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Accessing Brake Fluid Reservoir

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43K views 30 replies 19 participants last post by  aquarianuw  
#1 ·
I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but getting to the brake fluid reservoir is a major pain. You have to remove *all* the trim from around the luggage well under the hood (bonnet for you queen's english speakers). And to remove that nasty last big one over the reservoir/master brake cylinder, you have to remove both windshield wiper arms and carefully unsnap it along the entire length of the bottom of the windshield. It's a major operation.

I bleed my brakes before every other track event. I'm sorry, it's just not acceptable to do that amount of tearing apart of the car just to pour in some brake fluid.

So, I got out my drill and cut a 4" hole in the trim over the reservoir, and put in a nice looking plastic plug thing so it looks nice and clean. Check it out:

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I went to the local home store and bought that 4" pvc drain cover, and modified it slightly to clear the cap on the brake fluid reservoir. You could leave the hole open or use some other cover. Works for me.

mt
 
#4 ·
The service manual describes it in detail. The owner's manual doesn't begin to touch the subject.

I think the car is aimed more at the rich old guys who only take it to the dealer to be serviced, rather than us real car guys who actually use it as a high performance vehicle.

Right now I'm looking into why the 2 brake rotors on the right side of the car are apparently installed backwards. The vanes in the rotor push the air down into the hat instead of pulling it out like it does on the left side and is done on every other vehicle I've ever looked at. And strangely, it was the same on a 2008 I looked at today that was delivered back in January. More to come on that.

mt
 
#12 ·
Sure. Any luck getting the part numbers of the Goodridge SS brakelines that fit the R8? And that's very interesting about the OEM exhaust melting the bumper cover.

Also Mike, are your two right side brake rotors mounted backwards by any chance (with the internal vanes pointing the wrong way)? Mine are. I'm about to run the car at Sebring in August with track pads and R compound tires. I'm concerned about insufficient cooling on the right side.

mt
 
S
#13 ·
Regarding the rotors & vane direction... there should be two part numbers for the vanes to run the same directions on both sides, a mirror image pair. Like mounted, directional tires - right & left are not interchangable. So, the question is, is there one part number or two? I bet there's one and that's what you get.
 
#15 ·
Yeah, I saw that arrow. I asked the Audi dealer to find an answer, and they apparently called someone in Germany to find out. I have not gotten the official word back from the service guy, but the sales guy said that they are designed that way on purpose, and there should be no cooling problems with the rotors on the right site.

Gotta say tho, I've never seen them like that on any other vehicle, and you would think that the cooling ducts direct the air to the rotor near the center or at least in the same way on the left side of the car vs. the right side. Seems to me that the backwards airflow on the right side would fight the cooling to some degree on that side. But apparently not. Guess it's not a problem. It'll be interesting to see what the "official" word is from the service dept. I'll let you know.

mt
 
#16 ·
I have checked mine, same story....i never had problems with the heat on the rotors, but be sure that you have rather a long pointed item with you to clean the holes in the rotor after every run or a compressor so you can blow the brake dust out. this will make a big difference.
 
#17 ·
Got the word back from the Audi dealer. You guys guessed it right. They used a single rotor part for both sides, so they run backwards on the right. I haven't heard of any right-side specific heat problems, but I'm going to measure them this weekend at the track. It'll be interesting.
 
B
#18 ·
I had the same issue so I had a hole cut in roughly the same place. My mechanic suggested that I cover it with something that would keep the rain out. Other than that, he was all for the modification. I am looking at replacing the stock Dot 4 fluid with some Motul 600 racing fluid, as I have issue with boiling the fluid.

Other than those issue, I have had the car since March, played at the track 8 days and I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
O
#20 ·
Want to thank the poster who said you don't have to remove 16 pieces including windshield wipers to access the brake fluid reservoir. It was very simple:
1. Disconnect the drivers side (passenger side for UK) hood shock at the bottom only. Use a prop rod to support the hood on that side.
2. Remove the drivers side (pass. side UK) plastic wheel cover.
3. Loosen only the screws holding the plastic trim along the front of the windshield.
4. Lift up the from the drivers side (pass. UK) the windshield trim you just loosened, see pics, and use a piece of wood 4-6 inches high to prop it it up.
5. It lifts up high enough to use a pressure bleeder without any difficulty.
 
#21 ·
ohniner said:
Want to thank the poster who said you don't have to remove 16 pieces including windshield wipers to access the brake fluid reservoir. It was very simple:
1. Disconnect the drivers side (passenger side for UK) hood shock at the bottom only. Use a prop rod to support the hood on that side.
2. Remove the drivers side (pass. side UK) plastic wheel cover.
3. Loosen only the screws holding the plastic trim along the front of the windshield.
4. Lift up the from the drivers side (pass. UK) the windshield trim you just loosened, see pics, and use a piece of wood 4-6 inches high to prop it it up.
5. It lifts up high enough to use a pressure bleeder without any difficulty. View attachment 3525 View attachment 3526
Click to expand...
This is how I did it until I drilled out the panel for access port. I used this similar wood piece to stop my drill from going into the reservoir itself! Desparado and I did the trimming safely and in a couple of minutes this way. Some unlucky ones were able to brake a windshield wiper shaft trying to simply change out their fluid. Having the portal is a little sweeter than the old block 'o wood method !!
 
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#22 · (Edited)
Went to change my brake pads, and learned about the crazy access problem for the brake fluid reservoir, which was a problem in 2008, and not fixed in 2011 V10: how hard could it have been? They fit a V10 in the car!

Anyway, after researching here, I decided I liked MotherTucker's solution. However, I decided the 4 inch hole was overkill, so went with a 3 inch drain from Home Depot.

See attached pictures. I spent a lot of time cutting samples in wood to make sure I had the circumference large enough, but still tight enough to "press-fit" the pvc drain cover. I cut the hole about 3.25 inches, which was slightly less than size of the drain where it flared out, then trimmed the opening until the cover would go in. I also cut down the drain so that it sat flush. See attached pictures.

In truth, I don't think there is any need for a cover: there is a drain hole next to it where water gets in, and the windshield wiper fluid tank on the other side is cut with plenty of room for dust and water to get in. However, I like the way it looks, and it matches the black trim and almost looks stock :)

In addition to the tools in the picture, I used hook utility knife blades (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-Large-Hook-Blades-50-Pack-11-983L/100654937#.UYhpYoJAuok), which were very useful for cleaning up the trim for final finishing.

I did cut the hole in place. I used the extra wood on the hole saw to keep from going too deep. The only thing I scratched was a bit of the trim: not with any of the sharp tools, but with the dull far end of the circle cutter.
 

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#24 ·
hey T-Bone, I have one just like that :) And I still owe you $15
 
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#25 · (Edited)
Its an old post, with great info. I decided to do the mod myself. I had a plastic sheet laying around that happened to be the same mill thickness as the shroud. After cutting the plastic and smoothing the edges. I purchased automotive black nylon Push-Type Retainer screws. Typically they are used to secure interior trim & body panels. The good thing they can easily be removed repeatedly to access the brake reservoir.
 

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