When driving home yesterday in my 1998 Marea TD100 I noticed that the brake pedal started to feel soft. Luckily I was turning into my road at the time anyway so, once parked, I investigated.
With the engine running I pushed the brake pedal down. Initially it was firm but then within a half a second it started to sink to the floor. I repeated this a couple of times with the same result. I then turned the engine off, pumped the pedal a few times to remove any residual vacuum, and tested again. As before, the pedal initially offered resistance but then sank to the floor.
I investigated the brake fluid level and found that the master cylinder was almost empty. However, the warning light hadn't come on! I topped up the resovoir and repeated my tests. As I did so, the fluid level in the resovoir dropped, about 1-2mm for each and every press of the brake pedal.
I jacked the car up and checked all the pipes for fluid leaks, but I can't see any. I also removed all four wheels and checked calipers and pistons for any sign of a leak, but they are all well too. Obviously there are no puddles under the car.
My only thought now is to whether the fluid is somehow leaking inside the vacuum servo unit, because I am struggling to see where else it can have 'disappeared' to as it's certainly not anywhere 'outside' the braking system that I can see.
Before I remove all the pedals and servo: Does anybody have any idea, preferably based on hard-won experience of the same problem, as to where my brake fluid may be going?
With the engine running I pushed the brake pedal down. Initially it was firm but then within a half a second it started to sink to the floor. I repeated this a couple of times with the same result. I then turned the engine off, pumped the pedal a few times to remove any residual vacuum, and tested again. As before, the pedal initially offered resistance but then sank to the floor.
I investigated the brake fluid level and found that the master cylinder was almost empty. However, the warning light hadn't come on! I topped up the resovoir and repeated my tests. As I did so, the fluid level in the resovoir dropped, about 1-2mm for each and every press of the brake pedal.
I jacked the car up and checked all the pipes for fluid leaks, but I can't see any. I also removed all four wheels and checked calipers and pistons for any sign of a leak, but they are all well too. Obviously there are no puddles under the car.
My only thought now is to whether the fluid is somehow leaking inside the vacuum servo unit, because I am struggling to see where else it can have 'disappeared' to as it's certainly not anywhere 'outside' the braking system that I can see.
Before I remove all the pedals and servo: Does anybody have any idea, preferably based on hard-won experience of the same problem, as to where my brake fluid may be going?