The time is finally here. Almost 20 years after getting my VS car the master cylinder finally gave up the ghost. I was experiencing moderate brake fluid loss on the reservoir. I had examined all four corners without finding obvious leaks on the brake lines, rear cylinders or the front calipers. No obvious leaks on the pan’s center section either. Last weekend I decided to grab the bull by the horns and took the left front wheel off to inspect the area. The area under the master cylinder certainly needs a good cleaning, scraping and repainting but apart from a light oily residue there is no widespread leak. I found out the master cylinder is leaking at the back in the dreaded “no man’s land” in the bulkhead between the two metal layers where the mounting spacers go. How in the world can you get rid of all that stuff and clean and protect that area and the chassis itself?
The master cylinder itself was another curiosity. The car was equipped back then from VS with a Bietrix Indian made unit. Found out this is a now defunct brand out of New Jersey that distributed these parts. Can’t really complain because it lasted all this time. Anyhow; the hunt for a replacement was a little adventure in itself. I ordered an FTE German unit from an outfit in Arizona only to get the order cancelled the next day due to the thing being out of stock (if it is why offer and advertise it? I see that even after refreshing the page it is not shown as out of stock but still gets offered for the next sucker to bite the bait). I finally decided to get a JP Dansk unit from Parts Geek. They are reputedly “European” (meaning of German, Italian or Danish origin) Price was good at about $56 and change delivered with tax. The same unit gets offered by other retailers at over $100.00. The unit got here in a couple of days and looks decent:
Now on to doing the work on the weekend. What do you all suggest to clean up and protect that internal chassis area? I was thinking about spraying all that area with brake cleaner but not sure what to use to protect. Rust Oleum, Eastwood or any other coating?
