chaseincats

I 100% agree but in this case its been 6 full years without leaking

Yeah, you're right, it does look crooked...I wonder how it didn't leak for 6 years if it was like this. I'll install the new master this weekend anyhow since I already bought it and report back on the state of the threads, etc.

Sure! It is leaking where the brake line bolt screws into the master cylinder on the forward reservoir (the one that manages the rear drum brakes)

it sounds like pressure is escaping the master cylinder and sneaking into the reservoir which is forcing fluid out of the bottom maybe? Because of that, sealing that might be counter productive is what it sounds like.

Sorry, I was referring to the reservoir for the rear wheels when I said 'rear reservoir.' Alright, so hopefully the new master fixes the issue. I just don't understand how both wheel cylinders and the master all went out at the same time... Do you think the positive pressurization in the reservoir is due to the possibly blown seal in the master?

Interesting. I'll give it a look when I change it out, but it's odd that it started leaking 6 years after being installed if the connection there was originally poor. Is the rear reservoir being internally pressurized unlike the front not a concern?

I bought a new one which should be here tomorrow(ish). When the master's seals go out, does it take the wheel cylinders out too? It's just odd everything started leaking/misbehaving at once.

No leak between the master and the booster. It only seems to be coming down near the areas where the brake lines screw in to the bottom of the master. I just thought it was odd that the rear reservoir (for the drums) has positive pressure on it when you take the lid off and the one for the calipers opens without a pop of pressure. Is there a pressure release valve in the reservoir cap that could be blocked forcing brake fluid to be squeezed out of the bottom when the pedal is pressed or something?

It was sitting for ~9 months being driven maybe monthly during that time period and hadn't leaked since I installed the new master in 2019 so it's weird that all of a sudden its tightness became an issue. It was driven weekly before 9 months ago so it wasn't sitting that long in the grand scheme of things. That said, it was leaking after being tightened and the pedal needed to be pumped up to work which is new. The car sits flat. Is the reservoir making a pop noise when the cap is opened (being positively pressurized inside it) an issue? This is exclusive to the rear reservoir I believe.

Wow that's weird then. Since it's metal on metal and has been connected/not touched for years, why would it start leaking now? I did notice whenever I take the cap off that reservoir it does make a pop as if it's pressurized.

The brake fun just keeps on comin! A few weeks back I found brake fluid in the engine bay below the master cylinder and the rear system's brake fluid reservoir was bone dry. I noticed the bolt that screws the rear-wheels' brake line into the bottom of the master was wet and could be tightened a good 3/4 turn, so I tightened it, bled the master, and the pedal felt great. Noticing both wheel cylinders were leaking, I replaced those this past week. I tried to take the car out tonight to test the brakes and noticed I needed to pump the pedal up to get the car to stop when coming out of the driveway. I checked in the engine bay and a fair bit of brake fluid was sneaking out between the brake line's bolt and the bottom of the master again despite tightening that bolt a few weeks prior. Is there a plastic/rubber seal there that has failed indicating I need a new master brake cylinder, or is that metal on metal which is now leaking for some reason? The car has been sitting for the better part of 9 months while I redid the floor's sound deadening/carpeting and it's odd that the entire rear brake system seemed to die at the same time. The wheel cylinders were last changed in 2016 and the master was changed in 2019.

@Zed Head Sorry, I misunderstood about doing that with the drum on. If everything is working correctly, the handle should lock higher than usual and after a few pulls should gradually lower, is that correct?

@Zed Head Is there a test I could do if I jack the car up and pull the e-brake a few times or would that not tell me anything?

@Zed Head If I know the adjustment gear turns since I backed the pads in, does that mean the system is good? I really don't want to fight to pull the drum off again.

Awesome, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear, thanks @Zed Head. Does it matter that one drum's shoes are currently further-in than the other side's since I didn't need to loosen the passenger side's shoes to get the drum off/on but I needed to loosen the drivers side's? Basically I'm asking if the drums will permanently be unevenly tight, or if the automatic adjustment system will handle tightening the drivers side only so it matches the passenger's side and if that system has an adjustment limit. As an extreme example, if the drums are pulled all the way in using the adjustment wheel, would pulling the emergency brake 100 times get the car to the same/correct shoe adjustment level as if someone followed the FSM using the method you noted (albeit just taking considerably longer by contrast)? Also, the auto adjustment system is only calibrated using the emergency brake and not the brake pedal, right?

Hi gang, I'm a bit confused regarding adjusting the rear shoes after replacing the wheel cylinders. I was able to yank the drum off without bringing the shoes in on one side but the other I had to play with that little shoe adjustment wheel to bring the shoes in before the drum would pop back on. I am reading in the FSM that pulling the e-brake a few times adjusts the shoes back out automatically, but I'm reading on the forums you have to play with that gear again to bring the shoes back out. Any ideas which it is?

gotcha - so in that case, are the curved edges of the washer really necessary for proper operation or will a flat washer do? I called courtesy nissan down the road and they can get it but its $22 for a washer - I couldn't believe it!

Sounds good, I'll give it a shot. Should I replace the cup washer on the other side with this to keep it symmetrical or does it not matter?

Nope, I'm talking about #19 - sorry about that. I'll update the link now.

When I pulled the brake-drum cover off with the puller, the shoe retaining clip's cup-washer flew off (the one that sits between the spring and shoe) and is nowhere to be found. Can I use any washer that fits, or does it have to have those cup-like ends? This is the part I'm referencing: Courtesy Nissan Car Part Manual The part I think it's referencing

It was just due to the shoes pushing outward and me unable to find the gear to bring the shoes in. That said, after looking at the gear's position and the hole location in the drums, they don't line up at all so I'm not sure how people are accessing the gear...

Well, I gave up trying to find it and just yanked it off with a puller lol

Mine has 2 of those holes - does it matter which I use?

Wait i thought the cog was accessed through the hole on the front of the drum?

Sounds good - I'll give it a shot. Thanks