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loosing break pedal. works one day wont another

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Old Feb 12, 2014 | 02:38 PM
  #1  
smeagol's Avatar
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loosing break pedal. works one day wont another

so one day my seen that my caliper seal was broken and i had to get a new one. so i just keep filling my brake resivour up when the light went on until my caliper i ordered came in.
My brake light did not turn on one day and i ran it empty and lost all pedal. So when i filled it up that time. i still had no pedal even AFTER bleeding through a half gallon of brake fluid lol. (gravity bleed, machine vacuum and mechanically bleed all 4 and BMC). So along getting a caliper i got a reman master cylinder.

I replaced it the next day and i STILL had no pedal. I bleed it all 3 ways again still NO pedal. so i just drove it around in a parking lot for a few hours and BAM randomly i got a pedal again.

It has been 2 months and now i am slowly loosing a pedal and my e-brake does not work. NO LEAKS anywhere and everything is tight. i have half a pedal but it is going away. The only thing i noticed is my reman caliper...it is all sort of rusty now. while all my other OE calipers are not. i live in Florida inland no rust.

What in the world could it be better not say booster lol wouldn't the pedal be hard if it had no boost?
Old Feb 12, 2014 | 04:29 PM
  #2  
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If there is no booster or a vacuum leak it just means that applying force to the brakes would be harder.
If a caliper was leaking, you would have a soft, spongy pedal that would give slight braking power or none at all due to no pressure. A stiff or seized caliper would just cause that brake to not engage and shouldn't affect the pedal at all.
Try rapid, pulse braking and see how that works. Also put the car up on stands or a lift and remove the wheels, apply the brakes with someone watching and see if there is any fluid leaks. Then repeat and check the reservoir for air bubbles.
Let me know what you come up with.
Old Feb 12, 2014 | 04:39 PM
  #3  
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All that brake fluid is going OUT of the system somewhere. Gotta locate the leak. I would head to a commercial brake shop. Let them put it on a lift and help you check the whole system out while it's live and working. (Check handbrake cable for rusting frozen). Then they point out all the problems and try to talk you into doing the whole job right away. That's when you say "OK" or "I don't have the bucks right now but I'll be back. What do I owe you?" So you're still in control and you have solid info on the causes of the problems. Maybe some of the work you did isn't quite right. Personally I would not drive a car if the pedal just might be zero at the next intersection. Unhealthy.
Old Feb 12, 2014 | 07:06 PM
  #4  
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i have been looking at my fluid level regularly. no leaks been at the same level for months. Is it true if there is a vacuum leak to the brake booster that you would loose a pedal?
Old Feb 12, 2014 | 09:31 PM
  #5  
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I think if you lose the boost, your pedal gets too hard. Sounds like air in the lines - but you bled everything.

Last edited by zxguy1986; Feb 12, 2014 at 09:56 PM. Reason: second thought
Old May 9, 2014 | 05:37 AM
  #6  
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From: akron ohio
U may have a leak behind ur master cylinder like my buddy's it does the same thing
Old May 9, 2014 | 05:49 AM
  #7  
visco's Avatar
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From: florida
MC is leaking into the brake booster and passing into the intake manifold
Old May 9, 2014 | 09:55 AM
  #8  
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From: A Shady Tree in Boise
Bleed order

Silly question, but I am assuming you bleed the brake in order of the caliper farthest from the master... ie right rear, then left rear, then right front then left front last ? Only asking, because if you bleed them out of order, air will remain in the system and the resulting spongy no pedal issues. if in fact you did do them in the proper order I do humbly apologize. Maybe I missed it or my pain meds have diminished my reading comprehension, did you do it the old fashion 2 person method ? because sometimes that's the best way to get it done, some of the gizmo's and gadgets will not always work, the check valve will slip a little, and air is back in your system.
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