help...brakes leaking badly

[ylee coyote]

just got back from an epic 2,500 mile tour of the UK ..boy is it busy down south .
At the end of the tour the dreaded abs/tcs light came on and the one next to it indicating major fault with braking system..
Turns out to be seriously low brake fluid level
tops it up..500ml goes in and everything seems fine... 500 miles later ,same thing
tops it up again and I have a squint underneath
lots of fluid down underneath brake reservoir
fills it up again leaves it overnight and in the morning fluid under the car and I have to fill it up again..!!
It seems to be leaking regardless of whether it is running or not..
Got the car up on jacks now ...and guess what it starts raining !!
So when it stops(if) I will take out the battery and tray so I can get a better look at the abs/tcs module
MY guess is that the reservoir itself is leaking...other wise there would be a big difference between driving and not..
...one other thing the motor thing at the bottom of the module ssems wobbly ..is this normal ?
Any sugestions ??

[MikeH]

Check breather hole in reservoir filler cap,mine kept dumping untill I found hole would not permit air out,forcing fluid out of first week point it found.

[ylee coyote]

tried that ..seems ok still dumping fluid but not qite so much...

[adrian]

Never had the problem you have, however the fluid resevoir feeds both the clutch and master cylinder. On the earlier cars the hose from the resevoir to the master cylinder brakes down and leaks (that did happen to me). Also on other cars I've worked on the resevoir is a push fit into the master cylinder, seal with rubber washer - maybe worth checking.

[deevee]

I dont want to worry you, but I believe new ABS master cylinders and about £1300!!!!!

[James]

When my car exhibited these symptoms it turned out to be the slave cylinder - puddles of brake fluid on the garage floor even when the car wasn't being run.

I hope for your sake it's just the reservoir!

James

[ylee coyote]

It is on its second abs/tcs module and yes I know it costs 1200...however when this module leaks it leaks through the hydraulic spoolvalves and electrical contacts..this causes the abs/tcs light to come on all the time with an associated slow weep of fluid
this is more of a gush...
It has however slowed considerably since I stopped using it so much

I will be taking it to the menders to see what they say...