brake fluid dilemna

[weaselnoze]

so i was just checking my fluids and noticed this..



three questions. 

1) its obviously super low and my brake pads arent that old. idk what the drum brakes look like in the back.  is this indicative of a leak somewhere?

2) whats that smaller hole for? 

3) i dont know if there is DOT3 or DOT4 in there.  can i top it off with either one?

 

[pantablo]

I think it uses DOT5 as standard. if not, its DOT 4 for sure.

no drum brakes at rear, disc same as front. rear might have its own resevoir, can't remember.

if there's no visible leak dont worry about a leak and keep an eye on it. its low enough to warrant filling it and bleeding the system.

[Alphamazing]

I noticed my rear brake fluid was low too. It's DOT4, as it should note on the cap. Just fill it up and you should be okay.

Wait, this is for the GS, right?

...That doesn't look like a GS...

[un1261]

It looks like it is your car?  use dot 4. and yes you have drum brakes back there.

[Alphamazing]

It looks like it is your car?  use dot 4. and yes you have drum brakes back there.

Not necessarily. Some cars have 4 wheel disk brakes.

[weaselnoze]

It looks like it is your car?  use dot 4. and yes you have drum brakes back there.

Not necessarily. Some cars have 4 wheel disk brakes.

my year civic had 4 wheel disc as an option. mine has drums.  sorry i should have mentioned that this is my car we're talkin bout. thats why i put it in O&E. 

well upon further inspection, this is my clutch fluid resiviour.  i guess i'll just top it off with dot4 and see how things roll.  i'll flush both systems in the spring cause im waay overdue.   i'll have to keep an eye on it because it shouldnt be so low.  im thinkin leak in the clutch system.. idk.

[Alphamazing]

It looks like it is your car?  use dot 4. and yes you have drum brakes back there.

Not necessarily. Some cars have 4 wheel disk brakes.

my year civic had 4 wheel disc as an option. mine has drums.  sorry i should have mentioned that this is my car we're talkin bout. thats why i put it in O&E. 

well upon further inspection, this is my clutch fluid resiviour.  i guess i'll just top it off with dot4 and see how things roll.  i'll flush both systems in the spring cause im waay overdue.   i'll have to keep an eye on it because it shouldnt be so low.  im thinkin leak in the clutch system.. idk.

Yeah, my Civic has drum brakes in the rear too. I checked my brake fluid recently too after replacing a bunch of components and found it was low too. How do you know that is your clutch fluid resevoir?

[weaselnoze]

well i was reading in the lil book that comes with the car and noticed taht i wasnt even looking at the brake resevoir.  its much smaller and off to the right of the brake resevoir

[Alphamazing]

well i was reading in the lil book that comes with the car and noticed taht i wasnt even looking at the brake resevoir.  its much smaller and off to the right of the brake resevoir

Hm. The resevoir is in the upper right hand corner, sorta, when you're in front of the car facing the engine bay. The clutch resevoir is right next to that? Maybe I'll check mine.

[weaselnoze]

yes, its just to the right.  what year do u have? i have a 95 ex coupe

[Alphamazing]

yes, its just to the right.  what year do u have? i have a 95 ex coupe

98 DX Sedan, so the next body design, lower trim level, and more doors

[weaselnoze]

manual im assuming?

[Alphamazing]

manual im assuming?

Is there any other way?

or...

Is there any other way... to have a clutch?

[weaselnoze]

i didnt think u were taht dumb. but i asked anyway 

[Alphamazing]

i didnt think u were taht dumb. but i asked anyway 

Yeah. It's bes to make sure with me sometimes. You never know when I might be pulling a "Damn I'm stupid." moment.

[Egaeus]

You most likely have a bad master or slave cylinder.  However, with the age of your car, the master and slave are typically replaced together.  Unless you have a retarded setup like the 94 Ranger with the slave cylinder inside the transmission, it's not too difficult or expensive to replace or have replaced.

[DerekNC]

I can vouch for hoping it has the slave cylinder on the outside of the clutch housing, which it probably does. I had a Jeep Wrangler a few years ago that starting leaking down on clutch fluid. It finally got so bad I couldn't bleed it enough to disengage the clutch. The slave cylinder was actually a hydraulic throwout bearing like in the Ford Rangers. The whole transmission had to come out to replace it. To make things even worse the hydraulic throwout bearing was like $180. But if it's just the slave cylinder they may make rebuild kits or you may be able to get it cheap enough as an assembly. Or like my Dodge Dakota it may need to be replaced along with the master cylinder.