Howto remove brake fluid reservoir?

[maxp]

I need to access the brake pipe that plugs into the brake servo.

Pretty sure im gonna need to take the reservoir off the get my hand in.

Can anyone offer advice on how its removed and any warnings i should heed?

[richard s]

it just pulls off and try to drain as much brake fluid as possible first

[bomp]

Empty the res as much as you can, I used a thin pipe and sucked it up the pipe, and stopped sucking when it got close to the top, then block the top with my tongue and dropped the fluid in an old coffee jar.    I wouldn't recommend doing that though as it is dangerous stuff to have in your mouth.  So get a large pipett thingy or sumit.

Once you've emptied enough out, you just lift the res upwards (firmly) and rock it back and forth (wing to wing works better, rather than bonnet to boot motion).  You'll then get easy access to the pipe on the master cylinder close to the servo once it is off.

You might want to tape some polythene sheet or something around that area if you got decent paintwork to protect, as it''ll drip all over the place still.

[maxp]

Nice one guys.

Is there anything like a rubber seal i should be concerned about that may have perished, meaning it wont seal properly when i put it back?

Also take it there is zero chance of me needing to bleed anything again?

[bomp]

The rubber grommets that it sits on generally keep in a good condition, but there's usually a crust of rust/grime rust under the grommet, that has built up over time.

you can clean it off by scraping it with a small screwdriver, and wiping the crap off with a cloth, but make sure to cover the small holes (below the grommets) with something before you start, as you don't want any crap stuck in them.

One I did this weekend.


And Servo.


You should bleed the system as a precaution anway. Buy a litre of Dot4, as half will fill the res bottle and a bit more will clean the old fluid out.

But you could get away with not bleeding the system if you don't clean the crap under the grommets and just put the res bottle back on once you've finnished messing with the brake pipe.

If you're putting a new solid brake line one, then you will have to bleed the system, as there would now be air in the system.

[maxp]

Wow the cylinder and servo look great!

Will see what the situ is like when i get the res off - if i do clean the crap from the grommets, where you say i will need to bleed the system,  does that involve going around the wheels and bleeding each caliper valve as i havent done it before? 

[bomp]

Yeah, I use the EZ-Bleed system you can get from motor factors or GSF.

Just fill the res and the bottle of the EZ-Bleed kit up with fluid, tighten the cap of the kit onto the res, then put the air pipe on the kit onto a tyre to force the fluid through, then loosen one valve/nipple at a time.

Start at the rear driver side then rear passenger (7mm open end spanner), and next the front passenger side then the driver side )11mm open or ring spanner)

You will have to remomove some fliud from the res after using the kit though, as it will fill up right to the top. Takes about 5-10 minutes.

Oh, and as I dont have a GTI you must do what DH said on another thread.

Obviously, make sure the rear compensator valve is opened up when you bleed the rears.

[maxp]

Is the brake compensator valve at the master cylinder or underneath the car ? 

[Mr Blue]

thats near the rear axel. passenger side.

Yesterday drained my fluid out by removing the rear caliper hose and pressed the pedal a few times till the resevior bottle was empty. Im chaning the metal lines today. If you are then get yourself some brake pipe spanners. 14mm

I used a syringe to empty the bottle last time which was less messy (you dont want brake fluid on paint remember)

Bomp...that master cylinder looks mint!

[maxp]

Do you happen to know what spanner size to open the valve? Edit: Argh think i just found it in haynes, i just open the valve by moving the spring i think.