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Brake Reservoir Question; 2 seperate chambers?
Topic Started: Sep 21 2010, 11:19 PM (941 Views)
rcdraco
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Over the past few days I've noticed my brake light was coming on while making left turns. Blaming on my rear shoes being just about done, I decided to check the brake fluid level. Just a hair above the low line so I added some fluid to the side of the reservoir that had fluid in it. I noticed the right hand side, probably rear from the front of the car had no fluid and a plastic bead in the center. Am I supposed to add to both sides or just the side I added to?

Not sure if this helps, 1995 Geo Metro LSI 4 Cylinder 3 speed Auto.
Edited by rcdraco, Sep 21 2010, 11:19 PM.
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Ryan
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Ryan

Both.

How long have you owned this car? Not sure where the fluid is going unless you have a non-obvious leak (e.g. small leak at a rear wheel cylinder).
Edited by Ryan, Sep 22 2010, 04:29 AM.
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Woodie
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Rear brake wear shouldn't effect the brake fluid level at all, as there are mechanical adjusters in there that take up the slack. Those mechanical adjusters are prone to failure though. When they go, the pedal drops and the E-brake handle comes way up.

Front brake wear will slowly lower the fluid level until the lights starts coming on in turns, exactly as you said. I've found that spending 30 minutes and $30 throwing a new set of pads on the front restores the level to where it's supposed to be, setting all things right with the world.

Having one side empty is a major problem, it should never be anywhere near that low. As a matter of fact, it should never be low enough that the divider between the two shows. Once it gets down that low, the master cylinder pumps air into the system and it's too late to just put more in there. The air must be bled out, but more importantly, the leak must be found first. You're driving around on two brakes right now, it needs to be fixed yesterday.

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rcdraco
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Well that might explain why my brakes are kind of poor then. So the goal is to be closer to max then min if I'm correct?
I've only owned the car maybe 2 years now, first car believe it or not. Main reason I'm concerned, this is the first time I've ever checked the brake fluid level, I assumed that it was alright. This should be an easy problem to fix. I work in an auto parts store most of this stuff is just floating around in our company.
Edited by rcdraco, Sep 22 2010, 08:41 AM.
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Ryan
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Ryan

I flush my brake system once every year-and-a-half, and always fill it to the "MAX" level. Between flushes, I've never had a drop in fluid. When my front brakes were worn down, I noticed I had to push the pedal down a little more in order to stop (normal), but never lost any fluid.

Fill it up and see what happens...
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Ryan
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Ryan

And - Welcome to the forum!
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bogs
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Duct tape heals all wounds

Welcome to the forum rcdraco :)
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rcdraco
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Little correction here after taking a look again this morning. I have 3 seperate compartments: front, rear, and a circular one closer to the driver's side. The front and rear are filled, but the circle one I assume is a sensor because it's empty.
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mcmancuso
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the sensor it the big float thing in there
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