I've got a 1952 MGTD. When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. Now the peddle goes down to the floor. First step is to add
brake fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. Have seen plenty of
cautions about mixing fluid types. Any way of figuring out what's in
there now?

TIA

Larry

TD Driver wrote:
I've got a 1952 MGTD. When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. Now the peddle goes down to the floor. First step is to add
brake fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. Have seen plenty of
cautions about mixing fluid types. Any way of figuring out what's in
there now?

TIA

Larry

This means you probably have a leak, right?
The problem with just adding fluid after a leak is that there is
probably air in the lines. Air has a funny way of working its way
through the line to cause a failure at an inopportune time, like when
you want to stop. :-) That means you have to bleed the lines, anyway. If
you're going to bleed the lines, you might as well find the leak and fix
it. I'm assuming you want to keep that classic in shape. :-)

If the leak isn't apparent, I would say you could add the recommended
fluid just to top it off so you can pressurize the system to find the
leak. Evacuate all the fluid. Fix the leak. Refill with recommended
fluid. Bleed the lines. Enjoy a drive.



--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Apr 23, 1:21*pm, TD Driver wrote:
I've got a 1952 MGTD. *When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. *Now the peddle goes down to the floor. *First step is to add
brake fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. *Have seen plenty of
cautions about mixing fluid types. *Any way of figuring out what's in
there now?

TIA

Larry

DOT 3 and 4 *will* mix with water so take a little out of the master
cylinder and add it to a container containing a little water and
shake. If after sitting it separates then you have DOT 5.

DOT 5 is usually purple or blue while 3 & 4 are honey colored.
Unfortunately they all turn a dark brown after a while.

You are correct, do not mix 3 or 4 with 5.

DO NOT spill DOT 3 on anything you like, it will either destroy paint
or rust bare metal.


As was already said you most likely have a leak or a bad master
cylinder. The seals in a master cylinder can go without showing a
leak. Top off the fluid and *gently* pump the pedal to see if you get
improvement. If you don't get improvement start looking for leaks.
If it is one of the wheel cylinders (drum brakes) quite a bit of fluid
can leak inside the drum before you can see any w/o removing the drum.

good luck.

"TD Driver" wrote in message
...
I've got a 1952 MGTD. When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. Now the peddle goes down to the floor. First step is to add brake
fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. Have seen plenty of cautions
about mixing fluid types. Any way of figuring out what's in there now?

TIA

Larry


Every one pretty much has given you good advise. But if the pedal goes to
the floor now, adding fluid may not solve the problem if it is low. If you
applied the brake pedal to a low MC you probably have air in the lines as
previously mentioned.

Look under the car around the bottom of the tires and see if there is any
fluid leak from a leaking wheel cylinder.

TD Driver wrote:
I've got a 1952 MGTD. When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. Now the peddle goes down to the floor. First step is to add
brake fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. Have seen plenty of
cautions about mixing fluid types. Any way of figuring out what's in
there now?

TIA

Larry
Lots of good advice above. I DAGS on MGTD manual and got the usual
25000 hits. One seems like a book you should have. Look at
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-MG-TD.../dp/0938253026 .
Might be of interest if a bit pricey (new at $46 and used at $93 (?)).
I am a bit envious of you and your TD. Oh well.
mahalo,
jo4hn

In article ,
TD Driver wrote:
I've got a 1952 MGTD. When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. Now the peddle goes down to the floor. First step is to add
brake fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. Have seen plenty of
cautions about mixing fluid types. Any way of figuring out what's in
there now?

TIA

Larry

It is most likely DOT3 but I would advise flushing the complete brake
system and replacing with fresh fluid.

If you want to determine whether it is glycerine based brake fluid (DOT3 &
DOT 4) take some of the old fluid and see if water mixes with it; Silicone
based fluids (DOT5) do not mix with water.

:wq

--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation
with the average voter. (Winston Churchill)

Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar. org

"TD Driver" wrote in message
...
I've got a 1952 MGTD. When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. Now the peddle goes down to the floor. First step is to add brake
fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. Have seen plenty of cautions
about mixing fluid types. Any way of figuring out what's in there now?

TIA

Larry

In the past 50+ years it may have been mixed or changed, at least. Good
chance it is DOT3 or at least can take it. If the pedal goes to the floor
after just sitting, most likely you have a bad seal or a brake line corroded
through and the fluid should be flushed after the repair anyway.

Thanks for all the good advice, guys. I'm a woodbutcher, not a
mechanic, and the only time I spend with the MG is when I'm behind the
wheel, not under the car. Bad form, I know, but I'd rather be making
sawdust than tinkering with the car. I'm gonna take your advice and see
if what's in the car mixes with water and then fill 'er up. I just want
to run her out to the mechanic for a full brake inspection and let him
get to the root of the problem.

TD Driver wrote:
I've got a 1952 MGTD. When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. Now the peddle goes down to the floor. First step is to add
brake fluid, but I don't know what's in there now. Have seen plenty of
cautions about mixing fluid types. Any way of figuring out what's in
there now?

TIA

Larry

"TD Driver" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the good advice, guys. I'm a woodbutcher, not a mechanic,
and the only time I spend with the MG is when I'm behind the wheel, not
under the car. Bad form, I know, but I'd rather be making sawdust than
tinkering with the car. I'm gonna take your advice and see if what's in
the car mixes with water and then fill 'er up. I just want to run her out
to the mechanic for a full brake inspection and let him get to the root of
the problem.

Keep in mind that 1952 cars did not have the dual master cylinders If you
have a corroded line, you will have no brakes at all. I just replaced the
line on one of my cars last Saturday and it is only 8 years old. If in
doubt, call the truck with the hook.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"TD Driver" wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the good advice, guys. I'm a woodbutcher, not a mechanic,
and the only time I spend with the MG is when I'm behind the wheel, not
under the car. Bad form, I know, but I'd rather be making sawdust than
tinkering with the car. I'm gonna take your advice and see if what's in
the car mixes with water and then fill 'er up. I just want to run her out
to the mechanic for a full brake inspection and let him get to the root of
the problem.

Keep in mind that 1952 cars did not have the dual master cylinders If you
have a corroded line, you will have no brakes at all. I just replaced the
line on one of my cars last Saturday and it is only 8 years old. If in
doubt, call the truck with the hook.


Or, you could just rent a trailer like they have for behind RVs (I am
sure that they have a name).

Norvin wrote:
Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
on and let him get to the root of the problem.


Keep in mind that 1952 cars did not have the dual master cylinders If
you have a corroded line, you will have no brakes at all. I just
replaced the line on one of my cars last Saturday and it is only 8
years old. If in doubt, call the truck with the hook.

Or, you could just rent a trailer like they have for behind RVs (I am
sure that they have a name).

Tow dolly.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

Nova wrote:
....
Tow dolly.

What does Dolly say?

--

On Apr 24, 2:50*pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:
"TD Driver" wrote in message

...

Thanks for all the good advice, guys. *I'm a woodbutcher, not a mechanic,
and the only time I spend with the MG is when I'm behind the wheel, not
under the car. *Bad form, I know, but I'd rather be making sawdust than
tinkering with the car. *I'm gonna take your advice and see if what's in
the car mixes with water and then fill 'er up. *I just want to run her out
to the mechanic for a full brake inspection and let him get to the root of
the problem.

Keep in mind that 1952 cars did not have the dual master cylinders *If you
have a corroded line, you will have no brakes at all. *I just replaced the
line on one of my cars last Saturday and it is only 8 years old. *If in
doubt, call the truck with the hook.

Good advice.

On Apr 24, 5:24*pm, dpb wrote:
Nova wrote:

...

Tow dolly.

What does Dolly say?



Hello?

"Limp Arbor" wrote in message
...

As was already said you most likely have a leak or a bad master
cylinder. The seals in a master cylinder can go without showing a
leak. Top off the fluid and *gently* pump the pedal to see if you get
improvement.

A 'bypass' leak of the internal cups in the MC will cause the described
symptoms. Instead of pressurizing the lines/cylinders it will simply cause
the fluid to re-circulate within the MC.

On Apr 25, 1:11*pm, "1D10T" wrote:
"Limp Arbor" wrote in message

...

As was already said you most likely have a leak or a bad master
cylinder. *The seals in a master cylinder can go without showing a
leak. *Top off the fluid and *gently* pump the pedal to see if you get
improvement.

A 'bypass' leak of the internal cups in the MC will cause the described
symptoms. Instead of pressurizing the lines/cylinders it will simply cause
the fluid to re-circulate within the MC.

You can most often hear it squishing in there as well. The medical
people would call that a bruit.

I don't know what the big deal is. in college I drove one of my Minis
a week with just a parking brake till a part came in.

Robatoy wrote:
I don't know what the big deal is. in college I drove one of my Minis
a week with just a parking brake till a part came in.

I did that with my ugly MustangII.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

dpb wrote:
Nova wrote:
...
Tow dolly.

What does Dolly say?

--


Tow Tow Tow your car, gently down the road.....

-MIKE- wrote:
Robatoy wrote:
I don't know what the big deal is. in college I drove one of my Minis
a week with just a parking brake till a part came in.

I did that with my ugly MustangII.


It was easy with my old TR-3. The parking brake lever did not lock
until you pushed the button on the end of the lever. I miss that.

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

It's an Elder Thing -- you wouldn't
understand.

On 23 Apr, 18:21, TD Driver wrote:
I've got a 1952 MGTD. *When I put her to bed last fall, the brakes were
fine. *Now the peddle goes down to the floor. *

That's not good, any brake-related not-good counts as very not good
and needs proper fixing.

You probably don't have a "leak" as such, but rather a failed seal or
cup washer on the master cylinder. If these are old, then they're
likely to be natural rubber and to have failed simply from age.

Your brake fluid (which I guess is DOT 3) has a service life of only a
few years (maybe more in Arizona) and ought to be replaced regularly
anyway. Chances are (on any car I've ever dealt with) it's already
beyond this, so a pre-emptive replacement is warranted anyway. You're
also driving a car that uses cheaper fluid than my car, and has brake
cylinders that are borderline awkward to replace - so replace fluid
before there's any risk of wet fluid causing cylinder corrosion -
that's expensive.

Your rubber flexi hoses to the front wheels and rear axles are also
lifetime limited, and deserve careful inspection as a minimum.

It's also a good idea to inspect the rigid pipes. Replace anything
looking slightly dubious, but there's no need to replace merely on
age.

So I think this is really nature's way of telling you you're overdue a
full brake service and replacement of the rubber parts and all fluid.
Certainly the master cylinder rubbers and front wheel cylinder seals
as a minimum!

Flush the system through and refill with DOT4. This is an improvement
over DOT 3, especially for cars spending a long time in winter
storage, and it's cheaper than DOT 5.1. Performance of any of these
is all you'll ever need for a T-series - you'll fade the shoes long
before the fluid. Don't use DOT 5 (the silicone) as that has some
issues of its own. You can do that, and it avoids much of the moisture
problem in storage, but you should really be putting it into a new or
cleaned system, not filling & flushing.

Fixing brake leaks by topping up fluids is by getting you home from a
desert, not a maintenance strategy. Leaks in brake systems need
attention, no palliative measures.