| Author | Message | ||
     Bill Hart Frequent User Username: bill_hart Post Number: 59 Registered: 6-2015 |
Hi all. Woe is me. I seem to have developed a brake fluid leak in my '95 Turbo R. Need advice on most likely source(S). | ||
| richard george yeaman Grand Master Username: richyrich Post Number: 521 Registered: 4-2012 |
Hi Bill there is always something to keep us guessing, My 97 Turbo R if I accelerate quickly will bring on the low mineral oil warning and this can be off putting and makes me check my levels and top up if required. Richard. | ||
| Bill Hart Frequent User Username: bill_hart Post Number: 60 Registered: 6-2015 |
I think I must have a significant leak, Richard. I topped up reservoir recently - took lots of fluid. Now the light is on again. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 1962 Registered: 6-2009 |
Bill, Are there no telltale signs beneath the car of an oil drip somewhere? That's usually the case. I have known of leaks to form near the pump and for a great deal of LHM to collect in the valley at the top of the engine before eventually making its way over and down to the pavement. Perhaps take a look there. Brian | ||
| richard george yeaman Grand Master Username: richyrich Post Number: 522 Registered: 4-2012 |
Bill if the loss is as great as you say it should be evident by checking the floor/ground where the car is parked for damp areas which might give you a clue to what area of the car is at fault maybe your local garage might put it on his hoist and have a look good luck and keep us posted it might help somebody else. Richard. | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 1292 Registered: 5-2012 |
My trick is to cover the floor with cardboard and park the car over it. Any leaks really stand out then. Geoff | ||
| michael vass Prolific User Username: mikebentleyturbo2 Post Number: 196 Registered: 7-2015 |
Hi Bill Check the inside tyre walls,if a caliper is leaking it will spin out as you drive. Good luck Mike | ||
| Omar M. Shams Grand Master Username: omar Post Number: 696 Registered: 4-2009 |
Sometimes when an accumulator fails it fills up with oil and becomes a reservoir in its own right. Are all 4 spheres fine? | ||
| gordon le feuvre Prolific User Username: triumph Post Number: 120 Registered: 7-2012 |
Being post 90my, active damping I would also check in boot and down sides of rear wings. I have had a car that the stiff/med/soft valve situated on top of the sphere at either top corner of the boot forward edge leaked. The leak was from one of the internal drilling blanking plugs. I have seen two of these leak now. The mineral oil runs down inside , all under boot carpet and the down rear wing(s)Makes a bit of a mess! AND it can't been seen leaking from under car. | ||
| Bill Hart Frequent User Username: bill_hart Post Number: 61 Registered: 6-2015 |
Thanks to everyone for responses. I have checked as advised and isolated the leak to one of the high pressure braided hoses in the engine compartment. Part No. UR71620. Replacements are quite pricey at Flying Spares, but Earl's has a much more affordable generic hose which can be customized to do the trick if I can provide specifics as to the end fittings (male/female, size, thread type, etc.). Does anybody have that information? | ||
| richard george yeaman Grand Master Username: richyrich Post Number: 529 Registered: 4-2012 |
Hi Bill I would bite the bullet and buy the proper brake hose (Job done) Richard. | ||
| Bill Hart Frequent User Username: bill_hart Post Number: 62 Registered: 6-2015 |
You're right Richard. It only hurts for a little while and the results are always better. This will be done by a mechanic unfamiliar with Bentleys. What precautions should be taken regarding systemic high pressure? | ||
| richard george yeaman Grand Master Username: richyrich Post Number: 530 Registered: 4-2012 |
Hi Bill just the usual turn on ignition don't start the car pump brake pedal until brake warning lamps come on change part and then bleed everything down stream. Richard. | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Prolific User Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 275 Registered: 4-2015 |
Bill... Just a caution here about having someone, even a "mechanic", who is "unfamiliar with Bentleys", even touch your Bentley until at the very least, he has studied the service manual. Otherwise your next questions will be about bleeding the system, or resolving the problem he has created. My bet is that whatever system he is familiar with is not a complicated as the RR/B. The mere theory of bleeding brakes is not the same as being able to bleed a RR/B system. Read the manual first, then ask questions, as even the manual is not entirely clear, and to me at least is quite intimidating in its complexity and sequence of the procedures, especially if this is your "learning curve". Reading the manual WILL however alert you and the unfamiliar mechanic to the can of worms you are both opening. I'm just saying. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 1971 Registered: 6-2009 |
Bill, Download the RR & Bentley Parts, Repair, Restoration & Other Resources Compilation and search for "HYDRAULIC HOSE & FITTINGS SOURCES". These high-pressure hoses can be made in house, in fully street-legal form, a lot less expensively than they are available from Crewe Original. Since the trend is almost universally (though not absolutely, so do ask) toward PTFE carrier tubes in the middle of these hoses they're suitable for any brake fluid you wish to pass through them. I simply took my original and the replacement was done in very short order. Our fittings are in no way exotic. I don't know where you live, but I can't imagine that this technology hasn't spread through most of the world by now. Brian | ||
| Bill Hart Frequent User Username: bill_hart Post Number: 63 Registered: 6-2015 |
Hi all. I'm mindful of the dangers of having a mechanic unfamiliar with Bentleys working on my car. For that reason I put the car on a lift and took another look at the pressure lines. I'm not convinced the lines are actually the problem. The source of the leak seems to be from above, in the engine compartment, (drivers side, LHD car), somewhere beneath and slightly forward of the fluid reservoirs. From the top the source of the leak is concealed by the reservoirs and from the bottom by structural members. I believe that's the general location of the high pressure pump on my Corniche. Would it be the same for the Bentley? I'm stumped. Taking the car next week to a mechanic who IS familiar with Bentleys. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 1981 Registered: 6-2009 |
Bill, Please re-read my post of June 20th. Brian | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Prolific User Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 285 Registered: 4-2015 |
Bill... I am not sure if I have experienced the same problem as noted by Brian, but it sounds like it. The other caveat is that I am basically Zero experienced with these later series. On my '86 Spur however, the aforenoted "Darth Lucifer", I did have a "gravity leak" where the mineral oil would leak out on its own whether or not the car was used. It would loose a bottle onto the floor in a week. Turned out to be the o-rings, or "olives", I forget what the tech called them, but it was where the pump attaches to the engine at the top. Like Brian said, leaked out, into the valley, and then in my case, dripped down from the front of the engine. For the super experienced Tech...Mark at ACME Car Service in Hayward, CA...who I have relied on for going on 40 years now...and I LOVE them...it was a quick and easy fix even though I could not even see where the pump was. He knew, installed the "thingey" and bingo...problem solved. Hopefully yours may be similar? Here's hoping so. | ||
| Bill Hart Frequent User Username: bill_hart Post Number: 64 Registered: 6-2015 |
Well, after 3 weeks of searching we finally identified the problem (and arrived at a solution of sorts). After I decided it wasn't the high pressure lines I took the car to a shop which has experience with Bentleys, and the hunt began. They removed a drip pan from under the brake fluid reservoirs and identified them as the source of the leak. At first they thought one of the reservoirs was cracked, but further examination ruled that out. So they added more fluid - and the next morning there was a huge puddle under the car. This led them to believe the floats were stuck. Nope. Turned out they were free and moving as designed. They finally concluded that, although not stuck, the floats were transmitting incorrect information regarding fluid levels, which led to the reservoirs being overfilled and draining out the overflow vents. Since a proper fix probably entailed a HUGELY expensive visit to a Dealer over 100 miles away, we decided on a simple "shade tree" fix. They drilled holes in the top of each reservoir and installed dip sticks. Simple but effective. Now,if I get a low fluid warning light, I can add fluid using the dipsticks as an accurate guide. I know some will be appalled at such "butchery" but it's a neat, practical, professional looking alteration which has no effect on the fundamental operation of the system. And it's not even visible unless the engine shroud is removed. | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Grand Master Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 323 Registered: 4-2015 |
Hmmm...strange that there is no method of "visual check" for the fluid level, such as the sight glass on the side of the reservoir on earlier cars. Nothing like visual reference for confirmation. Later cars like yours use a light that tells you when the reservoir is full? Odd engineering as it substitutes "something that can go wrong" for a visual reference (like your "dip stick") that is basically fool proof. Again, need I say, odd? Perhaps it was a "workaround" to avoid having to pull the engine shrouds just to check fluid level? Solve one problem, create another! |
