Tag: master cylinder

Shipped the Brake Master Cylinder Today

Brake Master Cylinder Rebuild Form
Brake Master Cylinder Rebuild Form

Porsche 928 Master Cylinder Taken Apart
the Porsche 928 S4 Brake Master Cylinder I took Apart

shipping box for porsche 928 brake master cylinder
shipping box for Porsche 928 master cylinder

I previously tried to have a company rebuild my brake master cylinder. They sent it back saying they could not do it. I believe the problem is that it needs to be sleeved.

Today I sent the master cylinder off to another company that sleeves the master cylinder. This company offers a life time warranty. I am a little worried they will send it back because I took the unit part before sending it to them (they specifically asked not to do that) and I forgot how to put it back together. When I took the unit apart, I cracked one of the internal parts. I am assuming a rebuild kit would replace this component. This is the last rebuild attempt. I found another vendor that sells new units a little less than the previous vendors. I believe a rebuilt brake master cylinder is more reliable than the stock one. The company puts a more durable protective coating on the cylinder and the sleeve is more durable than the standard bore. When ever I do get a working brake master cylinder, I also plan on replacing the power booster, pressure adjuster and some vacuum lines. After I am done with the mechanical problems in the engine bay I will get the brakes rebuilt.

Brake Master Cylinder Adventure – caution about vendors

     

My Project Car is a 1989 Porsche 928 S4. I am currently unable to drive it because the brake master cylinder went bad.

      On a more common vehicle, you are able to go into a parts store and pay less than $100 for a brand-new master cylinder.  Unfortunately, this master cylinder is no longer manufactured. A company called ATE originally build these master cylinders. Due to the lack of supply a new unit cost around $400. I prefer not to pay that high of a price for something I feel is worth less than $100.

     I contacted ATE to see if there was an alternative part number. They informed me there was not. I did find out that there are alternative reservoirs I can use. The reservoir from Porsche cost a couple hundred but a generic reservoir cost less than $50.

     I tried to purchase a very cheap new brake booster pump off of eBay. The vendor had several thousand good reviews. After making the purchase the vendor gave eBay a fake tracking number. When I looked up the tracking number it said a package was delivered to another state. I tried contacting the vendor and his response was very slow. I filled a complaint with eBay but that went nowhere. So, I called my bank and disputed the charge and got my money back. I did some more research on that eBay user and found he ripped of hundreds of people. I was surprised eBay allowed him to continue to sell items.

     I also tried to purchase a rebuilt unit that was priced very cheap on a website. It turns out that some scammer owns multiple fake car parts web sites. After purchasing the fake rebuilt brake master cylinder nothing was shipped for over a week. I tried contacting the vendor and there was no response. So, I called my bank and disputed the transaction and got my money back.

     I then tried sending the old unit to RockAuto so they can have a company called Cardone rebuild the unit. Cardone was not able to rebuild the unit. I believe they could not due to the cylinder needing to be re-sleeved. I found another company that re-sleeves brake master cylinders, I plan on sending it to them shortly.

After I get the brakes working again I plan on using AMSOIL Synthetic Brake Fluid. I use this in my Toyota Tundra and have no problems. This Synthetic Brake Fluid exceeds a lot of the DOT 3/4 standard specifications.

Click here to Purchase AMSOIL Synthetic Brake Fluid