[Healeys] brake fluid loss

[BJ8 Healeys]

Yes, the missing fluid is almost certainly inside the brake booster
canister.  Repair/overhaul kits are available.  I did mine years ago, and
the only problem I encountered was the spaghetti-shaped foam rubber packing
for the leather piston seal was too large in diameter and made the vacuum
piston stick.  It's difficult to "shave" foam rubber, but I made it work.
The kit was probably made for some car other than Healeys, and perhaps
what's available now is easier to work with.  Some have suggested using
suitably-sized silicone tubing to substitute for the foam.  
The rest of the kit is just normal hydraulic parts.  If you can rebuild a
brake cylinder, you can rebuild the booster.
Oh, yes, the inside of the canister is supposed to be sprayed with a solid
film lubricant.  I got mine from Sandstrom Products:
www.sandstromproducts.com.  The air dry spray is the stuff to use.

Steve Byers
HBJ8L/36666
BJ8 Registry
Havelock, NC  USA

-----Original Message-----
From: healeys-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of David Z
Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 4:40 PM
To: Healeys at autox.team.net
Subject: [Healeys] brake fluid loss

I've slowly been loosing brake fluid from my BJ-8's resevoir for a couple of
months and have never found any on the garage floor or inside the car. I
took
the wheels off today to check the wheel cylinders, but they are dry. Would
the
likely suspect be the brake booster? How easy/difficult are these things to
fix? Any other areas to check?

Thanks in advance,
David Z