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Sinking pedal. You know the feeling, it's spongy and the pedal heads slowly to the floor when you are standing at the lights. Morning startups bring a cloud of evil smelling smoke from under the car. Master cylinder seals, of course! So you ring around trying to get a set of seals for a 1978 Audi 100 and (got to remember that this is Tasmania!) nobody has any. So the last place you ring says, "Wait a minute....In our specials bin I'm sure we have an Audi master cylinder." Anxious wait......And yes! The description fits the item! "How much?" you ask. "How does $40 sound?" "Here's my credit card number and my address, you reply..."
So you begin to disconnect the brake lines from the old cylinder (they're a bitch to get at of course) and as you are loosening the last one underneath it goes kinda quickly. The brake pipe has snapped off just short of the union. So, not the seals you think!! The pipe must have been cracked and couldn't hold pressure. Bummer...you just bought a new master cylinder...Still, it was a bargain! You finish removing the cylinder and get on the 'phone ringing around to try to buy a flaring tool. $110 is the best you an do. Aha...A neighbour has one! But when you go to get it it turns out to be an inside flare and he doesn't have a die to produce the right end. So, hands-dirty time again. You crawl under the car and with the help of the wife (who jiggles the broken pipe so that you can trace it) you find it just has to be the one that goes to the brake compensator at the BACK of the car. After skinned knuckles, colourful language and the removal of the steering damper, ECU connections, various emission control crap and heater hoses you finally get the pipe out. And now the good bit! You take the pipe to the workshop in town and he puts a new end on it for $5. Beauty!!!
So you begin to disconnect the brake lines from the old cylinder (they're a bitch to get at of course) and as you are loosening the last one underneath it goes kinda quickly. The brake pipe has snapped off just short of the union. So, not the seals you think!! The pipe must have been cracked and couldn't hold pressure. Bummer...you just bought a new master cylinder...Still, it was a bargain! You finish removing the cylinder and get on the 'phone ringing around to try to buy a flaring tool. $110 is the best you an do. Aha...A neighbour has one! But when you go to get it it turns out to be an inside flare and he doesn't have a die to produce the right end. So, hands-dirty time again. You crawl under the car and with the help of the wife (who jiggles the broken pipe so that you can trace it) you find it just has to be the one that goes to the brake compensator at the BACK of the car. After skinned knuckles, colourful language and the removal of the steering damper, ECU connections, various emission control crap and heater hoses you finally get the pipe out. And now the good bit! You take the pipe to the workshop in town and he puts a new end on it for $5. Beauty!!!
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