Bushwick Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Was looking on rockauto to order a master cylinder and noticed there are many different options so wanna make sure I get the correct one. Legacy has ABS, 4 wheel disc, auto trans, and no idea what "Hill Holder" is but guessing it's some sort of brake line lock? Is that an Outback feature or something? Pretty sure it doesn't have it. Here's the link: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1269806,parttype,1836 The A-1 Cardone Part # 112589 for $39.79 seems fair with the $30 core, but it only states "AWD and ABS". The other options are specific to manual/auto trans, etc. Will I be OK with the unit I mentioned above? I'm wanting to get the least expensive unit that will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-holder Looks right to me. Did the MC on my wife's outback a few months ago. Similar set up. It was a cake walk to install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 I'll go ahead and get it then and see if it works. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorthguy Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Hill holder was a feature for manual transmission that prevented the car from rolling back on a hill while trying to switch from the brake to the gas. I loved that feature on my old 80s EA81/82s. I heard it went away in the 90s but it is back again. Not an issue for you because you have AT. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 (edited) i don't know what they sell for, but used should be a pretty safe investment. master cylinders do not fail often. if you go to opposedforces.com/parts , and look up your car and the part number for your master cylinder. then at the top of the rockauto.com page there is a tab for ''part number search''. put the part number in there and see what pops out. this may confirm your choice. given recent posts about rockauto's customer service, i'm reluctant to order any part i'm not 100% sure is the right one. but again, i would go used first, unless the price was the same. www.car-part.com i wish i had a $1 for every time i have posted that address. PS: just going thru the process at car-part.com will be educational. because of all the choices and options . Edited October 17, 2013 by johnceggleston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 sure it's the master cylinder? they very rarely fail in Subaru's.. most master cylinder replacements don't fix the issue at hand, so make sure diagnosis is dead on. since they almost never fail, used is a good option for Subarus. i've got a couple for $20 i'd send you or www.car-parts.com, good website to know anyway. there are quite a few master cylinders, i'd do a lot of cross checking to make sure. the main differences are the number of physical lines that attach to the master cylinder itself. i'm pretty sure i've seen 2 line, 3 line, and 4 line variants. i've definitely gotten the wrong one before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Thanks guys. I ordered it last night and it's already shipped. It states under A-1 Cardone's link it's meant for a 95' Legacy with AWD and ABS. I might have taken up an offer of used had it been posted sooner, but with brakes I'm better off new or reman. When I got the car, the seller was saying the rear brake line was pinched/broken from the completely rotted rear cross member (this thing was just floating and no longer attached to the unibody LOL) coming in contact with it. The car still had brakes though, requiring 2-3 pumps and a very weak pedal and it would at least stop, so I figured it was a master cylinder and not a brake line as the reservoir was still full, though there was a brake line snapped in the back. Once I got going getting the rotted cross member out, it appears the broken brake line was actually left in place and was original but had been bypassed with new line. There are no brake fluid leaks, and the pedal finally went completely soft with no ability to stop the car. Having had master cylinders fail before in Fords (especially in early Fox Mustangs that ate through them quickly) the pedal and symptoms were identical to what the Subaru is doing. I also found a brake fluid bottle in the car, so it's possible the PO might have ruined it by mixing wrong fluids or something. $30 for a reman seems like a fair price (after core gets shipped back) and the name is at least well known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 (edited) www.car-part.com i wish i had a $1 for every time i have posted that address. PS: just going thru the process at car-part.com will be educational. because of all the choices and options . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've been using car-part.com for many years. I remember back in the day going to a yard that actually CHARGED the buyer for a "part search" online which I refused. After getting home I decided to look for myself (online part searching was still sorta new at the time) and found car-part, though many yards they link to are still in the early 00's with what they think they can charge people, but it does help to locate local yards with good prices w/o having to spend an hour calling everyone to see if they have it. Edited October 17, 2013 by Bushwick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwick Posted October 19, 2013 Author Share Posted October 19, 2013 Turns out the master cylinder is OK and the brake line had a crack in it right where it meets the rubber line for driver-side rear caliper. Darnedest thing too. Like I mentioned above, it had NO leaks and would stop with 2-3 pumps of the pedal. Sometime while the rotted rear cross member was out, I started it and pressed the brakes and pedal went completely dead, but again no leaks. Even had the rear tires off and spent a bunch of time sitting in front of where the line started to snap- still no fluids. After the cross member was back in and rear tires were on, filled the master cylinder back up, hit brakes, and this time the reservoir was going dry. After a quick walk around, noticed there was spray in the rear wheel well. Back tire came off yet again, and found a partial break in the line about a millimeter from the fitting. A quick trip to AZ for a replacement line and a big bottle of DOT3. Put new line in, filled it up, bled out the rears, and lo and behold solid pedal! I'm stumped why there was no fluid leaking originally and the car at least had a pedal despite apparently having a bad line. Can't figure out how I didn't see the snap either. Oh well, at least it can stop now. Gotta figure out how to return the master cylinder replacement whenever it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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