Honda Civic / Del Sol (1992 - 2000) EG/EH/EJ/EK/EM1 Discussion

Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 02:35 PM
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eh9deux's Avatar
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Icon3 Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Checked FAQs and searched.

Just like the title states: I filled the MC with fluid a couple months ago and checked it last night after dealing with some brake problems. Its very low. Of course I put more but this still does not solve my problem.
Where would it be leaking from? There is no puddle of fluid under my car or any fluid around the booster/mc.

I've also noticed that my brake pedal is very spongy and is somewhat hard to stop the car. Also when coming to a stop (10 to 0mph) the car lurches while braking. HALP.
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 02:38 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Check the faqs and search more. Thanx
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 02:41 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Check your wheel cylinders. If its leaking bad enough you should be able to see it on the back of the wheels/tires. This leaking would not cause a puddle because you are slinging it off while you drive. The spongy feeling is air in the lines due to a leak.
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 02:50 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

look inside the booster (through vacum port) and maybe pull the m/c forward to see if its damp inbehind it
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 02:51 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Originally Posted by Steebhouse
Check the faqs and search more. Thanx


What sort of break issues?
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 02:55 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Thanks guys. Will let you know what I find.
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 03:09 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

you could also reach up under the dash feel on the carpet my mc was dripping just a touch in the cabin as well as outside
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 03:17 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

it sounds like it could be your MC was leaking for a while and ate the insides of the brake booster... if have fluid inside the cabin which is why your brakes feels spongy besides the obvious lack of fluid. change out both to be safe and you should be good to go. but just make sure your banjo bolts are tight and lines arent leaking front and rear
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 03:20 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

I think I found my leak. -_- I don't know how I missed this! lol.
Pics below. Checked my wheels and there's just brake dust. Nothing grimey. I checked the inside and there's no leak there. Carpet isn't damp either.

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The area around the top of where the mc meets the booster looks bubbly and the bottom is very moist, looks fresh. Will I need to replace both or just the mc?
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 03:27 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

my car was liek that when i bought it. Yes, you need to change the MC... it really depends on how its leaking.... if no fluid got inside the booster, then it should be fine and you can just replace the MC, but im not sure how you would test the booster... i say change the MC and see how it feels. Dont forget to completely bench bleed the new MC. the one i bought came with bench bleed stuff. make sure you get all the air out or you will be bleeding at the wheels FOEVER
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 03:28 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

You probably only need a new master cylinder.
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 03:42 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

new master cyl. time.....
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 04:50 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

the way to test the booster is with the engine off pump the pedal seaveral times then well holding the pedal down start the car the pedal should fall away a little bit . and after runing the motor pull the line off the booster it should hiss
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 05:03 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Alright. Thanks guys. Much appreciated. Gonna pick up a new one by the end of the week and do a full bleed of the system.
Bench bleeding is when you bleed the MC while off the car right?
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Old Apr 26, 2011 | 05:14 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Originally Posted by eh9deux
Bench bleeding is when you bleed the MC while off the car right?
yes
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Old Apr 27, 2011 | 10:26 PM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

Just thought I'd give an update. Changed out the M/C and flushed the system out with new fluid. Stops on a dime.
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Old Jun 13, 2011 | 06:37 AM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

I just discovered mine is leaking from the back of the MC yesterday at a solo event. Time to upgrade to the 15/16 MC. I've been having the same symptoms you described for a while now.
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Old Jun 13, 2011 | 07:33 AM
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Default Re: Fluid in Brake Master Cylinder depleting with no visible leak in sight.

There is seals in the MC that wear out and there is also some piston ring kind of seals inside of it too. There used to be rebuild kits back before my day but it became cheaper to replace with a new one now. MC is the usual suspect when there is no visible leaks watch out for Clutch MC doing that too since they probably were both installed on the car at the same time..........
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