So the fluid level was ok when your clutch was still working?

A slow leak over time might not leave an easily visible stain on the
ground. Maybe your vanagon had a significant line leak while driving on
your last trip? As you infer, a sudden overnight loss of that amount leave
a substantial driveway stain. Or fill the master or slave boot?

If it were me, I'd fill the reservoir, leave the cap off, and see where
fluid is leaking out. Or better yet, connect my pressure bleeder, put
pressure on the system with a pressure bleeder and watch for a leak.

Neil.

On Thursday, September 4, 2014, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

 84 van with 5sp and inline motor:   No prior indications at all, no
> shifting issues, no soft brakes, nuthin!   Been driving to windsurf every
> day, 100 mile round trip with plenty of hills and headwinds, a lot of
> shifting, but nothing out of my normal pattern.  Everything was operating
> at 100% as I reached home...
>    So I park the van, slightly head up, as I normally do, on my sloped
> drive, ......

two days the Vanagon sits
> still...again...this is not unusual...  Today I go to drive it and the
> clutch pedal goes down without any feel, no hydraulics there at all.
> Flacid!   Hmmm...I pop the instrument cowl and find the brake reservoir is
> very low...I add almost 3 dixie cups of brake fluid before it hits the
> "max" line.
>    There  is no trace of leaking that I could see, on the ground where I
> was parked..
>
>

--
Neil n

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