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Citreon Berlingo brake problems
John G - 19/7/23 at 07:57 AM

I have a Citreon Berlingo 1.6 diesel van that I use for work. Last week a brake warning light came on but I left it as I was going away in another car for the weekend. On Monday I had virtually no brakes with the pedal going down to the floor with little resistance. I pit in about 400ml of fluid then pumped the brakes followed by another 300ml. Still very little happening. I had a look underneath but could see no leaking fluid. Nursed the van to a small independent guy who lifted it on to his ramp but could not find any fluid leaking from the lines etc. We suspect the master cylinder. Any thoughts?
Regards Jon


nick205 - 19/7/23 at 10:52 AM

I think the 1.6 diesels have hydraulic clutches.

Does it share fluid between brake and clutch?

Has the clutch feel/performance changed at all?

Might be worth checking the clutch for leakage.


adithorp - 19/7/23 at 10:55 AM

If its leaking that much it should be obvious unless its into the servo. Even from a cylinder into the drum it should be apparent on the backplate.
Undo the nuts securing it to the servo and pull it forward to look for any signs on the master seal, though to be fair it's pretty rare to lose that much suddenly from a master cylinder.


adithorp - 19/7/23 at 10:58 AM

quote:
Originally posted by nick205
I think the 1.6 diesels have hydraulic clutches...




The outlet to the clutch master is deliberately high up on the reservoir so that if clutch hydralucs leak, it doesn't affect the brakes appart from putting the fluid level light on.


gremlin1234 - 19/7/23 at 11:16 AM

I am sure this car would have dual circuit brakes.
servo failure would be my guess


John G - 19/7/23 at 11:20 AM

Thanks for the replies, the clutch is fed from the same reservoir but the feed is above the brake feed so if the clutch was the cause the clutch would not work. Mechanic will fit a new master cylinder and will go from there. Will let you know what happens.


nick205 - 19/7/23 at 01:24 PM

quote:
Originally posted by adithorp
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
I think the 1.6 diesels have hydraulic clutches...




The outlet to the clutch master is deliberately high up on the reservoir so that if clutch hydralucs leak, it doesn't affect the brakes appart from putting the fluid level light on.



Makes sense!

Best stuck in (or out of) gear, but still having brakes.


ReMan - 21/7/23 at 09:54 AM

As said you iought to see 700ml of fluid somewhere leaking, in the servo or on the drivers floor.
Unless the fluid was so low that it now filled, but pushed air into all the lines
Keep us posted


adithorp - 21/7/23 at 10:48 AM

Also when/if changing the master you need to get the 700ml of fluid out of the servo.


John G - 21/7/23 at 12:39 PM

New master cylinder in and all working as it should. Maybe the level was low , but as the clutch was working and there were no leaks in pipelines and at calipers it did point to the master cylinder.
Thanks all the replies.


gremlin1234 - 22/7/23 at 08:03 AM

quote:
Originally posted by John G
New master cylinder in and all working as it should. Maybe the level was low , but as the clutch was working and there were no leaks in pipelines and at calipers it did point to the master cylinder.
Thanks all the replies.


for the clutch still to work with a low fluid level is not too surprising, as it is effective a no loss system, and only topped up to compensate for wear.

I still wonder where the fluid went,