911vet

I need cheering up. Someone tell me this is gonna be "ok."

I checked on my 911 that's temporarily stored in a neighbor's barn. I discovered it doesn't have a drop of brake/clutch fluid in the reservoir.

If I have a bad master or slave cylinider, can it actually leak out of the system?

I installed new rotors before my last DE in October. I drove the DE, had the body damage repaired (!), and then parked the car. I can't imagine that it's a leaking brake line or I would have had problems at the DE. Also, it didn't leak at the body shop for the 2 weeks it was there.

I can't get the car out of the barn because there is a swamp in front of it now. No one told me about that when I parked it in there. I'm going to try to jack it up, but the floor in the barn isn't condusive to such things.

Sigh.

My boyfriend dumped me, my 911 is stranded, the hydraulics are full of air, I'm all alone, and it's Christmas. Someone tell me something good!! Please!! Tell me it can only be a bad brake line

g-50cab

Everything is going to be A-ok - it's usually the simple things -

Your boy friend dumped you - so now you can spend more time doing stuff you want to do without feeling guilty. That money you were going to spend his his present can get you a cool new helmet or a set of tires - his loss.

Your 911 is stranded - well you weren't going to drive it anyway - this is the best time to have something go wrong - MUCH better than the day before a track event, right? Just check the MC out - make sure you don't have brake fluid all over the inside trunk - if you do = clean it up now so it doesn't eat all your paint off.

If you are alone at Christmas - see if you can volunteer your time - or invite yourself over to somones house - it will make you feel better.

Hang in there...

911vet

I feel better already

Peter Zimmermann

I don't know where your fluid went, but investigate the trunk area around the base of the reservoir/master. If that's dry, you probably pushed the fluid out of a brake hose or clutch slave hose, co-incidentally just before you parked the car - but it shouldn't be too bad. Because of your weather it might be a good idea to have your shop look at this one...that said - cheers to you, Shannon, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

911vet

The car is parked on a gravel/dirt floor... so it wasn't possible to find a puddle to clue me in. I checked the trunk floor and didn't find any fluid under the master cylinder.

I managed to jack up the car... still no clues. I couldn't get to the slave cylinder to check there.

Where it is makes it impossible to work on, so it's gonna have to go to the shop as soon as the ground freezes and I can get it towed.

Is there anything I should do in the meantime to protect the lines and seals from drying out? Like add more fluid?

Of course, I had just put in super expensive Motul. But I can use something cheap since it's all gonna have to be flushed. The reservoir is totally dry.

Bill Verburg

On power brake 911s the fluid often ends up in the vacuum boost cannister. You likely need a new m/c

ron mcatee

Make sure you don't have any brake fluid under the drivers floor board. If there is some there, clean it up immediately.

old man neri

Even on dirt/gravel leaking oil will make the area look 'wet' or darker than the rest. It just won't be a puddle.

As for everything else. Your ex is a douche, go find someone much better, I am sure you will. It's Christmas, you have your health, you have your pets, and you still have your 911, although it is experiencing a little glitch.

Look on the bright side, it happened during the off season. Now it gives you plenty of time to figure out the problem, come up with the best solution, and source the cheapest parts. This is much better than it happening the day before a big DE.

911vet

See, I knew I could count on my 911 buddies to make things better Thanks, Old Man.

Normally, you'd be correct about fluid stain being visable even on gravel... but this "floor" is a semi-moist gravel, sand, dirt, quicksand kind of a thing that I think has already soaked up so much oil from old tractors that nothing is visible anymore.

I guess I need to check under the carpet... didn't do that.

You are right, it's better that it happened now than during track season. Though... the 911 is officially retired from DE duty. I got a Miata for that now. Maybe Santa will bring me a turbo for it next year so I can keep up with the Porsches again

Have a great holiday, Matt. Thanks again.

Ed Hughes

Man, we have some great grief counselers here!

Merry Christmas all!

dshepp806

For free, too.

911tracker85

Shannon.

now I understand the brief email I received. very sorry to hear of all the challenges, but knowing you I am sure you will perseveer and pull through.

when my MC started leaking, since I could not find any fluid anywhere esle, by process of eliination I decided it HAD to be the MC. I had also heard the fluid may accumulate in the booster. I only found the fluid under the PB booster by sticking a Qtip under there. and then also found some fluid under my drivers side floor mat next to the clutch pedal. my 911 being an 85, no hydralic clutch.

and you may recall I used to have issues with my fluid getting forced out the overflow tube at track events. but now I have 3 or 4 loops in the overflow tube prior to the catch can on the end to monitor loss at the track that has almost elimianted this.

all the best my friend.

whalebird

Check the master cylinder. Like Peter says, maybe a tow to the shop that last did the flush(I will assume this was prep/track tech before the last DE). It is quite possible the fluid leaked into the brake-booster but check under the pedals inside the car as well. If this is in fact the case, you want to make sure to get as much fluid out of the booster as possible. Depending on method used, the fliud flush could have propagated this. An old master cylinder can fail after a flush, especially if the brake pedal was fully depressed in the process. This depresses the seals beyond their normal margins where they can encounter contaminates and irregularities that damage the plunger seals. I have seen this happen on newer MCs, and had older MCs endure the process without a problem. Maybe this helps.
Sorry about your set-backs Shannon, many of us are looking forward to the new year.
Merry Christmas all.

911vet

I've done all the brake work myself (new lines, new rotors, multiple flushes and bleeding). Early on, I received some bad advice and was told to push the brake and clutch pedals despite the fact I was using a pressure bleeder. So I am guessing I screwed up the seal in the MC. The MC looked new when I bought the car 2 yrs ago.

OK, I'm gonna get the car to the shop for a final diagnosis. Either that or maybe I just put on a MC and hope for the best.

Thanks all... sometimes you just need some moral support and someone to talk to. You guys have made my holiday season a merry one. You are family. (and thanks for not kicking me out even though I bought a Miata!)

theiceman

if your not in a hury I would say just take your time and check around .. for the fluid . You seam very HAndy and givene you have already done the brakes you know what is involved. if it is the MC it is pretty straight forward to replace .
I would definitely check under your front drivers mat as mentioned, if you see fluid there i would lso inspect the pedal bushings very carefully . I think they Are Delrin bushings and will be affected by the fluid unless you have upgraded to Bronze bushings.

Sounds like you may need the distraction to with everything you have been through ..

Good Luck .... and don't forget the Doctor Who Christmas special should be available for Download now ..