96 Taurus brake booster

Here is a pic of the power brake booster with the master cylinder removed. Where it's circled in black, is there supposed to be a 'nick' a small trench?
It was leaking, a bit. I thought my lines were rusted, trusted mechanic said so, but as you could see, the paint is peeling of the booster.

Could I fix it by applying some silicone that is resitant to brake fluid? Or that's a cheap way? Also if I need to change the brake booster, how difficult? Getting under the steering wheel on the firewall to remove bolts?

http://mollossmaster.com/taurus/booster-01.jpg

It might sound retarted, but instead of brake fluid could I add vegetable oil? :naughty: I've seen on Discovery that a company were using jacks to move an historic building weighing a few tons. They used vegetable oil in case of leak, it won't harm the environment. So if jacking up tons of weight, why won't it work in a car?

While I do like vegitable oil, I would not consider using it as brake fluid in my car. :screwy: The thing that would concern me is that the system is designed to use that hard, obnoxious stuff called brake fluid, strange as it may sound, the seals may not hold up too well with vegitable oil, motor oil, or whatever. The building guys were replacing a different fluid which is essentially a motor oil with vegitable oil to do their lifting, and they've already done whatever remanufacturing to their systems to handle the vegitable oil properly. Not to mention the fact that they probably change it almost every job. It would gum up for us in our cars, especially to use it month after month. You've gotta keep it fresh, or it will turn rancid on you.

That was an idea though. :grinyes:

Also, I would silicone it for now, and consider hanging it out. I've not done one of those yet, so good luck!:smokin:

There should not be brake fluid in this area! Evidently your master cylinder is leaking, and that's why this surface is wet with brake fluid. If the fluid penetrated the seal on the brake booster, you will probably need to replace it as well.

You're talking about the braking system here, a significant safety system! I'd suggest you replace both the master cylinder and the brake booster, but at a minimum, you need a new master cylinder.

If you were to seal the surfaces between the master cylinder and the brake booster, you'd certainly destroy your brake booster and probably have brake fluid leaking into the cabin of your car.

-Rod

I wasn't gonna use vegetable oil, just a thought. So that question is settled.

Next issue. Shorod, I know there shouldn't be brake fluid on the brake booster. As you could see, or it's not a great pic, the seal on the brake booster is perfect condition. I removed the seal, there is no fluid behind it, which is good.

Also, I say master cylinder is in good condition, that's not leaking. What caused the leak was because the 'nick' on the brake booster. So there is a groove where fluid leaks between master cylinder and brake booster, not a complete tight seal.

I'll see if 'special' silicone/gasket maker is available. Also, is the brake booster a pain to replace?

But what I'm saying is there should NOT be any brake fluid in that area. The brake booster does not have brake fluid in it, and there should not be brake fluid coming through the master cylinder and contacting the brake booster. If brake fluid is making contact with brake booster, and it's not due to spilling fluid when filling the master cylinder, the master cylinder is leaking and needs to be replaced.

The dimple in the booster is not the problem, the shaft seal in your master cylinder is.

-Rod

shorod is 100% correct in his statement. The dimple in the booster body should have no bearing on the braking or fluid leakage at all. Fluid has to come from the master cylinder. If fluid is coming from master cylinder it needs to be replaced period!!!!!!!!!!!! just remember it is YOU that is driving the vehicle with faulty brakes. Please have it repaired soon.