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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?
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derek_brown286mo 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.
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the_drew6mo 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.
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the_lucas5mo ago
Yep, nothing like a cheap fix that turns into an expensive parking lot surprise.
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