Brake fluid reservoir

[steve_964]

If you were to force the brake caliper pistons into the calipers without removing any brake fluid could you force brake fluid out of the reservoir where the level switch fits ?

The reason for this question is that my 1990 C2 has just undergone front wishbone fitting and suspension realignment. I drove the car home from the independant specialists after the work had been completed and all appeared to be fine while I enjoyed the new surefooted handling.
Having put the car in the garage and been away working for a week I return and on opening the garage am confronted by a pool of what turned out to be brake fluid.
Having stripped out the carpet,spare wheel ,compressor etc from the front compartment I find yet more fluid laying in the wheel well and an empty fluid reservoir.
Curiously the top of the reservoir was full of fluid and the level switch also covered in the same fluid.

I'm trying to establish what has happened here , the people who carried out the work (well respected and long established ) are blaming a leak elsewhere ,but the braking system on my car is free from any leaks ,at least it was until I took it to be worked on.
I cleared up all the mess and refilled the reservoir and have had no leak yet although i won't go out in the car until it has stood a bit longer .

Any ideas anyone,

Steve

 

[johnk]

if the pistons are pushed back yes the brake fluid will overflow if too much is about, sometimes the resevoir caps have a small pin hole in and it comes out of this hole, some people slacken the cap whilst performing brake pad replacements and so on,..

the problem you encounter is when the pads wear and the car goes in for service and possible brake fluid change the level always ends up topped up to max and when the pads come in for replacment you find you have too much fluid in the system..

 

[steve_964]

Thanks for that reply , I was thinking along those lines but thought other opinions would be nice,especially as the specialists are blaming other area's of the car .
Would the calipers need to be removed from their fixings to carry out wheel alignment ??

Regards

Steve

 

[Steve Brookes]

No reason for removing calipers when carrying out wheel alignment or replacing wishbones AFAIK.

 

[steve_964]

just checked the boot space for leaks after refilling with brake fluid last weekend.Am pleased to find not a drip anywhere so i'm at a loss as where the previous spillage came from.

I didn't think the calipers would need to be removed for wheel alignment but still trying to conclude how the brake fluid was forced out of the reservoir

Steve

 

[polar964]

ORIGINAL: Steve Brookes

No reason for removing calipers when carrying out wheel alignment or replacing wishbones AFAIK.

Would agree! no reason for any of the brake system to be interfered with!
Always frustrating though, to then find a fault, straight after having something else none related fixed!

 

[steve_964]

Been out in the car this weekend and completed approx 200 miles. I took some spare brake fluid just in case any top up was required.
I checked the levels frequently and also took opportunities to really stand on the brakes if the road was well clear in front and behind to see if there was any sponginess from the pedal,I also thought that would put any seals or brake line joints under more pressure.
I'm pleased to report no loss of fluid at all and good brake pedal.

So while i will be keeping a close eye on things for the time being I think my concerns are over.

Just have to find another responsible independant specialist too look after the car now ,sadly I'm not sure I can trust my existing independants any more

Steve

 

[Steve Brookes]

It's a shame when things like this ruin your confidence in someone that has done good work for you in the past. This one seems a complete mystery to me especially since with the reservoir cap on surely the only way fluid could have spilled due to back pressure is through the vent pipe? In which case you would only get fluid on the floor, not in the luggage compartment. [&:]

Maybe you can use them again but make sure you give the car a good check over before driving away to satisfy yourself all is well? I've heard of a case before when a customer drove away only to find that the mechanic had not put the oil cap back on after a service. Not what any one would want but an easy mistake to make. After I heard this story I've always spent 5 minutes checking the car over before driving it off after a service. If I find something wrong it's either a genuine mistake or they get the chance to own up.