Spent 3 hours chasing a phantom brake fluid leak on a '14 Civic

The master cylinder was dry, but I couldn't find a single wet line or fitting. Turns out the fluid was getting sucked straight into the brake booster through a failed internal seal. I've heard two schools of thought: replace the whole booster assembly for about $300, or just the master cylinder gasket for a fraction of the cost if you're feeling lucky. Has anyone else had a booster eat fluid like that, and what did you end up doing?

2 comments

2 Comments

derek_brown281d ago

Tbh I read a forum post about this exact issue. The guy just swapped the master cylinder seal and it worked for a while, but the booster failed a year later. Might be worth doing the whole job if you plan to keep the car.

the_drew1d ago

My neighbor's 2005 Camry had the same cheap fix story. He did the master cylinder seal, felt good for a few months, then the whole pedal went soft in a grocery store lot. It's like what derek_brown28 said, a short term win that costs more later. I see it with phone batteries and laptop chargers too. People patch the small thing, ignore the big failing part, and then the whole system dies at the worst time.