Hello All, Car was in for annual in early October. (2004 manual) On recent ride BRAKE light came on then went off. Went around a turn and it came back on so I suspected low fluid. Got home and checked and fluid was definitely low. (I checked the little drain thingy on each brake and they were all tight. Don't see a leak in the garage. I realize that the fluid is used for the clutch and the brakes from the same reservoir. The real question is where would a probable leak be? Will send car to shop in a few weeks and get back to all but I would just like to get an idea of what could be happening here. Thanking you all in advance for your expert help.
As the pads wear, the level goes down. I'm suspecting that may be your issue. If you have a leak, chances are that you will feel a difference in your pedal.
Chris is probably right but if there is a leak your mechanic should find it pretty easily. There will be a spot in the inside of the bottom pan or signs at the brake caliper.
My brake light came on right after I bought the car. Tiny bit of fluid turned light off so clearly quite sensitive. Hasn't come on since, I have no issues with visible leaks , pedal feel , etc.
Check your brakes. They are probably low. The rear tend to wear before the fronts. Rears have no wear sensor. I would check ASAP before you ruin a rotor. Once you press calipers pistons back fluid will return back to the resorvoir. Also check for leaks as well but if your not seeing anything on floor or pan I'm gonna say you need brake pads. What you don't want to do is fill it now then if you need brake pad you are gonna have a overflow situation once you start pressing the caliper pistons back. Good luck in your search. Oh. More importantly. Shut her down till you know what's up. Don't mess with brake issue/ brake fluid issue. R
Thank you for all the replies. I will tell the shop to inspect for wear on the brake pads. And yes...I will not drive the vehicle until it has been serviced.
Places I'd check (or they will..) 1. Each caliper. At the bleed nipple and around the pistons in the caliper inside and outside. If a seal goes, the system will loose pressure. Also check lines to the body in rubber. 2. At the clutch. Harder as the fluid will leak through the inspection port at the bottom of the clutch assembly. Seals might go. Hard to get into gear? Spongy clutch pedal? 3. At the clutch bleed block. Passenger side of engine, you'll see a big bleed nipple. It's near-above-the-passenger-side-CV joint-ish area in engine compartment. The block has been known to crack and might be a cause for some of your fluid loss. 4. From abs unit. If seals go might leak. Remove trunk panel to access it and see fluid leak 5. From brake master cylinder or reservoir- look through peep hole to see if you see any fluid. Ideally remove trunk panel and inspect. Also check inside the car by pedal. Any fluid? 6. Clutch master cylinder- remove trunk panel to examine. Also check by pedals. Also check hose from main brake flud reservoir. 7. Absent of fluid and no further loss.. then I'd go with the brake pads low or they filled it to a low level of brake fluid on last annual.
Curt, I usually agree with you on everything...but shouldn't he check #7 FIRST? It's the easiest and most likely source of the low fluid level issue that he is having. Why go crazy looking for stuff that might not be a problem?
You're right. K.I.S.S. If its a simple pad then it's an easy fix. Should have made it #1. Oh and BTW I actually HAD a brake booster brake fluid leak in my Porsche 924! It filled up and the brakes were a pain to actuate. I'd press on the pedal and it would get sucked to the floor.
Mine was low, though not low enough to trip the light, when the seals failed in the clutch release bearing. The fluid was just working its way to the belly pan. It was obvious when under the car but it had not quite started dripping on the floor yet.
Hill Engineering (look on Ricambi) makes a Throw Out bearing that is superior to the OEM unit for around $500 isn. Its a shame when a clutch needs to be removed to change a TO bearing. ....and thanks for the Update.
When those seals go on the annular throw-out bearing, bad things happen, but I would want to top off the fluid and see if it happens again or see if you are getting clutch slip from brake fluid getting on the clutch disc. Other theory is change it now before it gets on the clutch. Third theory is change out the whole clutch once you have spent all that money on labor to get to the throw-out bearing. Combine at your and your tech's leisure. This assumes you have a three pedal. If F1, the clutch has its own reservoir shared with the F1 system.
Terry I find it strange that the F1 clutch system doesn't use brake fluid like the three pedal clutch/brake combo. I wonder if Ferrari didn't do that because of the hassle of flushing the system -- unlike the brake system? Alan
It is a three pedal car. Thanks to all of you for your input!!! Car is in shop now and awaiting further news on how far we will go.
Alan, Curt- The seals on the F1 and three pedal throw-out bearings are different to take into account the different fluids. Both brake fluid and F1 fluid are hydraulic fluids, with F1 fluid being more like synthetic ATF. Automatic transmissions and Selespeed type systems, including Ferrari's F1, use hydraulic pressure to operate. If you look in the parts catalogs, you will see listings for clutch and controls for F1 and not for F1. If you look at the seals for the F1 and non-F1 throw-out bearings (all just about the same seals for most late Ferraris), you will see much later parts numbers for the F1 throw-out bearing seals. Leak rates should be the same because of the different seals, and bleeding the F1 system includes all the F1 lines, motor, and throw-out bearing and really requires an SD2 to perform expeditiously.
