phunky.buddha
Booga Booga?
- :
- DFW TX
- :
- No mo MZ5 want MX5
Has anyone tried to move the brake fluid reservoir? It's right on top of the driver's side strut tower, so any camber plate installed in that location would be blocked. I imagine it wouldn't be a big deal- the reservoir is just a holding tank for more fluid so the master cylinder doesn't run out as the pads get worn, but I'm trying to firm up a few things:
1. If I move the reservoir to the center of the engine bay opposite the battery box, is heat going to be an issue since it'll be over the exhaust manifold? I guess a heat shield around/under the reservoir could do the trick here.
2. If I move it to the other side of the engine bay and hang it just inside the passenger strut tower or near the windshield washer fluid reservoir, is the extra long hose run going to be an issue? I'm thinking probably not as long as the hose always runs on a downward slope and always has fluid in it.
3. Is this an issue on the 3? I don't remember from the last time I looked inside a 3's engine bay.
4. Another location is possibly the vent area for the battery- is there really any reason why we have a monster intake/vent for the battery box like that? Is there something weird about the 3/5's battery that needs positive flow and can't just sit open air?
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The solution I picked was to mount it right on top of the battery box cover. This brings it back to what the Mazda engineers probably wanted to prevent- having the lid sit under the cowl and be difficult to access. I can still remove the lid, but it'll take a funnel to pour in more fluid. No big deal for me- nobody but me will touch my brakes, so I can deal with the weird location. So, quick facts:
1. New location puts the least amount of additional stress on the hose as possible- the reservoir is placed so that just one bend on the hose gets straightened out a bit.
2. Battery box cover is still removable.
3. One option was to use the battery box cover area as a temp mount and just move the reservoir there before going for an alignment, but nobody is going to mess with the battery or the fluid but me, so I'll just leave it here.
4. Reservoir stays at pretty much the same elevation as before, so the fluid still runs "downhill" through the line to the master cylinder.
Before:
After:
More detail below...
1. If I move the reservoir to the center of the engine bay opposite the battery box, is heat going to be an issue since it'll be over the exhaust manifold? I guess a heat shield around/under the reservoir could do the trick here.
2. If I move it to the other side of the engine bay and hang it just inside the passenger strut tower or near the windshield washer fluid reservoir, is the extra long hose run going to be an issue? I'm thinking probably not as long as the hose always runs on a downward slope and always has fluid in it.
3. Is this an issue on the 3? I don't remember from the last time I looked inside a 3's engine bay.
4. Another location is possibly the vent area for the battery- is there really any reason why we have a monster intake/vent for the battery box like that? Is there something weird about the 3/5's battery that needs positive flow and can't just sit open air?
-----
The solution I picked was to mount it right on top of the battery box cover. This brings it back to what the Mazda engineers probably wanted to prevent- having the lid sit under the cowl and be difficult to access. I can still remove the lid, but it'll take a funnel to pour in more fluid. No big deal for me- nobody but me will touch my brakes, so I can deal with the weird location. So, quick facts:
1. New location puts the least amount of additional stress on the hose as possible- the reservoir is placed so that just one bend on the hose gets straightened out a bit.
2. Battery box cover is still removable.
3. One option was to use the battery box cover area as a temp mount and just move the reservoir there before going for an alignment, but nobody is going to mess with the battery or the fluid but me, so I'll just leave it here.
4. Reservoir stays at pretty much the same elevation as before, so the fluid still runs "downhill" through the line to the master cylinder.
Before:
After:
More detail below...
Last edited: