MINI Cooper R50 - R53 Brake Master Cylinder Replacement

Without a doubt, your brakes are one of the most important systems on the car.
The heart of the brake system is the master cylinder, which controls the hydraulic pressure of the entire system. Unfortunately, over many years, the master cylinder has a tendency to wear out and leak. The leakage can occur internally or externally, resulting in a weakened braking system. If you have any problems with your brakes, and you think that it's related to the master cylinder, you should probably replace it.

Replacing the master cylinder on the R50/R52/R53 is not very difficult and should take no more than two hours. The first step is to disconnect the negative terminal going to the battery in the rear trunk. This is a safety precaution against any possible electrical problems.

You'll want to try to get as much brake fluid as you can out of the fluid reservoir on top of the master cylinder. Open the cap on the reservoir and remove the strainer. Using a fluid pump or turkey baster, get as much of the old fluid out as you can. This helps prevent excessive spilling of brake fluid inside the engine compartment. It's also helpful to stuff a bunch of old rags or paper towels under the master cylinder to absorb any spills.

On both Cooper and Cooper S vehicles, the front plastic firewall splash shield will need to be removed in order to access some of the mounting hardware for the master cylinder. On the Cooper models, you will need to remove the airbox, battery box and move the fuse box in order to access the splash shield. On the Cooper S, you will need to remove the airbox and move the fuse box. Please see our articles on airbox removal and transmission mount replacement for more info. Once removed, you will have better access to the master cylinder mounting nuts and also the brake lines attached to the side of the cylinder.

Read the Full Article:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...

Shop MINI Cooper R50 - R53 Parts & Accessories:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...