Hi,
The brakes on my Astra have become very spongey. Even with the pedal right down it still doesn't stop the car if going fast enough. I bled and rebeld the brakes five times but it still not sloved. I'm not losing any brake fluid but there's air getting into the system. I've been told it 's the master cylinder.
Is it a straight forward task to change the master cylinder. Is there any speacial tools needed. Can i get a second hand master cylinder or is it better getting new.
Cheers,
Doug.
If you can bleed brakes then you're capable of changing a master cylinder. Nothing special needed above what you use for bleeding brakes plus a socket to unbolt it from the servo.
IMO you're better off getting new/reconditioned. S/H ones are most likely to have had some mileage put on them and bleeding brakes is usually the thing that'll kill the seals on a worn one.
Please be aware that Astra master cylinders are very prone to damage for some strange reason if the pedal is pumped to bleed the system. I am a mechanic & i talk from experience as this has happened to me so we now only use a brake bleeding device to prevent this from happening. There is a chance that your brake fluid degraded over time attracting moisture in the system damaging the seals & bore of the cylinder so fitting a brand new one is a wise choice.
Could be. Might be soggy flexible hoses that are expanding with the pressure. Worth checking. DaveK.
The message from Conor contains these words:
Which is why I like just letting it trickle through under gravity or using a presure bleeder. Doesn't take the seal into unknown territory in the bore.
The message from "xoom3" contains these words:
Master cylinder's only £30+VAT and shipping from this bunch...
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