Hi all!

I decided to take my 240D around the block yesterday after not driving it for a few months. When I did, I found that the brakes were nearly unresponsive, with me having to put my foot to the floor before getting any traction at all. I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to brake issues, so I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction?

This sounds like there is air in the system. The system needs to be bled.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I agree with the Air in the Brake System if the Brake Fluid in the Reservoir is low.
If both chambers were full previously and still full I would look for external Leaks. If none look behind the Master Cylinder and see if fluid has leaked into the Brake Booster.

If the both chambers of Brake Fluid Reservoir are Full I would be thinking the Master Cylinder is no good.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

What he said.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Agreed low on fluid, if you have manual 240d, chances are the clutch slave cylinder on the transmission is leaking fluid. Happened to me. Bleed the system, not to hard at all....Just did my euro today.

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Hey guys, first off, thanks for the quick replies. I was at work yesterday, so I couldn't get back right away, sorry. I also thought that the fluid levels might be the issue, so I filled the reservoir with dot 4. Still no improvement, though I did notice a small puddle on the ground under the rear center of the car, beneath a pipe wrapped in black insulation. So my guess is that I have a leak, but I wouldn't even know where to start with repairing the brake lines on that vehicle. Any suggestions?