i'm hoping someone may have a few quick suggestions.

the brakes work when i first press them, but my foot slowly sinks to the floor and the brakes decrease. the abs light comes on and the goes off. the parking brake light came on once as well.

any ideas?

thanks.

97 diesel 4x4 with 196k

 

Could be air in the lines, bleed them for free, but it sounds like a master cylinder is taking a poo. Could also be a leaky caliper or wheel cylinder. (not too educated on 2nd gen brake systems, some of this info may be generalizations)

Have you inspected your brakes? What do they look like? Any signs of leaks, torn boots around the plungers? Pads worn?

 

i haven't done anything. yesterday i had the bed loaded to the max with compost, today it's empty.

i just washed dishes for the senior lunch at the church. what a good doobie.

i was hoping that someone would be able to solve this, via internet, with one little easy fix. like, "tap your horn twice and that should solve it." well, at elast it's uphill getting home.

thanks.

 

Hat hit it, if you are not losing fluid, the MC is likely toast ( cheapest bet ) Since you have good pedal at first, I don't think air is likely. Another slight possibility is the ABS dump valve next to the proportioning valve, but when mine was acting funny, it was like you had no brakes at all until you got the accumulator filled. I suppose the seat could be slowly leaking down though....

 

Do you have 2WABS or 4WABS? Should say on the sticker under the hood.

 

well, it became pretty obvious when i saw the giant puddle of brake fluid under the front right wheel!

as far as abs goes, it appears that i may not have it. when i bought the truck, used, everything was unplugged. there is a fuse and a relay missing, and a few connections are unplugged. i never really heard why.

i'm not sure this truck is going to last that much longer, anyway. the rust is advancing fairly steadily.

thanks for your help.

 

LOL, Where are you located?

Many of us would rebuild the hull many times over before giving up our 12 valves.

97 happens to be a pretty good year for CTD's.

 

The puddle could be either a failing caliper or a leaky flex hose. Both are about due to fail. Since you have some pressure, I'd lean towards the caliper.

 

Use some brake parts cleaner and try to isolate where the leak is coming from.


It will not hurt to replace the lines, too.