Master cylinder reservoir location?

Paulc · April 15, 2020, 05:14 PM

94 Georgie Boy on Chevy P30 chassis.
Where is the master cylinder reservoir located? Doesn't appear to be under the hood. i??

ClydesdaleKevin · April 15, 2020, 05:28 PM

Quote from: Paulc on April 15, 2020, 05:14 PM
94 Georgie Boy on Chevy P30 chassis.
Where is the master cylinder reservoir located? Doesn't appear to be under the hood. i??

LOL! You are going to love this one! The master cylinder is under the floorboard, around where your left foot sits when you drive the RV.

To access it, you have to crawl under or reach past the front driver's side tire, and WAY back there, just about as far as you can reach, is the master cylinder and reservoir.

Oh...you can't see inside it though, and it has a double wire bale holding the lid on. You have to use a short screwdriver to pop those bale wires off, and the same to clip them back in place. And don't let one side or the other come out of their retaining holes...because they are really hard to get back in since you can't see anything and can barely reach it.

And you won't be able to look down inside it...you'll have to dip your finger in it to check the level, so make sure you clean your hands first. And if you need to top it off? Use the smallest brake fluid container you can find, spill half of it trying to make it fit, and use all the cuss words you want.

There is a special place in Hades for the engineer that decided to locate the master cylinder there...lol!

On our 77 Itasca, long gone, there was actually a trap door you could unscrew on the floorboard under the carpet, but that is rare, so don't hold your breath.

You can also cut your own trap door, which is what we did on our first RV, a 72 Futura, and on our last RV before the one we have now, an '89 Holiday Rambler Imperial.

Have fun and good luck! LOL!

Kev

Paulc · April 16, 2020, 04:42 PM

Sounds like a job for my sabre saw!!

A trap door sounds better than the alternative!

Thanks for the hint.

ClydesdaleKevin · April 16, 2020, 06:22 PM

Quote from: Paulc on April 16, 2020, 04:42 PM
Sounds like a job for my sabre saw!!
A trap door sounds better than the alternative!

Thanks for the hint.

You are quite welcome! When I sawed the holes in my floors (it was thick sheetmetal...and I used my grinder), I used caulk all around the edges so I wouldn't cut myself every time I checked the brake fluid, and just cut a piece of sheetmetal a couple of inches larger in both directions to sit over the hole, and let the carpet hold it down. The caulk also helps act like a seal against the sheetmetal lid.

Kev

Paulc · May 07, 2020, 04:08 PM

The drawing in the manual shows the master cylinder in line to the rear of the pushrod connected to the brake pedal.
Looks like this may be the place for the access cut.

ClydesdaleKevin · May 07, 2020, 08:31 PM

Quote from: Paulc on May 07, 2020, 04:08 PM
The drawing in the manual shows the master cylinder in line to the rear of the pushrod connected to the brake pedal.
Looks like this may be the place for the access cut.

It might be! Every RV is different in my experience. Just don't cut deep...there might be something else close to the floorboard like the cruise control unit, wires, etc. Only cut deep enough to take the material off to make your trap door.

Kev

Paulc · May 08, 2020, 04:31 PM

Right! Who knows what the coach builder decided to put under there.
They put inline splices in the front parking light harnesses to power the side markers!

Froggy1936 · May 08, 2020, 07:38 PM

Back then, the Winnebago electricians were butchers ! that took every short cut they could, When i updated my 77 mini to a 95 eng & trans , I had to install all the 95 wireing due to electronic ign and LE 80 trans .I found that the Winnebago guys punched a hole

in the floor board To run their wireing harness to under the dash The harness for all the lighting in the house & outside ! Frank

tarifachris · May 13, 2020, 12:50 PM

Last time I checked and filled up my master cylinder on my 1988 Holiday Rambler I did it from the inside after opening the doghouse.I remember I thought how stupid I was before to try it from outside from the wheel side.

Paulc · May 13, 2020, 04:01 PM

Have to check again but I don't think it's visible from the topside on this model.
Be nice if it was!😁

tarifachris · May 14, 2020, 11:44 PM

Quote from: Paulc on May 13, 2020, 04:01 PM
Have to check again but I don't think it's visible from the topside on this model.
Be nice if it was!😁

Maybe it is only accessible from the inside on the P30 high floor model like my Holiday Rambler. I had to lay flat on the belly to reach it...

ClydesdaleKevin · May 15, 2020, 09:04 AM

Quote from: tarifachris on May 14, 2020, 11:44 PM
Maybe it is only accessible from the inside on the P30 high floor model like my Holiday Rambler. I had to lay flat on the belly to reach it...

I had the same HR Imperial for years (a 1989), and they are amazingly engineered machines. I could also reach the master cylinder from the doghouse, but barely. So I cut a hole in the sheetmetal under the carpet directly over the MC...and used a slightly larger piece of sheetmetal to cover it. I lined the cut hole with silicone all along the edges to keep from getting cut, and that silicone acted as a gasket to seal the trap door, held in place by the weight of the carpet.

Kev