Brake fluid leakage please help

[Loveslug]

Hello and many thanks in advance if you are able to help me with my problem

About a month ago i noticed the brake fluid warning light on the dash, it only came on sporadically and i just topped the fluid up however it took around half a bottle which did confuse me as i looked at all the pipework to asses a leak, and sure enough nothing was found immediately

I have since notice a small amount of brake fluid which is dripping from what i think is the gearbox drain plug!
It must be running down the back of the gearbox or something and I'm not sure where from!
Has anyone had this type of problem before and of course how much is it likely to cost to put right??
Any tips on finding the problem would be gratefully recieved,

also while i have a captive audience do you have any tips on getting the handbrake to tighten up properly, I managed to get it through last years mot but only just and i cannot tighten the cable anymore (i changed everything on hanbrake last year and they still are rubbish)
Many thanks Andrew

[Loveslug]

The car is 99 406 110 2.0 hdi if that makes any difference.

[mjb]

The chances are your clutch slave cylinder has sprung a leak. These are pretty fragile items on D9s unfortunately Have a feel around it (black cylindrical thing at the front/top of the gearbox with a pipe coming out the side) and see if any of it's damp.

They are cheapest bought from a dealer, and are quite easy to fit albeit a bit messy. You'll be wanting one of those one-way valve brake bleed things too, which are about £5 from Halfords... and a pile of brake fluid.

When changing the cylinder, you'll need the front of the car jacked up as high as possible, and you'll need to keep pulling the front of the brake fluid reservoir upwards to get rid of the huge air bubbles in the back of the reservoir due to the retarded design decision to put the clutch intake pipe near the top

[Captain Jack]

Hmm... Would a leaking slave cylinder empty the reservoir, though? ...because of that stupid design, it would stop emptying after the fluid level gets below the clutch intake pipe?

[mjb]

Hmm good point

I think Loveslug needs to have a careful look around the reservoir, master cylinder, servo area, as well as the ABS unit to find out where the leak's coming from then.

[Loveslug]

Hi

Thanks for the replies guys, I was looking around generally as i know some of the people on the forum have vast experience and may have known of a "common problem"...lol
I will check the items you have suggested, if i'm right in thinking is it a split reservoir for clutch and brakes?
I've checked all the standard brake hoses and cant see anything but its quite difficult to see down the back of the engine where it seems to be leaking,
Also failed mot on handrake(looking on here that wont suprise anyone!) so i'm looking at sorting that today

Time to get oiled up....lol

Thanks again

[mjb]

is it a split reservoir for clutch and brakes?

Single reservoir, the brakes suck in from the bottom and the clutch sucks from the top at the rear

[jasper5]

Seems odd that the mot tester didn't notice any fluid leaks.
If the clutch slave cylinder was leaking (which is what I thought it might be) why no mention of gear selection problems?

I would ask the mot tester to have a look when the car goes back for retest. I'm sure any mot tester worth his salt would not want a car to pass with a brake fluid leak connected with a brake fault.

[Loveslug]

Thanks again for the comments, its back at test station this afternoon so i'll ask him to look a bit closer!!
hopefully he'll be able to spot something because at the minute i can't see anything damp/wet except the bottom of the gearbox.
Cheers Guys

[Loveslug]

I took car back for mot he said no leaks and gave it a good look over, and oddly enough the res is still full??
I'm slightly worried by this as it took half of a small bottle of fluid before, could it have something to do with the abs system ie only leaking when abs is functioning? because otherwise i'm stumped!!
Thanks again guys

[FarmerPug]

Dont trust the MOT people at all, a relative took their car in to get it tested and it sailed trough, and about a week later the cars brakes completely failed because of a leak at the back, the MOT tester sould have even picked up on the fact the back brakes were not balanced, but nope we had to bring it to a local mecanic to solve the problem