[billyb196]

Okay, this may sound weird but I keep getting power brake fluid on the top of the power brake reservoir tank. I have to clean it about once a week or so or risk it making a larger mess. I have observed this on every 05/06 I have seen.



I think it is being caused by fluid expansion in the tank due to heat and braking, and it is coming out around the cap.



I think I’m going to begin extracting small amounts of fluid and add a gasket between tank and bottom of the cap.



Has anyone discovered a resolution to this?

 

[Gig4Fun]

Okay, this may sound weird but I keep getting power brake fluid on the top of the power brake reservoir tank. I have to clean it about once a week or so or risk it making a larger mess. I have observed this on every 05/06 I have seen.



I think it is being caused by fluid expansion in the tank due to heat and braking, and it is coming out around the cap.



I think I’m going to begin extracting small amounts of fluid and add a gasket between tank and bottom of the cap.



Has anyone discovered a resolution to this?

Both of mine do it. I have to wipe it off all the time. Funny, I WAS going to live with it. Not anymore thanks to you! Keep us posted, I bet it bothers everyone here.

 

[5twenty]

Mine too. When I was at the drag strip last year many Ford guys came up to me and said things to the effect of; "Ford still puts in the leaky brake reservoir I see".

Is this really a ongoing Ford problem or a S197 problem? Anyone out there have any ideas how to fix it?

 

[munson1578]

Had the same problem and took it to dlr. They just put another cap on....still leaks!

 

[2horseowner]

Yo Billy, what's up? I talked to the dealer about this last week. It's a problem common to all Fords. Just a poor design. There is no planned fix and no one seems concerned about it. I was worried I was boiling the fluid under braking. Both of my cars show it and most of the other guys in the club as well. Maybe we should use our collective power and write a formal complaint to get it fixed.

 

[65205]

Let me get this straight- they know about it(I've taken mine in for it) but no planned fix? Isn't this stuff flamable? Don't engines get hot?

 

[2horseowner]

Well - it doesn't really come out in quantites that would be considered explosive. I worry more about the corrosive effects on the paint in the engine compartment. They suggested I put some kind of foam around the opening to absorb it. I was told the Focus is much worse but didn't detect any real concern about fixing it.

 

[billyb196]

Well - it doesn't really come out in quantites that would be considered explosive. I worry more about the corrosive effects on the paint in the engine compartment. They suggested I put some kind of foam around the opening to absorb it. I was told the Focus is much worse but didn't detect any real concern about fixing it.

Hey Pat,



We haven’t seen or heard much from you lately. I guess that new GF is keeping you busy.



I don’t have this problem on my F-150, so I removed the caps off of the tanks on my F-150 and Mustang to compare the two. It looks like both of the tanks we subbed out to TRW and the caps have identical designs. The F-150 cap is about ¼” larger in diameter.



Upon closer inspection of the mustang cap, the fluid is not coming out around the bottom of the gasket, but around the top, between the cap and gasket. In fact, when I removed the gasket out the cap was covered with fluid. There is a very small slit in the center of the gasket. I presume this is to allow for a release in the event of an overfill/over pressure. This is true on the F-150 too.



The reservoir tank on the Mustang is full to the max line and on my F-150 it is about ½ down in the middle of the min-max indicator.



I have completely cleaned the gasket and cap, and removed about 30ml of brake fluid from the reservoir (this takes it down about ¼”) on my Mustang to see if the alleviates the problem.



We should know by Friday night.



Billy

 

[2horseowner]

I got sidelined by the flu. I missed 8 days of work and lost 10 pounds. Do you think that will make me quicker Friday night? :eyepoppin I'll check my caps and see if I can duplicate your fix.

 

[ford4v429]

I have completely cleaned the gasket and cap, and removed about 30ml of brake fluid from the reservoir (this takes it down about ¼”) on my Mustang to see if the alleviates the problem.



We should know by Friday night.



Billy

that makes sense- I just noticed fluid on mine last night and thought "I didnt notice that before...sloppy filling on the assembly line...dont want that dripping on my paint...".

Guess it wasnt a spill after all- thanks for the tip

 

[billyb196]

I got sidelined by the flu. I missed 8 days of work and lost 10 pounds. Do you think that will make me quicker Friday night? :eyepoppin

Sorry to here about the flu.

Well, every once counts. When I was doing circle track we estimated that ever 15lbs we lost was worth 1HP. Except you always run in to minimum sanction weight, weight to wheel ratio requirements and the theory of diminishing returns.

Simplistically thinking, and not taking in to account barometric pressures, humidity, tire cohesion, etc., your car weighs 3,425 and assuming a 10% HP loss for drive train that would give your 270HP at the wheels for a power-to-weight ratio of .0788. For comparison a 2005 Ford GT has 450HP (500hp – 10%) and weighs 3,351 lbs for a ratio of .1343.

If you weigh 210lbs it changes the ratio to .0743 and 200lbs makes it .0745, which is negligible.

If you really want to make a weight difference, your gas tank holds 16 gallons. A gallon of gas at 72 degrees F weighs approximately 6.25lbs and as the temperature cools it gets denser and weighs more. A full tank weighs approximately 100lbs, make you run with a quarter tank and you loose 75lbs. Now that is a difference! If you remove your spare, jack and clean out your trunk, you can probably save 100lbs and your ratio moves to .0766. Although this does shift the weight from the rear wheels.

However, your ET is probably being dictated by your shifting points more than your power-to-weight ratio.

 

[5twenty]

I missed 8 days of work and lost 10 pounds. Do you think that will make me quicker Friday night?

I've heard something to the effect of every 10 pound you shed is good for 1% HP gain. Your weight loss should be equivelent to a new throttle body spacer!!

 

[2horseowner]

Sorry to here about the flu.

Well, every once counts. When I was doing circle track we estimated that ever 15lbs we lost was worth 1HP. Except you always run in to minimum sanction weight, weight to wheel ratio requirements and the theory of diminishing returns.

Simplistically thinking, and not taking in to account barometric pressures, humidity, tire cohesion, etc., your car weighs 3,425 and assuming a 10% HP loss for drive train that would give your 270HP at the wheels for a power-to-weight ratio of .0788. For comparison a 2005 Ford GT has 450HP (500hp – 10%) and weighs 3,351 lbs for a ratio of .1343.

If you weigh 210lbs it changes the ratio to .0743 and 200lbs makes it .0745, which is negligible.

If you really want to make a weight difference, your gas tank holds 16 gallons. A gallon of gas at 72 degrees F weighs approximately 6.25lbs and as the temperature cools it gets denser and weighs more. A full tank weighs approximately 100lbs, make you run with a quarter tank and you loose 75lbs. Now that is a difference! If you remove your spare, jack and clean out your trunk, you can probably save 100lbs and your ratio moves to .0766. Although this does shift the weight from the rear wheels.

However, your ET is probably being dictated by your shifting points more than your power-to-weight ratio.

Nah - My ET is determined by my pathetically poor reaction times and inability to keep the tires from spinning through first and second gears. :sterb: If I was 20 years younger and could see worth a damn I'd be fast - now I'm just an old fart getting cheap thrills :laughlitt I'm thinking of swappping the go fast parts to the vert for Friday. The automatic tranny eliminates a lot of the driver error.