Brake fluid went where?

[Xeryon]

My first new thread in ages.

 

So the car has been sitting for almost two years without being driven. The whole time it has been in my garage. In that time it has accumulated a 1/2 in thick layer of dust, somehow the fenders rusted out more, a dead battery (which was even disconnected) and a loss of brake fluid.

 

So there is the problem. The car was sitting in neutral with nothing holding it in place aside from blocks. I jump start it, pull out of the garage, hit the brake and my foot goes straight to the floor and drive right off the other end of my driveway into the yard. Popped the hood and sure enough the reservoir is near dry. I check the garage floor and it is also dry. I add some fluid to it but it's too late and I already have air in the lines it seems. I have about 10% pedal which is just enough for me to make stops on my cruise around the block by downshifting through all the gears.

 

I have open bottles of brake fluid sitting on the shelves in my garage for the last 5 years and they didn't evaporate. Anyone else ever hear of evaporating brake fluid? I checked around for possible spots in the body where it might have leaked out and pooled and thus never dripped on the floor but I couldn't find anything.

 

tldr: where did my brake fluid go after 2 years in a garage? Cause it's not in the car and not on the ground.

[James Matteu]

Perhaps it leaked out to the floor and then evaporated off the floor leaving no evidence? Bleed the system before driving any more!

[Xeryon]

I didn't think a think hydraulic fluid like that could/would evaporate. I assume anything can, but motor oil doesn't either.

 

System will be rebled before driving. Just have to get the motivation to do so. When everything was installed a friend bled it and I didn't participate. I'll have to look up how to do it as I've never bled brake lines before.

[James Matteu]

Motor oil does evaporate, just not completely. The more volatile components evaporate and leave behind something we call residue. Even the residue can "evaporate" or at least take up less space than it used to, just depends on temperature, ozone concentration, light exposure, etc. In the end, it reduces to a tar.

 

Hydraulic fluid may do something similar, though I would suspect some of it would "absorb" into the concrete.

 

Bleeding is easy, I just did mine yesterday by myself.

 

 

 

I like this guy, but there is some stuff I want add to what he does:

 

1. Do it the Honda way, not his: Right Rear, Left Front, Left Rear, Right Front

 

2. Replace the cap on the reservoir everytime you fill it and disengage your parking brake. This way, the BRAKE malfunction indicator lamp comes on when you need to refill the reservior.

 

 

 

I use wiper tubing and glass jar.

 

 

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[Xeryon]

I'll catch the video when not at work. Thank you for the link.

 

When I bleed my clutch lines I just had an old mason jar and extra fish tank tubing. The clear tubing made it nice to see the progress.

[BrIaN EG2]

you could have a leaky master cylinder thats leaking on the back side of the firewall slowly in between your carpet and the firewall.. my sol has that problem.. my clutch pedal arm is slightly damp

[Xeryon]

Wow you are an amazing level of douche spammer.

[Simon22]

you could have a leaky master cylinder thats leaking on the back side of the firewall slowly in between your carpet and the firewall.

[Xeryon]

Leaking, yes. Leaking into the car, no. It was leaking on the engine side of the firewall but not enough to drip down.

 

Apparently, it was leaking but at a slow enough rate to allow for evaporation. Me having the car in storage for a couple years allowed it to evaporate enough to drain off the reservoir.