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General Information => General => Topic started by: CRSMP5 on December 26, 2012, 06:14:44 am

Title: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: CRSMP5 on December 26, 2012, 06:14:44 am
poortex post.... the aftermarket master is the issue.. toaster took 17 months to seal.. sadly.. it leaked the res in a month for the first 8 or so mo.. but after winter aka spring when i stater to drive it it got worse.. like daily for 3 gal of fluid.. then poof no more leak.. (my planned cure was german pedals/master/booster... but required refab so not gotten to it)

the aftermarket master has over sized rubber gromets.. the factory bottle does not expand them enough to seal the rubber to the master.. walla the leak that will not go away.. sadly its a poor redesign on the "westy" master.. german different..
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: RabbitJockey on December 26, 2012, 07:28:08 am
Thanks Chris, so haha I am still not quite sure how to resolve it.  Did u also get the 30 dollar reman unit from advanced?  Normally I would coat the barbs in epoxy or something but i don't know that it would hold up to brake fluid,  hmmm.
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: CRSMP5 on December 26, 2012, 12:14:26 pm
thats not the leak... where rubber goes in to metal... the o-ring/bushing is too thick, so it does not give with the pathetic westy bottle.. its too stiff a rubber... i went thru 3 till one was so tight ill have to replace the bottle as its never commi out.. that was the fill 1x a mo.. till it got warm from cold.. then every day.. then poof stopped..

my guess... the fluid softened the rubber eough to fially seal.. but took 12+ months...

i had read of this on poor tex for a while wonderi how such things (leak) could happen way before i had it happen... reman design flaw.. only fix is german brake set up.. unless you can find proper westy one..

rubber gromment differace, new diameter is quarter, old dime to nickle.. cannot be swapped at all..
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: RabbitJockey on December 26, 2012, 12:29:21 pm
hmm, i'll figure something out and report back.  i knew what u meant, but a fatter barb would spread the grommet out more right?  im thinking maybe i can lightly heat the reservoir barbs and spread them a hair with some needle nose pliers pushed inside.  maybe if i just zip tie it down on the master cylinder real hard it will help well see.  as you said too, i installed this in the summer, but didn't notice the issue till more recently so it could be some what temperature related.
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: R.O.R-2.0 on December 27, 2012, 02:39:19 pm
soak the seals in gasoline over night prior to use..

gas will soften them right up..
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: RabbitJockey on December 27, 2012, 02:58:28 pm
soak the seals in gasoline over night prior to use..

gas will soften them right up..

thats an idea, i just got my trek back from the muffler shop i'll pull the seals and let them soak this weekend, see what luck i have, that will give me a chance to check the reservoir for cracks.
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: CRSMP5 on December 31, 2012, 07:25:03 pm
hey trev... guy on poortex... tdi-m rat rod thing... tell him to try no glowplugs 1st... mine are still not wired up and starts on a 30f day... easier then a idi with glows on summer day...
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: RabbitJockey on January 14, 2013, 01:01:58 pm
silly me!!! i have found the leak, i actually haven't been driving the car so it was not anything i had been concerning myself with.  I popped the hood to show a friend of mine the reservoirless radiator and how cool it was, then i also started griping about the brake fluid leak, and i noticed fluid on top of the reservoir so i unscrewed the cap to check the seal under the cap and noticed the cap had a huge crack in it.  case closed haha.  anyone wanna sell me a reservoir cap for an american rabbit?  or anyone wanna buy a rabbit to go with their reservoir cap
Title: Re: trev, mk1 fluid leak
Post by: theman53 on January 14, 2013, 02:51:56 pm
I may have an older MK1 res and cap. Someday I will make it to the farm and check out the stash.