Well, today I was working on my 2000 Prosport project and it took an interesting turn. This car had been sitting in a car collection for 7 years so I decided it would be a good idea to replace the fluids and bleed the brakes and clutch while I had the front crash structure off of the car. I started in the front and the first side went smoothly. Then on the second (left side) no fluid would come out. I ended up taking the bleed valve off and pressurizing the line and then what appeared to be chunks of silicone come out. I was concerned that this could have been an issue caused by mixing incompatible fluids so I looked at the master cylinder for the rear brakes (which I hadn't touched yet) and was surprised to see that the brake fluid had turned to gel. You can see in the picture that I pressed a small wrench into the gel and in made an indentation. It looks like this is turning into a bigger brake job than I thought. I contacted the guy that last drove the car and he told me that it had Castrol SRF brake fluid in it. I am using Motul 660 which are both Dot 4 fluids and should be compatible. It looks like this is turning into a bigger brake job than I thought.
Today I scooped the gel out of the master cylinder. The blob was quite large, but the good news is that gel doesn’t appear to be it the brake lines.
Now I am waiting on the parts to rebuild the calipers... better safe than sorry.
That looks like it’s from the movie “Ghost Busters”!
I would remove them, disassemble, inspect and replace all the rubber parts. As you know, brakes are one area that you want to have 100% confidence in.
That looks like it’s from the movie “Ghost Busters”!
I would remove them, disassemble, inspect and replace all the rubber parts. As you know, brakes are one area that you want to have 100% confidence in.
I agree. I am doing a complete brake system overhaul.
Charley
I purchased a car yesterday where neither the clutch or brake pedal will move. They're both locked in place. I removed the linkage from the clutch pedal this morning and the pedal moves freely without the line to the master cylinder connected. Somehow the master cylinders seized for both the clutch and brake.
I removed the cap and the fluid looks fine.
Have you ever come across seized master cylinders? My understanding is that it's only been a year since this car was on the track. Also, did you have to drill out the rivets to remove the crash box and have better access to the master cylinders?
Also, did you have to drill out the rivets to remove the crash box and have better access to the master cylinders?
i'd like to know this too.......i was hoping i could attach my pressure bleeder to the resovoirs to bleed the brakes, as i'm on my own. Only to find i cannot get the cap on because of the crashbox.
i'd like to know this too.......i was hoping i could attach my pressure bleeder to the resovoirs to bleed the brakes, as i'm on my own. Only to find i cannot get the cap on because of the crashbox.
I have a Motive bleeder and am able to get the cap on the reservoirs but I have long, skinny arms and it's a tight maneuver. Alternatively you could use something like this:
to pull the fluid out with a vacuum. Just keep an eye on the fluid levels.
@darrahc in UK the Motive bleeder is difficult to come by/long delivery times as i suppose it has to be sent from US first.
The main one in UK is by Sealey VS820 - works really well, and comes all prepared with the fittings to allow for dry bleeding, which is what i've been doing on my road car for years - less faff than filling the bleed container up with brake fluid.
The downside is the top of the cap has the couplings on it so it just won't go under the crash box, as the edge of the box cuts across the centre of the cap where the coupling sticks out of.
I think i've found a solution for £20 though, the 'Gunson Eezibleed', which uses pressure from a spare tyre. The cap is a similar size/shape and just has the tube coming out of it, so, should fit over the radicals resevoirs. I'll be testing it out later.
I know this is an old thread but I too ran in to the gelled brake fluid issue on an older SR3. I have a 2012 RS that supposedly had been well maintained and have receipts for brake bleeds but in my maiden voyage on track, my rear brakes vapor locked closed! The fluid not only boiled but also burned - it looked like coffee coming out of the bleeders. Shame on me for not bleeding them myself prior to taking it on track. Fluid on receipts was SRF. After dragging the car off of the track since the rear tires would not roll at all, we continued to bleed the air/coffee fluid out of the rear brake system until they finally opened up and could roll the car.
I then decided to overhaul the entire brake system. First step was inspect master cylinders and sure enough, gel in the rear unit. I just replaced both MC's. Rear brake line to right side would not flow fluid - had to flush the entire line (what a pain!) Pulled the calipers and all of the piston seals were cooked so those were replaced. As the calipers were apart for rebuild, I found particulate that looked like sand / grit in each caliper - more cleaning to get all of them clean and flowing. Thankfully the rotors were not warped and the front pads were still good but replaced the rears after the super-high temperature track situation.
Guess the short take away is when buying a "good car" check everything! I suspect the rear brake system merely had small bleeds done rather than full flushes.
@brewerbry, SRF is a great brake fluid, but it ages terribly. Sounds like you fixed it properly.
