Yohoo everyone!!! Due to the weather and all kinds of sickness I´ve been away from the forum and my car but now it´s time to get down to business again, seems like for everything i fix something else falls to pieces but I like learning so... Now it´s the brakes, sometimes they work really good, comes to a complete stop just by touching the pedal but the next time I have to step on it right through the floor to get it working, I´m kind of scared cause it´s been a couple of times I almost crashed into the ugly cars in front of me, it´s like a death trap to be in the "job rush" home... So, what can I do, shall I completely go over the brakes (new master, hoses, pads and so on) or is there any easier and less expensive way to at least find out what is going on...? Any help much much appreciated!!!! Robert.
Hows the brake fluid? Do you have to add fluid from time to time? are the any signs of fluid leaking? on the firewall, on the ground? Check your brake hoses, do they look swollen, cracked? How is the condition of the brakes? pads ok or worn, rotors or drums worn? Hows the pedal, does it go right to the floor? Lots of things to check, you can't just start guessing.
No signs of leaking, fluid looks ok in the master, the pedal "seems" ok but very "spoongy", and when it comes down to hoses and pads,rotors and drums I don´t really know what to look for or how they are supposed to look like (my first car), shall I take some pictures and post here? Thank you Dave!!!!
Maybe you should find someone that knows how to work on North American cars? Have you looked here http://www.americar.org/ The brakes are pretty simple, but if you don't know what your doing, it should be done by someone who does. How about parts? how and where do you get what you need? It's not like you can just run down to the store and get what you need like we can, so I'm sure you want to make 100% sure you know what you need.
Oh my!!! Didn´t know you had so good track of whats going on in this small country of mine, I managed to fix some things with the help of you guys on the forum (electrical issues, waterpump, carb, powersteering etc) and the parts come from Scoop gathering the stuff in the USA and sending it here, and like you said I can´t even get a right size fuse here without special ordering, I had some help from a licensed mechanic only working on North American cars but the cost of leaving it to him is more than I actually paid for the car to begin with. That´s why I come up with all these stupid questions, I really need to learn, but I will sure look up that adress you posted!!! Thank you so very much!!! Robert.
I agree that you shouldn't just "start guessing", but the first two "guesses" are: air in the lines, which will give the spongy feeling. (Sometimes we talk about "pumping up" the brakes by hitting the pedal repeatedly until the air is compressed enough to allow the brakes to work.) Second could be fluid contamination. If even a little water (brake fluid absorbs moisture from humid air quickly) gets in, the water will vaporize under heat and pressure and acts like air in the lines. If you have disk brakes, the effect will be pronounced.
Ok, then I´ll try this out, maybe even drain the brake fluid and put in some new one..? I´ve got the Chilton manual so if none of the above works shall I try to bleed the brakes before I go any further??? Thank you very much!!!
It "sounds" to me like the brakes need to be bled, and I'm sure that's going to be part of the process of getting them back working correctly. Are the front brakes drums or discs? You need to go over the car well and look for any leaks (I know Dave already said that, but I'm just saying again). Particularly on the the back sides of the tires, and under the drivers side of the dash, pull the carpet back and look for any dampness. To bleed the brakes, get you a piece of rubber hose that fits over the nipple on the bleeder valve snugly. Then get any clear container and fill it with brake fluid until it's about 3 or 4 inches deep. Stick the other end of the hose in the fluid and make sure it stays submerged. Fill the master cylinder with fluid. Start at the wheel furthest from the master cylinder and work your way to the wheel closest. So you'll start at the passenger side rear wheel. Open the bleeder valve (with the hose attached and stuck in the brake fluid in your container), and have someone pump the brakes. You don't have to pump them real fast or real slow, just smooth easy pumps to the floor. Be sure to keep an eye on how much fluid is in the master cylinder and add some as needed, you don't want it to get too low. Keep pumping until the air bubbles stop coming out, then close the bleeder valve and move on to the drivers side rear wheel. Repeat. The move on to the passenger side front wheel, and so on.. I can and have done this by myself, but it always makes life a lot easier if you have someone help you.
My car did the same thing , I checked and coudln't dedect fluid leakage at first, I lookd in all the right spots fo seepage but didn't find any, turns out it wqas the master cylinder when it got to the point the that I replaced it, it finally started showing up low on fluid, it was really wierd. I'm betting master cylinder or leaking brake cylinder. Any time I have ever had mushy brakes , it wasn't a bleeding problem, something some where was leaking just enough to suck air into the system,
Pull your wheels,then pull your drums off(after safely supporting the car on JACK STANDS)not cinder blocks.Look at the wheel cylenders.Are any of them wet?? if so you have a leaky wheel cyl.If you dont see any wet spots,carefully peel back the rubber boots on the wheel cylenders,if fluid comes out you have a bad wheel cyl.Rebuild or better yet replace it.If as you state you have no leaks,and cant find any leaks you more than likely have a bad master cyl.(They dont allways leak when they fail)As far as air in the lines(only if you let the MC get low enough to empty it)which would mean you have a leak.check the brake lines as well(should do that first)rusty lines fail and leak(not an uncommon occurrance)Water in the brake fluid,quite possible.If so MC is probably done as well as a wheel cyl or two rusted solid.My money is on the master cyl going away on you from your description.Good pedal then no pedal textbook symptome of a bad MC.Good luck.
Thank you Jamie, Halebopp and Mavman72 now I got something (many things) to check and work on, I´ll keep you posted on the outcome, hopefully I won´t bring the whole garage down before I fix this!!!! You guys rule!!!! Robert.
They are all drums, been under my car bleeding, but It feels like everything got kind of worse, the fluid coming out (along with the bubbles) smells strange and is black and all rusted (guess this can´t be a good sign), one thing I´m wondering though, is the cap on the master supposed to be off while doing this...? and does it make any difference (in pressure)if the cap is of or on while bleeding after and before, strange questions I know, but when I removed the lid after the bleed (to put some new fluid in) It kind of made a "popping" sound, like a vaccum being lost or something... speculations speculations.... Thank you!!!!
it shouldn't pop...it has a gasket under the lid that inverts as the fluid goes down....check the M/C top and see if the ...vent hole is plugged... maybe it is sucking the fluid back when you release the brake ...Frank...
if the MC cap is rusty inside or out then yeah,what frank said.Also you stated that the fluid is smelly and dirty(dark colored) Looks like old stale coffee and smells worse???You probably have a rusty master cyl(sorry) when the fluid gets old and moisture laiden it gets ugly like you described.This leads me to believe you may have other issues(corroded) brake parts.Before you go off the deep end though.Flush the entire brake system out(by bleeding it) untill only CLEAN fluid comes out of the wheel cyl bleeders.Then see what kind of peadal you have.I still think at the very least you will need to replace the Master cyl.Make sure none of the wheel cyl's are frozen or leaking as well.Good luck.
Yoho!!!! I bled the ones I could and that means the right rear and front left, untill clean brake fluid came out, followed the brake lines all the way under and they all look "good" (remembering that sweden is one of the worst countries for cars due to the weather and all the salt they put on the roads everywhere) but not rusted out, took apart the master and cleaned it out, removed all the rust and stuff(as you said the fluid was smelly and dirty as hell for some time, my girlie started complaining about some ache in her leg because of all the pedal pumping ) and it looks ok to me, good pressure and the rubber thingy is intact, a "good" thing is that the brake light does come on when the brakes starts to function as they wish (malfunction), that at least tells me that it´s working I guess? But the two bleeder screws I can´t get open, shall I maybe buy new wheel/brake cylinders and a new Master Cylinder..? I really want to get rolling this summer, if I don´t then I´m starting to feel like the other guys I see here in Sweden that stand around all year polishing for that ONE month of the year they actually drive their beauty once or twice... Anyways, this one goes out to all of you, thank you for keeping up with this polarbears of the north and his stupidity and quesitions!!!! Robert M Felle
