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[Chopchop]

Hi Guys,

I'm really confused about this one.  My clutch master cylinder reservoir loses it's brake fluid.  I have no idea where it goes !
It doesn't drain onto the ground and all the brake lines are dry.
I replaced the slave cylinder about a year ago and that appears dry as well.  I would assume that the brake fluid is draining inside the transmission ?   I've never had the trans off the engine so I don't know what anything looks like in there.
Whether I drive the car or let it sit, the fluid drains out of the reservoir in a few days.  Does anyone have a possible solution for this ?  I'm good and stumped and I sure don't want to pull the trans just to see what's in there.

Thanks,
Dave

[Gostlrs]

u can try to cap off the line at the tranny...fill it up an see if the level drops like you say..

if it stays at the same level then you know its a internal issue with the tranny.

if not use the same theory, cap off the lines until you get it to stay at the level. that will pinpoint where you issue will be

[CapriTypeR]

I had the same issue with my second Capri! Never did figure it out. When we parked it, the clutch was slipping real bad. The car sat for 2 years, and when I sold it last year, the new owner drove it out of my barn, and thought I was nuts because I told him it needed a new clutch. He's been driving it for a year with no problems, and hasn't needed to put fluid in it yet!   Go figure..............

[rcicustoms]

does the N/A capri have an internal slave cylinder??? meaning the slave cylinder that acuates the clutch is inside the bellhousing???
or is it on the side of the tranny on the outside???like a mitsubishi or a newer ford?
unless somehow the car has an internal slave, it makes no sense that the fluid would actually be going into the tranny or bellhousing....

[Chopchop]

Weird.
I would think the brake fluid had been leaking onto the clutch disc causing it to slip.

After it sat for a long time, the brake fluid dried up and was absorbed into the clutch disc material.  Why and exactly where it was leaking in the first place is still the confusing part.  Additionally, why it decided to stop leaking is confusing as well.

My Capri's clutch felt terrible when I got it 4 years ago.  The clutch started to release near the end of the pedal travel and the previous owner told me up front that the clutch was on it's last leg and would need to be replaced.

Being the cheapo I am, I bled the system really well and the clutch felt a lot better.  I've been driving it ever since like this.

I have no problem whatsoever justifying a new clutch set.  This excellent little car more than deserves it.  My problem is twofold : I don't want to do all the work involved with this job and I'm in the middle of two different projects right now anyway so there's no time to tie the car up and nowhere to put the car while I'm doing the work.

If I hadn't changed the slave cylinder, that's where I'd think the problem was but since that unit isn't all that old, I'd think it's okay.  I'm wondering if anyone had this problem before and if they took everything apart to find out what the deal is.

Thanks for your replies on this issue,

Dave

[rcicustoms]

if you were to get fluid on your clutch disc then it would slip profusely having very little holding power ... this sounds like the previous owners concearn that it held no power and was on its last leg ... and if the slave was replaced and the leak stopped , and enough time for the disk to dry had passed.. then it is possible that it will now hold the power....this is not a dismissable theory and is very possible... but if the fluid is still disappearing and is nowhere to be found then the mystery of the disappearing fluid still remains...hmmmm

[Chopchop]

No, no, the clutch has never slipped - it still doesn't.

The previous owner meant that the clutch was well-used and didn't have a lot of travel on the pedal.  It was one of those, "as you release the clutch pedal and give it some gas absolutely nothing happens until the very end of the pedal travel" type of deal.

After I bled it it was significantly better.
I can't remember having to add fluid to the reservoir in the past.  After a couple of years of driving it like that, one day I had to change the slave cylinder because the clutch didn't work at all.  I'd say that was about a year and a half ago.  The disappearing brake fluid bit didn't start until about 6 months ago.  The clutch still doesn't slip.  The reservoir just drains out somewhere and it's not on the ground because I check for leaks daily (brand new concrete $$ driveway....)

Dave

[CapriTypeR]

One of your neighbor kids is stealing the fluid in the middle of the night??

As I had posted before, we never figured out where all the fluid went in ours, either.  We had to of put well over 1 1/2 gallons in over a 6 month period. Let us know if you find out.  I'm curious to know, as well.

--R

[Chopchop]

That neighbor kid does have beady little eyes.  I never thought of that angle.
When I figure out what's going on, I'll make sure to post and fill everyone in.

Thanks,
Dave

[bryanknight]

hey i have a comment not sure if its the same on a turbo or non turbo if you guys remember i had all kinds of problems with my brakes after changing the calp. in the back and after that i started losing brake fluid and believe it or not its was leakin out of the master cyclinder into the brake booster.i did not know till it went out and it was so heavy and when i laid it down it poured out brake fluid i must about been half way up the booster

[stinkweed]

You might want to check inside the car behind the carpet. I have seen master cyls leak fld from them and it ends up on the floor under the matting and carpet. The two most common leaks are from the slave cyl or the master cyl. On an N/A car the slave cyl is mounted externaly on the bellhousing and has a pin that pushes the fork assembly so if it's leaking you should see it using a flashlight. Just my $.02   :cool:

[Chopchop]

I actually stored the car today for a couple of months because the really bad weather is here and I don't want to drive the car in it unless absolutely necessary.

The master cyl. was empty (as usual).  There's no leaking under the car and I didn't see anything under the master or at the slave.

I bought a new Reverse Flow one man brake bleeder last week.  You open your bleeder screw and pump fluid into the bleeder, up through the line and into the master cyl. reservoir.  This is the first time I used this bleeder.  I pushed the fluid in through the bleeder, filled the master, tightened the bleeder and the clutch worked beautifully the first time I pushed it - other than lying on the ground, it was as easy as can be.

When it's warmer out I will dig around inside the car to see if there's any brake fluid in there.  If it was leaking onto the carpet I would think that I would have detected it by now but you never know.  Thanks for you input on this problem,

Dave