Areas to check for brake fluid leak

HI all,

Had a bummer of a day today when I lost my brakes:

Went to town to pick something up. After I restarted the car I noticed the e brake light stayed on and as I turned into my driveway after driving home I had no brakes! Opened the hood and saw the brake fluid level was below the MIN line. After using the search function, I'm assuming the e brake light came on because my brake fluid level was low. I topped it up with brake fluid but I still have no brakes . Luckily no one was hurt or anything damaged. Very thankful for that!

Besides around the fluid reservoir and the brake calipers/drums, can you recommend some common places to leak for a leak?

05 Manual transmission tacoma 4.0L. Brake lines replaced last summer with rusted frame warranty.

Any help is much appreciated!

 

Check the clutch too.. Look for wetness in the front of the cab under the carpet. Or the slave on the transmission.

 

I know that on some, the clutch master cylinder gets it's brake fluid from the brake master reservoir, but did they really design it so that the clutch system could drain enough to cause a brake failure? If so, that's a dumb design. Put the clutch supply tube 1/3 of the way up from the bottom, so it's "Oh darn, I can't get it into gear", instead of "Oh crap, I'm gonna die."

 

Good tip. I'll go check that right now. If the carpet area is damp, where would that be leaking from?

 

Check the break cylinders in the rear drum brakes for sure.

 

Update. The leak was indeed behind the clutch and looks to be coming form he clutch master cylinder. Here's what it looks like and what the master cylinder looks like. Any thoughts on where to go from here? Is this a suitable DIY project or should i bring it in? I guess I'd have to tow it to the dealership...

 

I've not done one but from what i have read on here it is doable. Bleeding it can be fun with the need to pull the pedal up between pumps until you get most of the air out

 

Mine leaked for quite a while before I noticed it. Had a shop replace the master and slave cyl and rebuild lines that had rusted. In the process of cleaning up the fluid and repainting the metal as I type this.



Be sure to clean up that fluid before you end up like me. (Previous owner let it leak and leak for who knows long)

 

Mine has turned into a bit of a disaster...

I brought the truck to a recommended shop and they replaced the clutch master cylinder. When I picked the truck up, I made it about three feet out of the lot and lost brakes again. Caliper was leaking fluid.

The replaced the caliper and two days later my clutch was grinding when I tried to start the car. Master cylinder was leaking.

Replaced the master cylinder and brake booster, two days later the clutch was grinding and car wouldn't start.

Very lucky that I have the Off Road and could use the "Clutch Start Cancel" to get the truck running.

Grinding noise only happens when I push the clutch in 100% of the way down.

Truck is at the shop for the 4th time in 10 days.... An absolute crap show!

 

Wow. Sorry op.

 

Ya things happen... what can ya do. Just looking forward to having my truck back at this point, I miss it!