Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Jag, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70
Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:33 pm
One of the gremlins I've been aware of on the Jag ever since it entered the fleet was a slow leak of brake fluid from somewhere in the vicinity of the master cylinder. The whole thing was wet with fluid, and the deposits in the vicinity suggest it's been leaking for a long while.
I had originally assumed this was down to the seals between the plastic hose stubs and the cylinder body, right up to the point that I discovered that the hoses weren't snugly fitted. I guess over the years the rubber has shrunk and compressed below the hose clips so it's no longer a tight fit.
I don't want to disturb the actual hose connections until I know that all the bleed valves are operable...and I'm slightly scared of the rear ones as if I break a bleed nipple off I'll be in for a whole world of pain as sorting it would mean having to drop the entire rear subframe. I'd rather not do that!
Decided to try an experiment. Got a couple of small table ties and fitted them as tightly as I could. Result of sitting overnight after cleaning things up and after about 1/2 an hour or driving:
That looks better to me! Has proven nicely that the issue is with the connecting hose between the reservoir and the cylinder. This is preferable as it's a lot cheaper to sort.
Being totally honest once I get some suitable hose in I'll probably do away with the typically Jaguar flexi-metal-flexi arrangement and just run hoses directly from the reservoir to the master cylinder.
I discovered while doing this however that I do not have a working brake fluid level warning light. The float is jammed in place at the top of its travel and one of the terminals has corroded sufficiently to part company with the lid. I'll get a new one ordered. If I wasn't the sort of person who actually does a regular check of fluid levels that could have been nasty. This is why you should never rely on warning lights folks!
In the afternoon I turned my attention back to the van. First order of business was to finish tidying up the tail light wiring in the gas locker.
Nothing special but better than the spaghetti that was in there before.
With a bit of fermangling I managed to make the gas line for the water heater reach. Not the prettiest bit of work but it passed the leak test just fine.
Attention was then turned back to the worktop.
The location for the hob was pretty much fixed by the position of the framework under the worktop, so that was the obvious thing to start out with as far as cutting holes in my nice new surface.
By some miracle (and thanks to quadruple checking things!) I managed to get it fitted straight.
After a bit of thought we went for this layout as it gives a decent clear area at the rear for food preparation etc.
After generating approximately fifty tonnes more sawdust...
Nothing actually hooked up yet, but it is actually starting to look like a kitchen again. Now it's time to actually get things reconnected...which I'm honestly looking forward to far more than the blasted carpentry!
Only bit of further cutting needed (well, aside from making a few holes for pipework) will be to make a blanking plate to sit in the sink to allow that to be used as extra space if needed.
I do have to admit to feeling quite satisfied with how things are looking now though...hopefully I won't foul it up before I'm finished!
I had originally assumed this was down to the seals between the plastic hose stubs and the cylinder body, right up to the point that I discovered that the hoses weren't snugly fitted. I guess over the years the rubber has shrunk and compressed below the hose clips so it's no longer a tight fit.
I don't want to disturb the actual hose connections until I know that all the bleed valves are operable...and I'm slightly scared of the rear ones as if I break a bleed nipple off I'll be in for a whole world of pain as sorting it would mean having to drop the entire rear subframe. I'd rather not do that!
Decided to try an experiment. Got a couple of small table ties and fitted them as tightly as I could. Result of sitting overnight after cleaning things up and after about 1/2 an hour or driving:
That looks better to me! Has proven nicely that the issue is with the connecting hose between the reservoir and the cylinder. This is preferable as it's a lot cheaper to sort.
Being totally honest once I get some suitable hose in I'll probably do away with the typically Jaguar flexi-metal-flexi arrangement and just run hoses directly from the reservoir to the master cylinder.
I discovered while doing this however that I do not have a working brake fluid level warning light. The float is jammed in place at the top of its travel and one of the terminals has corroded sufficiently to part company with the lid. I'll get a new one ordered. If I wasn't the sort of person who actually does a regular check of fluid levels that could have been nasty. This is why you should never rely on warning lights folks!
In the afternoon I turned my attention back to the van. First order of business was to finish tidying up the tail light wiring in the gas locker.
Nothing special but better than the spaghetti that was in there before.
With a bit of fermangling I managed to make the gas line for the water heater reach. Not the prettiest bit of work but it passed the leak test just fine.
Attention was then turned back to the worktop.
The location for the hob was pretty much fixed by the position of the framework under the worktop, so that was the obvious thing to start out with as far as cutting holes in my nice new surface.
By some miracle (and thanks to quadruple checking things!) I managed to get it fitted straight.
After a bit of thought we went for this layout as it gives a decent clear area at the rear for food preparation etc.
After generating approximately fifty tonnes more sawdust...
Nothing actually hooked up yet, but it is actually starting to look like a kitchen again. Now it's time to actually get things reconnected...which I'm honestly looking forward to far more than the blasted carpentry!
Only bit of further cutting needed (well, aside from making a few holes for pipework) will be to make a blanking plate to sit in the sink to allow that to be used as extra space if needed.
I do have to admit to feeling quite satisfied with how things are looking now though...hopefully I won't foul it up before I'm finished!