Brake Fluid Leaking

[hitman17mk]

ok, last ngiht my brake light came on, so i checked under the hood and there was spots of hydrlic fluid everywhere and splashed up on the hood, i got some brake fluid and refilled, not today it is back down to almost empty again, my brakes work fine, no differnce , no dropping to the floor, i had someone slam the brake while i watchged for leak, could find anywhere where it was leaking, from what i sawe it seams to be comin from somewhere around the master cylinder, but not sure, i need to fix this cuase i got a 2 hour drive to ma's for christmas, any ideas apprciated thanks

 

[Robb]

You need to clean up the area around the leak and keep looking while someone else hits the brake and holds it (while running).

Not much anyone here can do unless we know where the leak is.

 

[Blee1099]

Just out of curiousity did you try turning your wheels with the motor off? If you did, fluid will shoot out of the vent hole in the cap.. Then again if it is leaking to the point of being dry, you probably have a bad master cylinder or something else going bad.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Brake fulid is very corrosive, eats aluminum and paint, so watch out. Clean it all up, and try to find the spot with the most fluid while you're doing the cleaning.

It could be something as simple as the plastic reservoir is cracked, or a rusted line.

 

[Eneurb]

Just out of curiousity did you try turning your wheels with the motor off? If you did, fluid will shoot out of the vent hole in the cap.. Then again if it is leaking to the point of being dry, you probably have a bad master cylinder or something else going bad.

Turning the wheels will make brake fluid shoot out??? Power steering fluid I know, but I've never heard of brake fluid shooting out...

 

[Blee1099]

Turning the wheels will make brake fluid shoot out??? Power steering fluid I know, but I've never heard of brake fluid shooting out...

Yeah power steering.. I must be on drugs or something.

 

[Bronco638]

After the clean-up, if you still can't easily see a leak (dripping), the master cylinder's rear seal might be bad and leaking fluid into the vacuum booster. I had this happen to me on an old Mustang. Both master cylinder and booster were bad. Hope you get this fixed before your trip.

Good Luck - Dave.

 

[DeRocha]

All of the above is great advise. When my rear brake line (above rear axle) began leaking it would do the same. I had someone step on the brake with the engine running and it squirted the fluid out of the pin hole (much like a kids squirt gun). Until you find the leak keep the brake fluid maxed out. If it runs dry it'll be a pita to purge the air from it as well as the ABS hydryaulic controller (If you have one).