Most drivers will never even need to think about their braking system's master cylinder – it's an important part, but it's also one that should last the life of your vehicle. That said, no part is immune from damage. Your master cylinder may experience excessive wear or be contaminated with dirt that damages its tiny pistons and pins.
The master cylinder is responsible for regulating the pressure of brake fluid, so one it's serious if yours begins to act up. Unfortunately, it's almost always necessary to replace rather than repair a master cylinder since it's so hard to find a correct problem among their many small parts. However, you should accept the cost and have a faulty master cylinder replaced as soon as possible to avoid a lack of braking pressure.
Here are just four signs your brake system's master cylinder might need to be replaced.
1. Lack of Pressure
One of the first signs a master cylinder is failing will be an overt lack of pressure when you depress the brake pedal. When you put your foot on the pedal and push down a few times, you should feel the brake pushing back. A soft brake pedal is a sign that your brake system's master cylinder is not properly able to distribute pressure.
2. Mushy or Sinking Feeling
If you choose to ignore soft brake pedal movement, you may start to notice brake pedal behaviour becoming slowly more erratic. It may feel mushy or spongy instead of just soft. As time goes by, the pedal may start to sink; if you step down on it and depress it beyond a certain point, it will continue to drop.
3. Contaminated Brake Fluid
Brake fluid can become contaminated for several reasons, and that should always necessitate bleeding the brake lines and replacing the fluid. If the fluid that comes out is dark brown or black, the master cylinder may be to blame. When the master cylinder's rubber seals begin to break down, they can create such a colour.
4. Brake Warning Light
If your brake warning light comes on, it's usually because there are pressure problems. That doesn't necessarily indicate a problem with the master cylinder – it's more common for a simple leak of brake fluid to be the root cause. However, you should become suspicious if the light activates itself once again soon after brake fluid is replaced. Take your vehicle to a brake repairs service centre to have the master cylinder inspected.
Share6 March 2018
I rely a lot of my car as I am a paraplegic. I can only drive a car that has specially modified with wheel controls, so it's very important that I get my car serviced by a company that knows what it is doing. I also need my car to be serviced quickly as I am very limited in how much I can get around without it. This blog has some tips on how to find a car servicing company that will suit you if driving a disability-modified car. I hope it will be useful to other people with disabilities who rely on their cars as much as me.
