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Triumph TR6 - Master Cylinder Leak

I have had a leak in my fairly new TR6 master cylinder. It ends up to be leaking between the resevoir and the cylinder itself. The Vendor who sold it to me gave me a free rebuild kit and apparently there are two o rings in the kit to seal the resevoir. Is there any additional sealant to use along with the new o rings to ensure a good seal?
Thanks Dave
David B

Hi Dave,

I normally use a little rubber grease on all o-rings in the brake system before reassembly... it helps with the initial sealing and , in the case of dynamic parts, also wear and seating. Just make certain it is compatible with edpm materials... it should say on the tube. Finally, check that you have evenly torqued the retaining bolts down so as to not skew the o-ring seal.

Cheers, Rob
Rob Gibbs

Hi Dave,
I just replaced my new one ( 5 months old ) It leaked from between the resevoir and cylinder also. I tried new o-rings but we determined it was a warped mating surface ...so I sent it back and the new one is good so far.
My mechanic told me not to use any sealant as it the o-rings are all that is needed.
You can try the new rings ..make sure everything is clean and wet the rings with brake fluid when re-assembling.

Charlie
Charlie B.

Charlie, did you get the master cylander from Penninsula?
dave
David B

No I bought from The Little British Car Co
http://www.lbcarco.com/
Jeff Zorn

Great to deal with and good prices

Charlie
Charlie B.

How long ago?
DON KELLY

David
It is still probably the same manufacturer.
Rick
Rick Crawford

I bought it last Sept 2006 ..I was losing fluid very slowly in Oct but could not see from where....after I had stored the car for a couple of weeks I noticed a puddle of fluid on the floor. Jeff was great...I had another one in a week.
Part # 581-040

Charlie
Charlie B.

I'm sorry ,David, how old is the unit and where was it purchased.
DON KELLY

I purchased the M/C from Penninsula prior to the 2006 driving season. It leaked and John gave me a rebuild kit. The leak would come and go and this winter while working on the car (new clutch) I noticed the puddle under the car. Now may be the time to put in O rings but now I am wondering whether there was a bad batch of M/Cs and I should just bite the bullet and buy another M/C. Trying to decide. Hate bleeding brakes and would like to get it done for once and for all! Have lots of other things to do!
Dave
David B

This is an OLD problem - ran into it at least 10 yrs ago. Either the gaskets between the MC & resevoir were made just a bit too small, or the elastomer doesn't swell and seal off. I took the offending part to the local hardware store and got an o-ring the same OD but thicker than the gasket so it would be compressed. Problem solved.
Brent B

Don
FYI....Peninsula is a MOSS supplier up here/over here in Toronto area.
David, unfortunately a little late to ask for an exchange. Worth the trying the fix Brent suggests.
Rick
Rick Crawford

I've done it twice now without bleeding the brakes..Place the MC in your bench vise securely..
First time I plugged the cylinder holes with my fingers while a helper pushed in the piston with the handle end of a screwdriver..the second time was easier with the proper 12" of ruber hose that screws into the cylinder and the other open end is placed in the reservoir and held under the fluid with small clamps .
I got the hoses from my mechanic friend..he's sure most jobbers will sell them.

No need to get under the car.

Charlie
Charlie B.

Yes, I will try what Brent suggests. I don't expect to ask for an exchange of the part, way to late for that, and besides I began throwing away reciepts some time ago for fear that one day I would sit down and add them up.
dave
David B

David- It sounds like you had correspondence with them about the problem from the beginning. I would tell them you are not satisfied with the solution and ask for another one.. If not let them know you would like to send it out and have it fixed on their nickel. Then send it to Apple Hy.
Don
DON KELLY

Why not just change the master cylinder out to a better unit. I installed a Nissan Maxima booster and cylinder combo on my 72 TR6 about 3 years ago because of the constant problems with the OEM booster and master cylinder. This is probably one of the best upgrades that I have done. It made a world of improvement to the stock braking ability. I like to go fast, but I like to be able to stop quickly even better, and with no puddles of brake fluid in the floor board or down the fire wall makes it even better.
Arnold Newton

As an update I would like to thank Brent for his suggestion. The pad on which the resovoir had been mounted had scores which corroded and contributed to breaking the seal of the o rings. I was able to clean up the pad and replaced the o rings after applying some silicone grease to slow the corrosion process. Free and messy fix and did take some time of fiddling around. The Nissan Maxima booster cylander combo certainly sounds interesting. Would that upgrade require other adjustments throughout the braking system?

dave
David B

Arnold--Was your Maxima conversion plug and play?
Rick Orthen

Arnold, perhaps you can write up a brief description of the conversion and throw in a few pictures for us DCO's (dumb current owners). That conversion certainly sounds interesting!

bob
Bob Craske

This thread was discussed between 25/02/2007 and 21/03/2007

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