Leaking Brake fluid & Car Smoking

Falyniii

Registered User
Okay, I have a 1990 TBSC and its been leaking brake fluid for about 2 or months. But it started leaking so bad that I'd have white smoke coming from under the hood everytime id stop at a light. So I took it to the shop and he says i have a bad master cylinder. It was leaking so i let him replace it. The leakin stopped for a month. But now its back and smoking at the light again. It even ran completely out of brake fliud while i was on highway :eek: (VERY SCARY MOMENT) I had take it back to the shop and he says its leaking from some sensor. (i forgot which one he said. think it was ABS Sensor) So he says its cost 300 for the sensor plus labor charges. B4 I give this guy my money is there anything else i can do. How do i check for the leak. Just pump the brake and get under the car and search? Is the sensor really 300 dollars? Is there anything i can tighten to make sure theres not just something loose? How do i know its not the accumulator?

Im not the brightest when it come to fixing cars but i have no problem trying to fix them or learning how to. Any and all helpis greatly appreciated.
 
its either leaking from the ARC SENSOR... the one that sends a signal to the SHOCKS to FIRM UP when braking hard or probably the pressure switch... or the accumulator... u have to start the car and have someone pump the brake pedal while u look for the leak. then when you find it come back and let us know and we can give u some answers so it wont cost so much to fix....
 
Mine leaked because the hose from the resevoir to the pump actually split. I replaced the hose and the brakes work fine. I wasn't able to find an exact replacement, but I did find a 2 part hose the is brake fluid resistant on the inside. It seems to be holding up fine. The hose was made by Gates, but I don't have the part number.
 
Eh, one thing to check for - this may sound stupid - but, don't overfill your resivoir. This will cause brake fluid to seep through the top cap and flow directly onto your cats, causing the fluid to smoke.

With the car off, pump your brakes 25 times, start the car and wait for the accumulator to refill. When this is done check your resivoir level, make sure it's just under the marker.

Yeah, I'm a newb, it's all I could offer. Just tryin' to save you some $$. =)
 
Falyniii said:
i'll have someone pump the brakes and just search for the leak. I'll keep you guys posted.
Just so you know, the leak I mentioned doesn't require pumping the brakes to cause the leak. It's a low-pressure hose and leaked just sitting there.
 
I had a leak and brought it to Brakemasters :rolleyes: These jokers told me I would need a whole new ABS system which would cost more than the car's worth. Then they busted my ignition switch cause they didn't know how to start the car :mad: So Chris (darkside) and I checked all the lines while one pumped the brake with the car running, the other looked for leaks. It turned out to be just a hard line that had come loose. Nothing a line wrench couldn't fix. Mine was spraying out in a fine mist as well as burning off of the valve covers and I did lose my brakes a lot. By the way, it's very dangerous stuff to be breathing in!
 
think we found the problem

i had another mechanic look at it. And he believes its the accumulator. I put my had on it and it seem like its trying to get pressure in it but i cant. And you can see the brake fluid dripping out of the bottom of it. so im hoping we can just replace the accumulator and my problems will be gone.

Can someone give me some signs of a bad accumulator? is there a way to detemine if the accumulator is definitely the problem and not he Abs system. Also just in case it is the abs system... anybody got one for sale?

thanks again
 
Back
Top