Death by Brake Fluid

["Jay Mackro" <jmackro@domain.elided>]

"John Dohrmann" <jdohrmann@domain.elided>
had asked:

>I am replacing my brake and clutch master cylinders but when I got the
brake
>cylinder off I could see fluid in the bottom of the servo unit.  I pulled
>about a cup of brake fluid out and stuffed a rag in to the unit to dry it
>out.  The servo works now.  QUESTION 1 -- is this servo unit doomed to fail
>soon because brake fluid leaked into it?  I guess I'd have to look for a
>used one.  Don't want to spend $300+ for a new one.

John:

Yea, your servo diaphram will eventually fail - somehow, exposure
to brake fluid kills them.  (Why ATE, or whoever built those things,
chose to use a material that is sensitive to brake fluid was always
beyond me - planned obsolesence I guess).  HOWEVER, I
wouldn't replace it quite yet, and I would be a bit leery about
replacing it with a used part.  The servo will survive for a bit
longer, even after exposure to fluid.  And, when it does fail, it
it won't be catastrophic - you will just need more pedal
pressure.  Any used servo you get is likely to be in the same
condition as yours - the back of the master cylinder is under
vacuum, and the seals there are usually the first part to wear
out, causing fluid to be drawn into the servo - it's a pretty
common condition.

Seems that I recall reading here in the Digest that someone
(in Florida?) was rebuilding these servos.  Can anyone report
on who that company was, whether they are still performing
the operation, success rates, price, ..... ?

Jay

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