Engine Specific Info and Questions > IDI Engine

Booster full of brake fluid

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Rabbit79:
So I was driving home the other night when a dog ran out in front of me and I had to throw on the binders really hard. Seemed like they grabbed just long enough for me to miss the dog and then the pedal went right to the floor and bam... no brakes after that. Nursed it home and took the master cylinder off and what has happened is I jammed on the brakes so hard the rod from the booster blew out the innards of the piston in the master cylinder. The end result of all this being I now have a booster full of brake fluid (well, about 1/3 full). I can't say that I really know a thing about the boosters as I've never worked on one and everything I've ever read about them says to just replace them if they go bad. So anyway my question is this: Does getting brake fluid in the booster ruin it? I was thinking I'd try to dump as much of the fluid out as I can, then put it in the solvent tank and squirt it out as best as possible with solvent then let it dry for a few days. Or would it be better to use something milder like soap and water? Or am I just wasting my time and need to get a new one? Suggestions? Opinions? Comments?

Gizmoman:
A new one would be the safest choice.
Generally, brake boosters aren't "fixable".
I believe your master cylinder may be the issue as it should not let fluid get past it's seals and into the booster.

I'd change both.

Rabbit79:
I already know the master cylinder is nuked. I just want to know if I can save the booster. I don't think there's anything really wrong with it except that it's got a bunch of brake fluid in it.

vanbcguy:
If it were me I'd probably clean it out and try to run it. I would be careful about solvents though, you don't want to damage the rubber in the booster.

Rabbit79:
It doesn't seem that solvent would be any worse than brake fluid, but then unless you're a chemical engineer (which I definitely am not), who can say what different chemicals will react to the different types of rubber or plastic inside the booster (or whatever else is in there). That's really why I put this post up in the first place. Brake fluid is nasty stuff, and I was just curious if it would be eating away at stuff inside the booster. Just hoping that maybe someone has come across something like this in the past and how it worked out for them. 

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