N

Northerner

Member
Hi Guys,

Please be gentle as I'm new to the world of the P38...

I have an issue with the brakes on my 1997 P38 DSE Manual, basically I did the usual check of oil and water this am and thought I should check the brake fluid as there was signs of leakage from the top cap, when I opened it the fluid was right to the brim, way past the max mark.. I then started the car and the fluid level dropped to the minimum mark!! Is this normal as I am guessing it isn't and I don't want to drive it around if there is a chance the brakes may fail. To add to it my wife now says that for the last couple of days the first press of the pedal at the start of a drive does nothing.........

If you have any ideas that would be great as I feel I may have to fall at the mercy of the local dealer.....

Thanks

Peter
 
Accumulator failed by the sound of it. It's the black spherical object on top of the brake pump, drivers side. Easy to change. Good idea to do a brake fluid change at the same time. Make sure you depressurise the brake system by pressing the pedal 30 times with the ignition off before you try to remove it.
 
Surely there should be a NRV of some description to prevent Boost Pump and Accumulator pressure from forcing liquid back to the tank - if there is a one way valve in the system, maybe this has failed causing fluid to be returned to the tank!!
 
Fluid level should be filled to max mark after pump has pressurised system. Fluid will rise in tank if car has been stood for a time. When system is pressurised level should drop back to max mark. Cannot see how the level drop you say could happen there is nowhere for that much fluid to go. Unless the pressure in the accumulator is very low indeed.
 
Saint.V8 said:
Surely there should be a NRV of some description to prevent Boost Pump and Accumulator pressure from forcing liquid back to the tank - if there is a one way valve in the system, maybe this has failed causing fluid to be returned to the tank!!
Click to expand...

Fluid always returns to tank if car is stood for any length of time. That is why pump runs every morning when you start up. It can take up to 40 seconds to fully pressurise system.
 
If the diaphragm fails, the space formerly occupied by the gas gets filled with brake fluid.
 
Hi Guys

Thanks for the answers, the level is definitely dropping by an inch when I start the car, if I do top in up when pressurised back to the max level I'm guessing it'll overflow once it's depressurized again hence the residue on the top of the bottle.

So it sounds like I will be replacing the accumulator then, where's best to buy these? Any ideas or is it a eBay purchase?

Thanks again

Peter
 
Northerner said:
Hi Guys

Thanks for the answers, the level is definitely dropping by an inch when I start the car, if I do top in up when pressurised back to the max level I'm guessing it'll overflow once it's depressurized again hence the residue on the top of the bottle.

So it sounds like I will be replacing the accumulator then, where's best to buy these? Any ideas or is it a eBay purchase?

Thanks again

Peter
Click to expand...


Try Island 4 x 4:)
 
Thanks for the info 'Datatek' island had one so it should be with me on Thursday..

Fingers crossed it sorts the issue.

Cheers
 
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