Author Topic: soft brake pedal and no brakes  (Read 3280 times)

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Offline LC_TRX

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soft brake pedal and no brakes
« on: Nov 22, 2010, 01:50PM »
shit its been ages since ive been on here!!!

anyway, started the car for the first time in 10 or 11 months today (much to the resident spiders disaproval) and drove it a short way down the street before realising i had absolutely zero brakes. slammed on the handy and reversed it up the driveway. topped up the brake fluid and the pedal got slightly more feeling but still no effective braking. sat there pumping the brakes for a couple of minutes but to no avail.
do i just need to let it sit for a while whilst the fluid re-enters the lines or is there a more serious problem at hand i.e the master cylinder or brake booster???

Offline Jecks

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #1 on: Nov 22, 2010, 02:05PM »
sounds like your booster is fucked...
I'm sick of my knob going all floppy and loose in my hand  :P 
I've been on probation for 21 years, can't make a decision without consulting the wife first  ::)

Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #2 on: Nov 22, 2010, 02:44PM »
farkin sick!!!!! off to the wreckers, level of difficulty on replacing it??

oh and any difference between ka and ca boosters?
« Last Edit: Nov 22, 2010, 02:52PM by LC_TRX »

Offline Jecks

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #3 on: Nov 22, 2010, 05:46PM »
on a scale of 1 -5 id say about a 2.5.
Yea KA and CA boosters are different.
I'm sick of my knob going all floppy and loose in my hand  :P 
I've been on probation for 21 years, can't make a decision without consulting the wife first  ::)

Offline dozer

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #4 on: Nov 22, 2010, 05:47PM »
if not the booster, more likely the master cylinder i would have thought??

Offline Kranzy

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #5 on: Nov 22, 2010, 10:14PM »
When you say you had to top up the fluid, how low was it? I would say if air has entered the system you would need to bleed the system.

If you only had to top it up a small amount, not enough to let air in then I would check all lines and calipers for signs of leaking and if there are no visible leaks I would suggest master cylinder. Rebuild kits can be bought fairly cheaply now.
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Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #6 on: Nov 22, 2010, 11:03PM »
the fluid reservoir was completely dry, i was starting to think it may be air in the lines too.... might try bleeding them tomorrow, not much to lose i guess. really dont wanna have to rebuild the master cylinder or replace the booster for that matter.

Offline Kranzy

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #7 on: Nov 22, 2010, 11:16PM »
It won't be the booster I wouldn't think.

With the reservoir being completely dry I would put money on there being air in the lines. Do a full bleed, refer to the service manual if your unsure how to do it and see what it's like then. Make sure you remember to keep your eye on the level as you don't want to get half way through, not fill it up and have to start all over again.
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Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #8 on: Nov 22, 2010, 11:41PM »
cheers kranzy, i'll give it a go tomorrow, any little tricks i should be aware of when performing the surgery?? do you still have the custom blue pinny??

Offline Vithy

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #9 on: Nov 23, 2010, 02:20AM »
Start from the furtherest caliper from the brake master and work ur way closer. But as mention before refer to service manual.
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Offline Kranzy

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #10 on: Nov 23, 2010, 07:54AM »
Pretty much as vithy mentioned.

Yeah still have my blue pinny. Still a work in progress too, always will be I think.
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Offline Dragon

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #11 on: Nov 23, 2010, 10:08AM »
according to the fsm..
"Bleed air  according  to  the  following  procedure.
Left rear +  Right  front +  Right rear +  Left  front."
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Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #12 on: Nov 23, 2010, 02:33PM »
i didnt find those instructions in the fsm....

Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #13 on: Nov 25, 2010, 12:08AM »
correction: i did end up finding those instructions. admission: i didnt actually follow them.

bleeding brakes is really a piece of piss, i had no dramas at all and the brakes seem alomst perfect (although not quite as responsive as i remember) atleast i can stop now though.

Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #14 on: Nov 25, 2010, 04:48PM »
so ive now noticed that there is a fairly substantial leak coming from the brake booster. from what ive read this is common enough, is there a quick fire solution or is a replacement/reco in order?? not really keen to be topping the fluid up every time i wanna drive it.

Offline Kranzy

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #15 on: Nov 25, 2010, 05:25PM »
Buy a rebuild kit for your master cylinder.
Quote from: noss
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Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #16 on: Nov 26, 2010, 01:45AM »
kranz you think it might be the MC rather than the booster? i had wondered if it was the stopper cap where the MC joined the booster which had deteriorated... i'll try and pull it all apart tomorrow and check it out. might try and take some pics too.

Offline Kranzy

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #17 on: Nov 26, 2010, 07:13AM »
The booster doesn't hold any fluid, is the leak coming from behind the booster or between the booster and master cylinder?

I had a leak between the two, rebuilt my master cyl and all good now. Was a while ago but I think I paid around $80 for the rebuild kit.
Quote from: noss
learnt something new just then, dont eat baked bean sandwhiches while changing the paper in the copier


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Offline LC_TRX

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #18 on: Dec 1, 2010, 01:37PM »
where did you pick the rebuild kit up from?? i asked repco and they said $150! stuff that!

Offline Kranzy

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #19 on: Dec 1, 2010, 04:04PM »
Don't remember where I got it from. Try brake shops before repco, there is one in slacks creek, can't remember the name. Yellow pages and a few phone calls will give you an idea on pricing.
Quote from: noss
learnt something new just then, dont eat baked bean sandwhiches while changing the paper in the copier


"Noss is GOD"

Offline BRUCE-TI

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Re: soft brake pedal and no brakes
« Reply #20 on: Dec 1, 2010, 07:52PM »
I am pretty sure that when I had my master cylinder redone, it was only about $80 bucks and got it back a couple of hours later from my local brakes place. 

It is definately is a master cylinder problem.  It is an easy fix, Just a pain in the arse to bleed afterwords though.
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