Weird leak please help!!!!!!!!!!

[Red8v]

Hi

I have a weird leak on my 8v Digi. I have notice a few times now that when I get in the car in the mornings there has been something dripping onto my drivers side mat. Thought nothing of it as i get a small water leak on the passenger side through the heater inlet when it rains heavily.

Then last night after driving home form work I noticed an weird oily stain on my shoe! Checked it out this morning and can't see where its coming from as I haven't had time to remove the interior trim. I then looked under the bonnet and I do have a small leak in the petrol hose connecting the main feed and fuel rail? Haven't fixed this yet as i couldn't find anywhere that had the hose on the way to work today, gonna pop out soon and find sum.

So do u think these could be connected? Could the fuel be somehow getting into the cabin and running down the clutch peddle? The stuff doesn't look or smell like petrol. Could it be something worse like a brake master cylinder? If so an easy fix?

Any help appreciated!

[Agreeable Slick]

check the drain holes just below the A pillars they usually get gunked up and then the only place for the water to go is into the cabin. Could just be oily/greasy water from all the sh!t thats in there.

[rubjonny]

a leak here is almost always caused by a leaky bonnet release cable grommet, combined with blocked drain holes either side of the scuttle area under the plastic tray.

[Red8v]

Cheers guy's thats put my mind at rest for a bit. When I get escape fromt he office i'm gonna get some fuel pipe and check the drain holes! Really hope it is just that, although from the colour texture of the liquid (feels like a very thin oil no smell browny colour) it does look at bit more sinister. What's brake fluid look smell like?

[rubjonny]

hmm could be old brake fluid, in which case your master cylinder will be dead!  Follow the brake pedal up to where it pushes against a piston arm thing through the firewall, if theres more oil round this then you need a new MC!
Not that expensive truth be told, but make sure you get a 16v one. It might be worth replacing all the flexi hoses with braided ones as well as uprating the front brakes and fitting late MK3 rear calipers at the same time

[Red8v]

Well had a look at the drain holes and they are fine so def not that! Haven't had time to remove the drivers side dash undertray but i suppose all thats left is the master cylinder, nothing else around there !

How easy is it to change and what's the dif in 16v one? Just had new pads and discs front and rear so prob won't upgrade the front. Will I have to change these if i get rear Mk3 calipers? Also it is a 1990 8v, thought I read somewhere that the later MK2's already had the same calipers as MK3's?

[Red8v]

Also do the handbrake cables differ for the MK3 calipers. Need to replace these anyway, just wanted to check which ones to buy!

[Red8v]

Really need help now. Had the dash under tray off and it looks very clean around the master cylinder where it comes through the bulkhead! I had a look further up and it seems to be coming from the middle of the dash There is quite a lareg amount of oily water stuff on the sound deadening material is stuck on the underside of the dash and it then runs towards the pedals and down the back of the clutch pedal.

Really stumped now anyone got any ideas what it could be/had a similar problem?

[rubjonny]

oh dear, that sounds like the heater matrix thats leaking

if your car is a later model, after 87 I think the handbrake cables for MK3 calipers are the same.  The 16v master cylinder is bigger than the 8v one so gives more brake force.

[Red8v]

Hey Jonny, I was starting to think the same thing it's the only thing near there that holds any fluid! Looked on German and Swedish and it's only £36.50 for a new one, so not as bad as the master cylinder, I assume it's a b*tch to get out though? What other clues would point to heater matrix? Loss of coolant, no hot air? (had neither of these so far!) Have you replaced a matrix before? If so, is it a whole dash out job? How long am I looking at?