Brake and clutch fluid reservoirs.

mmudge

mmudge

True Classic
What generic little tanks are people using these days? I know the brake tank can be replaced by 2 smaller tanks side by side, and the clutch with a a matching single one.

What are you folks using as substitutes? Or are there good used ones floating around out there.

Many thanks,

Mudge
 
Mudge,

I am guessing there are a few used ones to be had. I don't know myself which would be the best replacement ones. I however have the 2 tank setup for my breaks (one for rear and one for front).

PIC-0006.jpg


I recall posting this in another thread and someone said I must have been mistaken that I had 2 however I also recall that Obert said some years could have 2.

So my question is would does having 2 for breaks provide any benefit over one?

-Tim
 
I like the 2 setup.

At least for me, the single brake tank can fool you with the partitioned tanks. At least with 2 singles you can tell right away if there's a problem on either circuit.
 
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This is my choice. It fits great and looks factory. The three clutch reservoir set up is nice and would have been my choice had I not found and modified this reservoir to fit. BMW . Notice in the pic the two lines point in the same direction for an easier hook up. Tank has a divider inside to seperate sides in case of failure, and you can hook up your later level sensor to it.
 
Two small tanks was stock...

Two small tanks was stock through to VINs somewhere in the teens or low twenty-thousands, which is sometime in the middle of the '74 model year. These tanks are, as far as I can tell, exactly the same as the clutch reservoir.... That's what I've been using for replacements.
 
Mid 90,s I think, 540 * 740. I pick um up clean them and modify them a bit. Then they fit. When i get extras, I ebay them.
 
spiderrey said:
Mid 90,s I think, 540 * 740. I pick um up clean them and modify them a bit. Then they fit. When i get extras, I ebay them.
Click to expand...

Started looking for this, but the ones I can find all seem to have the outlet port facing down... Could you be more specific about what year model they came from? Also what do you mean by "modify them a bit" - you mean in terms of mounting bracket?

My clutch resv is actually the one I need pronto, but my brake resv was swapped out by the PO with another Fiat unit, & moved into the Frunk, so I'd like to reverse that situation while I'm at it.

Ricambi Auto (NL) has these which may end up being the most cost effective, if I just buy three of them...
 
Another suggestion and easy to find

Go to your local junk yard and look for a 94 -2000 Mercury or Nissan Mini Van and use it need to cut off the mounting bracket and make a Hose reducer total cost less than $20.00 just thinks out side of the box
 
jlpatton said:
Go to your local junk yard and look for a 94 -2000 Mercury or Nissan Mini Van and use it need to cut off the mounting bracket and make a Hose reducer total cost less than $20.00 just thinks out side of the box
Click to expand...

:( No such thing as a local JY in this area - EPA closed most of them down many years ago, and the few that remain are pure recyclers - crush 'em immediately. Last time I was able to go into a JY around here was back in the mid '80's.
 
Reservoir Repair

I guess I'm a bit lucky. My reservoir was pretty badly cracked, but I still figured it was repairable:

DSCF4935.jpg


I don't know much about the chemistry of plastic, but found this product by Loctite that claims to work on ALL plastic:

DSCF4936.jpg


I mixed up a small batch, and spread it on:

DSCF4937.jpg


It's been about a week, and so far, no leaks. I used a similar product on my windshield wiper water reservoir 12 years ago, and it's still holding.

Don
 
Re: reservoir repair

ddoan said:
I guess I'm a bit lucky. My reservoir was pretty badly cracked, but I still figured it was repairable:

It's been about a week, and so far, no leaks. I used a similar product on my windshield wiper water reservoir 12 years ago, and it's still holding.
Click to expand...

There's a thread back in the old xweb by Bob Brown on "welding" the cracks shut using a soldering iron. If that epoxy will hold up to brake fluid long-term, you have a way better fix.:dance:

Now, at the risk of jinxing you... A few years ago I had a coil of tubing, wasn't sure whether it would stand up to brake fluid or not. So I cut a loop of it, poured brake fluid into it, and hung it by both ends from the basement ceiling. A week later, Saturday AM... Still perfect! So I went ahead and used the tubing for my reservoir lines, both brake and clutch. Spent the weekend pulling the pedal box, replacing masters, reinstalling pedal boxes, bleeding all systems... Wandered back into the basement on Sunday night and there was a puddle of brake fluid on the floor under my loop of hose:hrmph: I ended up ordering some Tygon 2275 and redoing the job.:wall:
 
Crossing My Fingers

Yeah, I know that brake fluid can be nasty stuff. In my case, all the the cracks in my reservoir were on the top half (I think). Meaning, it only leaked when full. I cleaned it with lacquer thinner before mixing and applying the epoxy.

It turns out, there are 4 or 5 different types of plastic epoxy at Home Depot - so you have to know which type of plastic you're repairing. Except that this Loctite product is designed for any plastic. I think that if I wanted to repair a reservoir that was leaking from the bottom, I'd remove it and thoroughly clean it, inside and out, with lacquer thinner. Then apply the epoxy inside of the reservoir, too.

Anyway, so far, so good.

Don
 
My brake reservoir looks like ddoan's with the wires leading into the cap. What the heck is that all about? Is that supposed to be a level sensor that lights up the light on the dash? Since I replaced all of the burned out bulbs in the dash, that light is always on but there is plenty of fluid in the reservoir.:mallet:
 
Brake Check Indicator

If you depress the center of the reservoir cap while the handbrake is off and the ignition key in in the Run position, the brake light should come on. That's the test to make sure that the brake light is working properly.

The wires connect to the indicator light telling you that the handbrake is on - or that the brake fluid level is too low.

Hope I got the explanation right. I just checked page 70 in my owner's manual. That's where I got the information from.

Don
 
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