[itorchedparis]

So last night I lost about 90% of my breaking power. I popped the hood and noticed I was almost completely out of fluid and it was spewing out all over the leaf springs below. I filled it back up to get me to my destination and monitored it very closely. It has since gone down some, so there is a slow leak somewhere. I pulled the driver sides wheel well liner and inspected the lines that run on top of the frame and they all look good. From underneath, I reached up to the bottom of the fluid reservoir and my hand got coated in clear fluid so I think the leak is coming from there. Couple questions. There is a sensor plug on the bottom of the reservoir...what is that even for? And secondly, do I just replace the reservoir or the whole master cylinder? Truck has 303k miles and I've never touched the master cylinder and I don't believe the previous owner did either. Thanks!

 

[RT]

I would suggest changing the whole master cylinder with a quality part or rebuild yours. One sensor is for the cruise control. That's the one that was catching trucks on fire. I think there is another one for fluid level - but maybe not on ours. A lot of models have that.

 

[klhansen]

There is a level sensor on the reservoir. I believe it attaches to the plastic reservoir. Leakage could occur between the sensor and reservoir or between the reservoir and MC itself. But the Brake Pressure Applied sensor on the nose of the MC is more likely to leak, because it sees high pressure from the fluid when brakes are applied.

 

[79jasper]

On the earlier trucks, the cruise control cutout switches were known to fail and leak.

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[Steve83]

If you can't tell what's leaking, post a BUNCH of pics, and maybe we can help you ID it. This caption contains a link to a free image hosting site:



The reservoir level sensor can't cause a leak - it's magnetic, so it doesn't penetrate the reservoir. The reservoir grommets are extremely tight, and the fluid agains them is at very low pressure, so they wouldn't be "spewing".



The SCCDS (cruise) doesn't leak to the outside; it leaks through its connector & into the wiring harness - into the actual strands of wire going to the cruise servo.

This has to be between the MC & slaves.

 

[itorchedparis]

So i replace the entire master cylinder and started to bleed all the brakes. I got to the last one (drivers side front) and no fluid was coming out. I looked back under the hood and noticed that there was fluid dripping again, except this time it's coming from one of the brake likes that is attached to the side of the master cylinder. It must have gotten damaged while I replaced the MC. soooooooo awesome. Still no brakes. To make matters even more frustrating, I've been searching for a replacement brake line for an hour and have gotten diddly squat. I found it on a local ford parts page but when I try to add it to my cart it says "due to low demand, ford is no longer producing this part" What the hell am I suppose to do now? have one custom made? Does anyone have any advice for me to be able to get this part? If you look at the photo attached, the bottom right corner shows the MC with two brake lines, 2C058, those are what I need. Thanks

 

[RT]

Making your own brake lines isn't a huge deal. Most auto supply's will have tubing with premade ends in various lengths that you can bend with a tubing bender or you can get a good flaring tool and make whatever lengths you want. Get stainless lines if you are in a rust prone area.


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[Steve83]

Yep - just buy a premade straight line the right length, and bend it to fit.