The Master Cylinder Problem

By 6am we were all up and ready to get on with the day. After a spectacular sunrise and 2 coffees, at 7.15am Pete and I stripped out the old master cylinder and started fitting the new one. Reconnecting the brake hoses was a nightmare because the mechanic in MBazwana had cross threaded the nut but after a little effort I managed to screw both lines in. Then we found that the fluid reservoir had been completed properly at the factory and the line that connects to the clutch was missing.
Pete said not to worry and he would bodge the clutch fitting with the old reservoir essentially fitting 2 reservoirs in the engine bay. One for the brakes and one for the clutch.
Then with my help Pete bled the brakes until they were firm. It was a proper bodge job but finally Karin is running.
We have 2 new wheel bearings and a new master cylinder for the brakes and we think we’re good to go.
One thing for sure is, it’s going to get a good test drive of 600km to Richards Bay and back via a couple of game drives on the way so I’m really praying there’s no air in the system because we’re already in for a long day.Read more