DoctorQ

Bret: thx for the post... glad you're happy with the repairs. Mine should be done tomorrow (Thu EOB), so I guess they did need 3 days. I'll post as soon as I get my car back regarding what had to be pulled and paint results. They only replaced my cap too (and my fluid level was already dropped)...so hope it's truely fixed (especially after this repaint).

DoctorQ

Got her back... paint and repairs look great. Have to admit, Dealership treated me right... no hassles... provided 3 day rental (free of charge)... and detailed the car! Fortunately, they did not have to pull motor. They stated they did on last firewall repaint, but apparently that one was worse than mine. They had to pull pretty much same as WB05Stang's rig (booster, master cylinder, drier, evap, a/c lines, and wiring harnesses) in order to repaint. On drive home, tested brakes & AC... all appear to be in tip-top shape... firewall looks great too. Here's hoping the new cap prevents further leaks! Thx for all the input. Doc

metroplex

Make sure your brake fluid is below the MAX triangle tip and it should not leak out.

official_style

one of the reasons ill never buy another ford lol

Northwest GT

Well, I've complained a lot on the forum about this problem, but my complaints have been mainly directed at Ford for not being more proactive about this issue. It still could turn our to be a killer for them. And, I don't want that to happen. We should send something like a group e-mail to Dearborn.

As I've said before, I've been a Ford man since birth. This is my fourth Mustang (I forgot to count the Mustang II I had in 1976..not the best, but not as bad as some would say). The brake fluid cap leak is the one and only problem I've had with my '05 in two years of daily service.

It's a great car, and mine still seems like new. It's fast, handles well, looks fabulous, and didn't really cost an arm and a leg. What else can you ask for? I just don't want to see Ford get a black eye for something so trivial as this leak.

official_style

it can easily be fixed with a .76 cent piece from home depot, i put one of those big flat washers in mine under the rubber part in the cap, no leak in like a year. but why should i have to home depot out my 29k car? this is why i have always stuck with chevy, never had a problem like this, and i will be switching back one the camaro is out. i do love my car, but there are some things they just can't or won't fix, like the clunk in the front end, and the engine being to small lol.

metroplex

I didn't use any washers or teflon tape. I just removed the fluid so that it was at the MAX mark (nothing more than that). So far, so good even in high ambient temperatures.

StangRalle

Hey Doc,

just read the whole thread and saw your pictures. I have the same problem here in Europe and many of my fellow FMCE2005 chaps too! The issue is, we don't have the FMC warranty in Europe, as we exported the car from the US and now we are screwed!

Bottom line, we have to pay for it ourselfes

I'm gonna check the break fluid level and ensure it'll be under max. and see if it continues leaking.

There are some real serious rumors out there that the brake master cylinder is filling up with the fluid... Or that clutch master cyl and the brake share the same reservoir, perhaps the lines feeding the two is leaking or it's the clutch cyl that's leaking...

Man... I'm no car mech and this is really starting to drive me nuts .

Ralph

mail906

Ford deserves a black eye over this. It is a ridiculous problem among others [batteries going dead; water leaks into the passenger compartment; etc.] that owners have experienced with the SN197.

It is good to see DoctorQ get his car back, but let's be objective about it. The dealer here had to remove "... booster, master cylinder, drier, evap, a/c lines, and wiring harnesses) in order to repaint ..." Now, who really believes that a dealer can dismantle a vehicle to this extent and reassemble it to factory-level quality? Probably no one is the answer. I cringe at the thought that any dealer would have to rip apart a newer vehicle like this [yet along pull the motor]. And that is why Ford deserves a black eye.

The real reason I am replying to this post has to do with my own experience with the leaky reservoir cap. Hopefully this will give a couple of owners a heads up.

My 07 GT has 2,400 miles on it and it is about 10 months old. It is a 3rd car and a garage queen - except when I take it out, I drive it [very] hard. It's a 5 spd and my typical gas mileage is 15 ~ 16 mph [I only mention this to give an idea of how I drive it.]

Anyway, whenever I wash the vehicle I check things, including the brake fluid reservoir. In the past there has been some minimal leakage that I've wiped away.

But yesterday when I checked it again, there was some pretty serious accumulation of brake fliud on the top of the reservoir and the sides [along the lip in the middle]. There is no doubt this amount of fluid would have damaged my paint if I had not seen it.

The point here is that this all happened in maybe 200 miles of hard driving. Usually the car is out of a weekend - driven - and then put away. So while I thought everything was great because I was keeping my eye on it, a serious problem with this can happen very quickly.

Thought I'd pass this along to hopefully help others out there.

st06vert

of all the gimmick i tried the teflon would benefit you the most. sadly i have the paint damage and leaving it as is.

Imatk

If you have paint damage I would take it in... otherwise it will rust and you definatley don't want that.

Rust to a car is like a cancer it will just keep spreading.

WB05stang

Hi all,

I have another update on this. The replacement cap, fluid removal did NOT stop the leak. It was still leaking and not just a little.

So after the dealer fought with Ford about it, they replaced the master cylinder. Lets hope this takes care of the problem.

I really cannot beleive they (Ford) can let this kind of thing continue and then they want to give the service depatrments crap about trying to take care of thier customers.

FORD pull your head out!!!!!!

VegasGold

Well, I have it too...

Had the car serviced and mentioned the leaky brake fluid....They ordered me a new cap. I will pick it up on Tuesday. I already remove some fluid just below the max triangle. I do not think this new cap is the answer. We will see. I am all in for a email or other to send Ford to get this fixed NOW...

Mark S.

Simple solution...I took some cotton tubing (the ladies use them when they have pedicures)...cut 2 one and half inch pieces and then using a flat tip screwdriver I gently shoved one piece under the back portion (closest to the firewall) of the cap and the other piece in front of the cap. I've driven over 3K miles since and not a drop of brake fluid has leaked. I've looked at the cotton and I see where it has soaked up a very little bit of it.
I will probably change out the cotton once a year.

st06vert

thinking of getting a spray can to do the job. what do you guys think?

WB05stang

I fully understand why a lot of people are doing thier own fixes. but everyone really needs to start taking the cars in to the dealers so Ford can understand the full extent of this problem..

I realize most of us don't trust dealers and don't want them touching our cars but with this kind of problem they aren't going to fix it with only a few complaing about it.

JeffD

i could take it in to the nearest dealer - and hope i get a loaner car so i can go to work. or i could take it to the dealer where i bought the car (and more likely to get a loaner) - drive 100 miles round trip and be out that time and expense. or i could take some teflon tape from the toolbox and be done with the issue. i think many people would rather do the job so they know it is done correctly - at least until a 'real' fix is determined

DoctorQ

Ralph: According to the dealership service tech, they tested the master cyclinder for any leaks and verified all the seals were fine.. thus concluded leaking fluid must have come from cap (as fluid was visible on top & sides of reservoir). If you do have fluid on the firewall, it will disolve paint.. mine could be wiped off down to bare metal with my finger. You definitely need to remove damaged paint, prep metal, and repaint to avoid future rust problems.

WB05stang

Not sure about your dealer but I waited on the master cylinder replacement. took 2 hours.


But as you state you rather fix it right until they come out with a correct fix for it.. they won't when they don't know the true extent of the problem. The dealer I took my cars too said they were the only ones they have seen it on.

So it means people are just living with it, and a few of us are getting them to take responsibilty for this crappy setup.

DoctorQ

if your car is still under warranty.. take it to dealership. My dealer had the regional Ford rep look at the firewall, and rep agreed to do full repairs. My dealership was great... paid for a rental for 4 days and even detailed it before giving it back to me. Not sure you can properly removed old paint, prep, and repaint without pulling booster, master cyclinder, and all the AC lines.