I have a 1993 Ranger and brake fluid is leaking from someplace. I am using about a Qt every two weeks! After crawling under it the only "wet" place I can find is around the transmission the bottom of it is covered. But the brake lines don't appear to go over the top of it? I can't find a break in the lines anywhere and the tires are dry, this has been going on for several months. Can the master cylinder or booster be leaking somehow into the vac line? I can't tell for sure but the fluid on the trans could very well be brake fluid?
Is there a slave cylinder for the brakes in the bell housing? The clutch fluid is fine BTW.

Thanks for the help!!!

 

Not sure it if will help but my son's '96 Ranger has one of the metal brake lines that come out of the ABS unit and goes to the left front wheel rusted out and started with a pin hole leak right about where the line clips to the frame rail. I'll be bending brakelines this weekend

Royce

 

The master cylinder can leak inside the booster and be hard to detect from the outside. jd

 

First remove the rear drums and carefully inspect the wheel cylinders. You may even want to use a small screwdriver and pop the rubber boots off the ends while looking for fluid to spill out in the process. If any fluid trickles out, the wheel cylinder is leaking (slight moisture is normal).

If these are dry, unbolt the master cylinder from the booster and pull it forward, looking for fluid behind the master cylinder. If you find fluid here you need to replace the master cylinder... and I also recommend replacing the booster, as the brake fluid will eat up the diaphragm inside the booster before too much longer.

If you have a hydraulic switch threaded into the master cylinder for cruise control, unplug the electrical connector and look for moisture. If any is found there, do NOT plug it back in until you replace this switch. Ford has an updated switch design for this switch for exactly this reason (and recalled a bunch of F150's, expeditions, and a few other vehicles for this reason, but not the rangers)

If you STILL don't find anything, inspect all the rubber hoses, lines, and maybe even the calipers (remove the calipers and check the rubber seals around the caliper pistons).

Good luck.

 

Pull the vacuum line going to the brake booster & see if it's wet with brake fluid inside.

What color is the wetness on the tranny????

 

The fluid on the tranning has no color, does not look to be oil, it really looks like the brake fluid. Being a stick there is no trans fluid used other than oil anyway.

This is a lot of brake fluid, over the couple of months I have had the problem I expect I have added over a gallon. If it was one of the pistons at the wheel I would see fluid there? I understand about the master and will check that, but I don't see how the booster could hold that much, does the booster somehow connect to the transmission, or near it?
I have run the lines and can not find a leak, I replaced the rubber hose at one of the front wheels, it was shot. But that did not stop this leak.

No cruise.

Thanks for the ideas so far, it's nice to have some help!

 

OK just to let anyone reading this a year from now know.

I had a couple of friends free this weekend, so I got one pumping the brake and me and another guy crawled all over the underside of the truck. And found a leaking in the front right line. It was spraying back on the front of the transmission...

Thanks for the help.

It's in the shop today getting the line replaced.

 

OK good find & feedback.

Since you took the time to find where & what the problem was, your repair will likely have a more reasonable outcome.

 

I found fluid seeping from the left rear line on my 99 (145k miles) last week. Once I scraped away the rust with my finger nail, it let loose and lost the rear brakes entirely!

I replaced this one line, but how common a problem is this? Do I need to replace all rusty looking lines at this point?

Thanks,
Art

 

It would not be a bad idea. I personally know two people who have had brake lines fail due to rust.

Also, it's a good idea to flush your brake system every 1 or 2 years and keep fresh clean fluid in it.

 

Supercab,

Thanks for the reply. FWIW I used to replace the fluid every 2 years, but it has now been 4.

How old were those other trucks when these lines started failing?

Art

 

i had a line going to the rear axle fail at about 15 years of service, had around 100K miles on it at the time. ran new line from the front to the rear. havent had any other lines give me a problem. it failed right where the fitting is to the flex hose above the rear axle.