Club 80-90 Forums

Hello all.
I've not been on here in ages but my 1.9 DG Caravelle has been off the road now for about 4 years due to a corrosion problem that I hadn't got the time or inclination to sort out. I knew it would fail the next MOT and I had access to another vehicle so I just SORNed it. I have been starting it and moving it about periodically but the last time I did so I found I had no brakes. I don't mean a soft pedal or a hard pedal, I mean NO pedal. It literally feels as if the pedal is not connected to anything other than the return spring.
I'm suspecting the master cylinder as there are no signs of fluid loss on the ground but there is no fluid in the reservoir. This suggests that the master cylinder has leaked all the fluid into the servo, doesn't it? Assuming this to be the case, will I need to renew the servo as well as the master cylinder and where can I find some information regarding the renewal procedure? I'm guessing I'll have to remove the complete fascia panel to access the servo/master cylinder.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks in advance,

Brooky.

The reservoir is for the clutch and brakes.
I would top it up and find out where it has gone.
That will tell you if you need a new master cylinder.

Removal of the MC is covered in the wiki and on numerous posts here
Try a search.

Thanks Kev. Did not know it was a shared reservoir. I'll top it up and check the clutch hydraulics.

Shared but the clutch cannot cause the brakes to fail because the take off point for the clutch master cylinder is 'half way' up the reservoir. So if there is a catastrophic leak on the clutch the fluid level ONLY drops down to that 'take off' point.

I would also say, that brake master cylinders can bleed into servo's but generally not when they are just standing but under pedal pressure. I would look carefully at the rear wheel cylinders and of course, metal brake pipes, usually front to rear (the last 3rd at the rear) and the metal pipes to either side at the rear.

Martin