That's not rain...

Driver's footwell is all wet. What a surprise... Except it seems a bit thick to be rain.

And it's running down the clutch pedal.

Deep joy.

So - master. Looks fairly straightforward, and a TRW "Genuine" is on the way. Should be nice and easy, right? Unscrew the cover, and all is obvious.

It's not a great surprise - the car's been sat for 14 of the last 16 years unused. New fluid this year probably scared it to death.

just done mine. don't bolt it in upside down.. as that would just be silly

<frantically scribbles aide-memoire>

Apologies if you already know this, but don't let the fluid sit on any painted surfaces. It will strip the paint off.

Webley1991 said:

Apologies if you already know this, but don't let the fluid sit on any painted surfaces. It will strip the paint off.

Click to expand...

Thanks - yes, I do - but others seeing this in the future might not. The footwell paint's knackered anyway, so I'm not overly worried.

Do yourself a favour .....Fit a good quality slave at the same time AND flush the fluid through before you fit either ....

I would place good money that the slave will go within weeks that you'll be swapping it after it fails somewhere inconvenient,
AND the old fluid will be full of bits of rust/contaminants AND moisture that will see the nice new shiny items off in short order .

mistericeman said:

Do yourself a favour .....Fit a good quality slave at the same time AND flush the fluid through before you fit either ....

I would place good money that the slave will go within weeks that you'll be swapping it after it fails somewhere inconvenient,
AND the old fluid will be full of bits of rust/contaminants AND moisture that will see the nice new shiny items off in short order .

Click to expand...

It had a good flush through at the start of the year, when I got it back on the road (after ~3-4yrs). The old fluid was not lovely, but there wasn't much in the way of gunk in there.

But, yes, you're right. One on order now. TRW again. Might as well add a flexi to the list, too...

TooMany2cvs said:

It had a good flush through at the start of the year, when I got it back on the road (after ~3-4yrs). The old fluid was not lovely, but there wasn't much in the way of gunk in there.

But, yes, you're right. One on order now. TRW again. Might as well add a flexi to the list, too...

Click to expand...

For the cost of even a decent make one ....it's a no brainer mate ....

Same with brake bits to be honest (Not always possible to replace all wheel cylinders at same time as a master BUT worth it IF you can)
Obviously you are savvy to only buying decent quality hydraulic parts rather than some of the frankly christmas cracker makes out there

Yeh, the brakes were all done at the start of the year. Except for the master. It's proved to be OK, fortunately, because it's dual-circuit-servo, the expensive one... It's a gamble, but...

It's a tad awkward, because a neighbour has links with our favourite blue-bag merchants, and can sort me a discount. Whilst I don't want to offend...

TooMany2cvs said:

Yeh, the brakes were all done at the start of the year. Except for the master. It's proved to be OK, fortunately, because it's dual-circuit-servo, the expensive one... It's a gamble, but...

It's a tad awkward, because a neighbour has links with our favourite blue-bag merchants, and can sort me a discount. Whilst I don't want to offend...

Click to expand...

In fairness SOME of their stuff is ok ....
For instance I've yet to have a problem with one of their boxes ...the ones that their parts come in that is .

I'd not bother with much else though ...Last bits I had from them was a set of TLS 11" front shoes ....The friction material mounting plate was welded on on the **** SO fit and tighten drums up = locked up brake drum .

...and finally...

Well, that's a fun job, isn't it? One of those that needs a double-jointed octopus for that ONE bolt - the lower one for the clutch master. All it needed was a welded stud or captive nut... <sigh>

And, of course, you put it all back together and notice the thin ally spacer/shim/gasket still on the old master. Is it needed?

Sod it. Master out again, and back in with shim in place. The easiest way seems to be a spanner (plus apprentice to hold it) up from the footwell, and a ratchet spanner in from the side. Hose changed, slave changed, new fluid, gravity bled, and job's a good 'un.

to be honest mate the easiest way is to whip the pedal box out and do it on a bench 6 extra bolts but half the time

Make sure you have some free play at the master.

jockmurray said:

to be honest mate the easiest way is to whip the pedal box out and do it on a bench 6 extra bolts but half the time

Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I thought.....simply whip the pedal box out. If only it was that simple on mine. The dual circuit brake pipes ran very close to the bottom of the clutch pedal box making it a sod to remove and replace. Two of us larked about with it for what seemed like ages as I really didn't want to remove and bleed brakes as well.
I then realised I'd forgotten to order a pedal box gasket so compromised with a careful small bead of black silicone sealant. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't a scorching hot day when I was doing it....shouldn't complain I suppose.

yes don't complain if it isn't ****ing it down when you do it