F355 Brake Problems

I have a brake issue with my newly aquired 1995 F355 and I have not yet purchased a manual to diagnose the problem. On the right side of the front trunk when I remove the small square cover there appears to be a master cylinder for the brakes. (Not sure since I am used to working on American cars.) Brake fluid appears to be squirting out of the sides of the top of the cylinder. Could be some type of a gasket between the cylinder sleeve and the top. The brakes are fading and the fluid is obviously coming out when I apply pressure. Is this the master cylinder and what are possible fixes? New gasket? New or rebuilt brake cylinder? How do you put new brake fluid in? Any suggestions or pointing me towards a good thread on this issue is much appreciated.

 

Thanks for the info. I was in Vegas on business and had a chance to speak with the parts service manager at the Ferrari dealership at the Wynn. (Great looking new red/tan F340 on the floor. They charge $10 to non Ferrari owners just to look at the cars on the top showroom, then $60 for a cheap cotton shirt!) Thinks the 95 MC is going to run around $2,400. I am trying to see if I can find someone to do the rebuild. Does anyone know if a bleed job on a 95 355 can be done with a commercial bleed unit or do I need to have the dealership do it with an SD2 unit? My understanding is that the brake system and the ABS makes it almost impossible for me to do it myself. Any threads on this issue?

 

Thanks for the diagram JRR. The leak appears to be coming from a seal on the top of the part labeled D. I have not yet had time to take the panels off and take a close look in good light, the problem just happened last week before I went out of town. What is the part and is it replaceable or can it be rebuilt? If so, let me know if this is something you guys handle.

 

Thanks Daniel. I will be back in town tomorrow and will take a closer look the problem. Any insight, prices, etc., you can provide is much appreciated.

Jason

 

Just returned home from out of town and had a chance to look at the brake fluid leak in the light. The problem is on the passenger side of the car. When I take the small lid off on the right hand side under the front hood there appears to be some type of a cylinder with lines running into it. The fluid appears to be leaking out of a gasket on the top part of the cylinder. However, the MC assembly all appears to be on the left hand side of the car under the opposite square lid. There is no leak in this area. The assembly on the right hand side has a small black knob with an arrow that says "OFF". What is the knob for and what is the assembly on the right hand side? Any feedback is much appreciated, as I am keeping my fingers crossed on the depth of the repair work/charges.

Jason

 

Took a little while for me to take the photos. Ruled out the MC since it is on the non leaking side. I am attaching two photos from the right side of the car. I took the panels off and looked in the area of the pooling brake fluid while the brakes were being pumped. As the pedal is depressed, fluid is squirting from the area where the grey plastic meets the nut. The plastic appears to have some type of sensor plugged into it which I disconnected. What is the plastic part and what can I do to fix the problem? My thought is the plastic may have cracked, compromising the seal and permitting fluid to be squeezed out from between the nut and the plastic part. Also, what is the best way to clean the brake fluid up since it is fairly corrosive. Can I neutralize it with something? For those of you who responded about solutions for a MC rebuild, wanted to let you know I spoke with the Parts Manager at the Ferrari Store in the Wynn Las Vegas, A.J. Trafton, really nice guy and he would be interested in any info. re: companies that can do MC rebuilds. His e-mail is [email protected] Thanks for the help.
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I was able to tweak the plastic piece back into the nut and it has temporarily stopped the leak. I am waiting for a new piece so I can install and start driving again. However, the brake and the ABS lights are still on. How do I reset both lights and can I bleed the brakes without having a shop us an SD-2 unit? I looked at some threads and saw there is a disagreement out there about using a power bleeder, as opposed to an SD-2 unit, to properly bleed the brakes on a 95 355. Any help is much appreciated.