Something strange happened to me today

on the way back from the tire shop, (im at school right now gettin ready for teacher parent, report card nite) at the entrance to the school i had my brake hit the floor, almost like all vaccum pressure was lost or something along those lines.. what do i need to check to diagnose this problem?

Pads are good on both ends
Brake fluid resevoir is at a good level
master cylinder looks to be ok
possible air in the lines?
kinked or twisted line?
sensor?

any other ideas?

Thanks guys!

Rick

 

If vacuum had been lost you wouldn't have been able to push the pedal very far at all, much less to the floor.

The master cylinder is leaking internally - time for replacement - B4 you find out what it's like to get up close and personal with a Honda, or whatever.

 

If you pump the brakes up and the pedal creeps to the floor it indicates a bad master. Rebuilt units don't cost much at all.

 

Well,

i went ahead and found the first problem.. I had a leaky brake line hose by the right front tire. NO big deal, i went to the auto parts store and bought a replacement hose.. Replaced it... Now it seems i have a spongy brake pedal, that will go down easily now..

Seems that I got a problem now, i drove home and saw that i had no brakes and had to downshift, use emergency brake, and turn off truck to stop.. Not a fun ride at all

Truck is safe at home now, will try to bleed lines and see what happens, if all else fails.. O reiley and auto zone are open 24 hours a day here..

PS.. Bill... im about 80 percent with u on the MC gone bad....

Thanks guys!

Rick

UPDATE! two hours later...

I went ahead and bled the lines wiht my dad, and so far so good, brakes work pretty well, knock on wood.. Need i look at a master cylinder? im not sure i dont have records of it ever bein changed..

Rick

 

I was going to say brake line somewhere, dangit. You beat me to it.

 

Keep an eye on it for bleed-down with pedal depressed at stop.

 

Time to go through your brake system and start replacing parts. Brakes are kinda important.

 

pfffft. just buy an anchor and 50' of rope and plan ur stops ahead of time

i had an F-brand truck that i replaced the MC on 5 times. on around time number 3, you would be sitting at a light and all of the sudden, brake pedal would drop to the floor and you were going. i couldnt beleive it was the MC because i had just replaced it so ichanged everyting. wouldnt you know it was the MC again. ghettozone remans are not too great....

 

Rick, my bet is the spongy pedal after replacing the line was because there was still air in the system.
Bleed better.

 

Usually when the master cylinder is old, if you push the peddle past the normal peddle travel, due to brake failure or bleading the brakes, you disturb the seal in the master cylinder due to a build up of foreign material that builds up in the master cylinder tube at the far end of normal travel. This will shorten the life of the master cylinder causing leakage. Most of the time you'll notice a mushy peddle right away. Don't take a chance and change out the master cylinder when you get a chance. If it's not that old it shouldn't cause a problem but I see in your sig your dealing with a 96. An old trick in bleading brakes is to put a piece of 2x4 under the peddle to keep it within normal peddle travel. Just my two cents. Hope this helps.

 

Very true.

 

Wait a minute. On the way back from the tire shop. What did they do?