Itinerant Air-Cooled

What effect does a leaking clutch master cylinder have on the brakes? I know they share the reservoir, but do they have any pressure in common?

cegammel wrote:What effect does a leaking clutch master cylinder have on the brakes? I know they share the reservoir, but do they have any pressure in common?

The clutch is only allowed to share the first 30% of reservoir with brake reservoir.

I am going to let you answer your own question re: shared pressure . . .

Well...that was Samba-esque...

I'll give it a thorough leak over this weekend, and go from there.

cegammel wrote:Well...that was Samba-esque...

I'll give it a thorough leak over this weekend, and go from there.

NO! No it WASn't. It was "Colinesque" whereupon I take the time and energy (and blowback) to help you exercise your thinking. Sambaesque is ridicule and scorn or "use the search" reflexive.

So here we are. Let's think a little without feeling insulted that someone would ask you to.

Under what circumstance would a hydraulic clutch system comprising a master cylinder that transmits your foot motion via hydraulic fluid to a slave cylinder that transmits your foot motion to the operating lever, relate the the brakes in any way?

You already established that the braking system and the clutch system share the same type of fluid medium to do their respective jobs, and therefore share a reservoir. You already had thought your way through.
But you asked here on the forum
"what effect does a leaking clutch master cylinder have on the brakes?"
and I wrote in good faith the answer that the shared fluid supply is cut off at about 33% down.
Does that not answer to your satisfaction that they are then totally independent of each other? They have different jobs to do, they are separated at a certain fluid level and the brakes get the final 66% of fluid because stopping the car is considered more important than being able to disengage the clutch.

Why isn't it incumbent upon you to answer the question "do they have any pressure in common?"

Over on theSamba, there are crabby answer people who refuse to engage, I get that, but there are also passive questioner people who ask others to think for them.
I am not the former, and you shalt not be the latter.
Colin

Thank you. Now, on to important matters. We can add brakes to the list of things I do not enjoy...I just mangled utterly a bleeder valve...and got very lucky at the local Autozone. I have not found a leak, other than the one I caused, and so it seems that the master cylinder is the most likely culprit.

I have a new unit on order, but just for giggles, I shall ask: are rebuild kits available for these? A quick and dirty search at my normal retailers says not.

Also, in my frustration at your inability to answer a question, I upturned a lovely Black IPA...all over the white couch. You and the universe are now permitted a hearty giggle at my expense.

Current status: bled brakes, adjusted rears, replaced tattered ebrake cable. Brakes are much better, but still losing preasure at stop.

I also discovered shot ball joints, which is somehing I have not messed with before. This may be interesting.

cegammel wrote: I just mangled utterly a bleeder valve...and got very lucky at the local Autozone.

I have to guess. It DID come loose but the flats got rounded off and they had a replacement?
It is when they snap off in the caliper that many people think they are having a bad day.

cegammel wrote: I have not found a leak, other than the one I caused, and so it seems that the master cylinder is the most likely culprit.

If there is a leak, a reservoir level-dropping leak, and no evidence of dampness anywhere else on the car, and your pedal does a weird drop towards the floor that you can pump up readily enough, then yes, master cylinder may not only be losing fluid around the cups, but also filling the brake booster with fluid. You will have to syphon out the booster at master cylinder replacement time.

cegammel wrote: I have a new unit on order, but just for giggles, I shall ask: are rebuild kits available for these? A quick and dirty search at my normal retailers says not.

I rebuilt my unobtainable master cylinder behind a mall with no new parts and it has worked fine and been leak-free now since Obama was re-elected :

viewtopic.php?f=66&t=11092#p194896

cegammel wrote: Also, in my frustration at your inability to answer a question, I upturned a lovely Black IPA...all over the white couch. You and the universe are now permitted a hearty giggle at my expense.

Yeah, well, in my pedagogical efforts at pompous pedantry, I slammed my coffee cup down on the desk and the resultant splash shorted out my iPad and my HP Pavilion M7 for a net loss of $2,976.49, and burned my lap so I sued McDonalds and they said they didn't even make that cup of coffee (they didn't), so I had to pay legal fees of $177,388.00 to Kleiner and Perkins, and now I am bankrupt and sell pens with colored feather tips at street corners, piteously.
Colin

My leak is not level dropping...at least not yet...just pedal dropping...

As for the bleeder, it was rounded off, then I broke the end off, but luckily still enough to grip...took 2 hours to get it out.

cegammel wrote:My leak is not level dropping...at least not yet...just pedal dropping...

As for the bleeder, it was rounded off, then I broke the end off, but luckily still enough to grip...took 2 hours to get it out.

Check inside the brake booster for liquid when you pull the master cylinder. Also be very hygienic with the sealing surfaces between the booster and the master cylinder. Sometimes the replacement seal is a little too small to guarantee a vacuum-tight connection. I have used other more robust o-rings in its stead in the past.
Colin

Replacing the destroyed upper ball joint made a world of difference in handling. The master cylinder replacement seems to have fixed my pedal problem, too. Bleeding brakes, however, is a real weakness of mine.

Well, as a manner of update...and boasting...just made a run down to the beach for a few days of camping. I pushed the old Vanagon at 65-70 the whole way. VDO stayed around 400, ambient of 70s, and it felt great!

I still have a long way to go, but man this van is sweet. I'm almost ready for a trip to Utah...

cegammel wrote:Well, as a manner of update...and boasting...just made a run down to the beach for a few days of camping. I pushed the old Vanagon at 65-70 the whole way. VDO stayed around 400, ambient of 70s, and it felt great!

I still have a long way to go, but man this van is sweet. I'm almost ready for a trip to Utah...

See you in Utah. I'm camping there.
Colin

Remove the VDO CHT sender from under the TSII location and see if that changes anything.

Clean the electrical connection where the TSII mounts into the engine wiring harness. See if that changes anything.

VDO is under #3; connections are good. I think that's a fairly accurate temperature picture... VDO shows about 325-350 putzing around town, gets up to 350-375 at 55, then gets up to just under 400 at 65-70. We ain't got no hills 'round here...so no info on how head temps change.

OK I thought that you have the VDO temp sender under the TS II location. Forgive me as I am old and feeble.

Clean up the connection for the TSII and make sure it has a nice clean and tight connection to the head. When in doubt, change it out with the fresh new one you keep in your toolbox.