flush it through with the 5.1 first.

well.worth.it.

[Rippthrough]

DOT4, DOT5.1, either or, the brand makes more difference than the ratings.

NOT, NOT, NOT DOT5.
No!

Also, that fluid you topped up with is that dark because it's been sat on a shelf too long and absorbed moisture, fresh fluid should be a pale translucent yellow that's almost clear. (Or blue, if you're using ATE )

[Piggy]

yeah I thought it was dark ...but I use 5.1 and its almost clear compared to 4

[Rippthrough]

They should be the same, that just means the '4 has been on a shelf longer somewhere. Or left open.

[Face.]

They should be the same, that just means the '4 has been on a shelf longer somewhere. Or left open.

Spot on.

[306Puggy]

That fluid was brand new bought and opened that day.