Club 80-90 Forums

Fantastic , failed MOT on BRAKE master cylinder leaking fluid ... well it's not the Brake master Cylinder ... it's Clutch master Cylinder.
The brake master cylinder is dry as a bone.

So before I go rant , is leakage from the Clutch Master Cylinder cause for MOT failure?

Thks

As it is a combined unit (iirc) then yes.

Replace it ... it's a safety issue otherwise, they may leak for a while but when they go you lose the the clutch.

Ian.

Surely you would want a working clutch and the MOT station to inform you of any incipient problems.. that's what the MOT is about... isn't it?

Brake/clutch fluid on the floor under the driver's feet is a serious danger - foot slippy off brake pedal.

its NOT a reason for rejection /fail
as long as you can drive it ok to carry out the test, but you may need to prove its the clutch not brake .
also make sure the fluid is topped up , can be seen on a test but will be if your proving by showing the brake master

For how much it'll cost to fix just do it ! If you can't afford to fix it ask yourself ... can you really afford to run a 20 year old van ?

Ian

You can appeal an MOT station's decision. The truth is that the clutch master cyl leak can't affect the brake master because the clutch takes its feed higher up the reservoir.

So... if it is a matter of legality, rather than practicality, you may be able to appeal... However, it means a re-test and if the inspectors find something the testers missed, you'll have to fix that too.

I think its called 'catch 22.'

I thought the Clutch and Brakes shared the same cylinder?

No, they share the same reservior but the clutch one can't exhaust the brake one.

A clutch master cylinder costs about £40 and takes about an hour to swap, plus the cost of 1/2 litre of dot 4 brake fluid. The only real issue can be if you have troubles with the slave cylinder bleed nipple.

Or risk inviting the wrath of an MOT inspector round your 20 year old van

In comparison with the rest of Europe we have it rather cushey as far as MOT's are concerned. I have always run whay many would describe as "Old Bangers" and have some golden rules as far as MOT's are concerned:

1/ My tax and MOT never expire at the same time which prevents me from having to repair/store my vehicle off road if I have a troublesome MOT.
2/ I never have my MOT done by a garage who think they will be doing the work if it fails. I make that quite clear to them.
3/ I do as much preparation as I think it needs to satisfy the tester that I am not just running it into the ground.
4/ If it does fail I take it away and fix it without question as hell hath no fury like a tester questioned. Chances are the Ministry will back him(/her) up anyway Traipsing the vehicle around the stations hoping for a "luckier" test was never a good option but is probably confounded now by computerisation of records.

No just fix your clutch cylinder while you can still drive it and thank your lucky stars you didn't lose about £5K driving it off the forecourt and don't have to pay hundreds of squids for regular servicing so you can be stitched up for all sorts of vague indescretions in for instance your £400 emission control ECU or your £900 gearbox Black box Gismo like what new vehicles are plagued with. Or maybe even Dual Mas Flywheels like cause the clutch pedal to wobble under your foot in brand new Boxters
CVheers
Wolfie

True Ken, compared to California emission nightmares and anywhere in Germany, we have it dead easy...
I say, righto, be back in a few days with it all done, thanks for finding that fault

OK , so you've all had a chat.
The van also failed on the brake hoses , and brake pipe. So a happy weekend was spent renewing the lot. The problem was I'd got a new brake master cylinder to fit , without checking.
So the fun was to get everything done in the weekend so I could get a re-test within the 10 working day window.
Anyway , had the re-test , chatted to the examiner , and he had mistaken the clutch master for the brake master
And the clutch master isn't a reason for failure.
Anyway quick exchange of parts and we're all good.

Now back to the leak in the rear of the roof ......

Ahh, leak in rear of roof... MOT failure that is!