ahh brake falure. HELP PLEASE

T

thedevilmakesthree

Daily Driver
yesterday i was driving to my friends house on the highway. i signaled for the exit and pushed on the brakes. i was slowing down fine. then i lost pressure and the pedal went all the way down. I downshifted and got to his house which was close by. When i apply the brakes it kind of slows you down. I recently replaced the back brake pads. I checked the resivoir which was full.
What places should i check next?? I dont have many tools here. might have a jack and a few nut drivers and maybe a cressent wrench.
I don't want to drive home intill i can at least sort of stop
 
Pressure loss would indicate either external leak or master cylinder failure. If you can't find evidence of any leakage, you'll be doing a master cyl, I reckon.
 
well ill have fun with that one. I might not have completly tightened the bleed screws the rear calipers.
Would sudden loss of pressure seem like a master or a broken line.
 
Did you bleed the system when working on it?

thedevilmakesthree said:
I might not have completly tightened the bleed screws the rear calipers.
Click to expand...

In the first post you said you changed the pads, in this post you mention that you may have left the rear bleeders not quite tight... Did you bleed the system during your brake job? If you did and didn't get the rears tight you are probably sucking air into the system. Or maybe you didn't get all the air out the first time.

You could try bleeding the system before you try to repair anything. Air in the lines will give you a soft pedal.
 
Possible problems...

Could be a leak, but full reservoir suggests otherwise. How are the brakes now? Do you have a firm pedal or is it soft/falling?

If it's firm now and works well otherwise, the rears may have been stuck after replacement and finally broke loose. Or, there could be air or moisture in the system.

Check thoroughly for external leaks, inspecting the backs of the wheels for instance. If you're certain no leaks are present, check pedal for firmness. Jab several times at the pedal and hold on the final jab. The pedal should not fall. Compare to doing this when applying gentle pressure, also the pedal should not fall. Any slow falling of the pedal indicates an internal leak in the master cylinder. This can be caused by age or by using the pedal to bleed the breaks. Often a slowly falling pedal can "pump up" but this is a temporary condition, total failure is approaching fast.

Under normal use the brake pedal travel is fairly limited. Bleeding the brakes using the pedal pumping method can cause the internal seals to travel into seldom used portions of the m/c bore. Corrosion or other roughness in these seldom used areas of the bore will damage the internal seals, which can cause eventual or immediate damage. This is why I and many others recommend the use of a pressure bleeder for bleeding the brake and clutch systems.
 
If your reservoir is still full, then you probably don't have a leak. Based on the symptoms you supplied, I'm guessing the master cylinder is your problem...
 
when i changed the pads i did bleed the brakes. Ill have to take a look at it. I changed them about 3 weeks ago though. Ill get out there in a little bit and take a look. i was too lazy to connect the e-brake when i put the rear ones on. i tried with vice grips just coulnt seem to get it. so i cant use that driving home. Ill go check right now and see.

Thanks again for all the posts:worship:
 
You are missing the entire e-brake lever...

Hmmmm... and the last mechanic who had his hands on that was...

Well... at least ya know who's arse to kick!

Done a lot of that myself... Glad yur OK!
 
Well... I can't find an exploded foto online...

... and if I remember correctly... the e-brake arm and shaft slips in and there is a clip that hold it from coming out.

But there are several other parts missing... and I think you should have it all together with the new caliper ya got...

This is all "water under the bridge" now...

Call in the morning and I can dig out my books if ya think ya need to... 661-296-7277 9 - 9 PST, please...

Good luck...
 
Brakes stuck on?

Is there any chance that the brakes were stuck on? This should have been accompanied by a strong smell and at least one very hot wheel. A stuck calliper can cause the brake fluid to boil which will cause the pedal to go to the floor.

Cheers,
Dom.
 
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