Ok a little under a week ago I put in new brake pads in the front, filled up the brake fluid with dot3 a little over between min and max. Now like 2 days after driving it with new brakes my pedal goes all the way down to the floor almost well not all the way but pretty close. My fluid level dropped a bit but I see no signs of brake fluid being lost and it doesn't seem to be dropping anymore or anything. I took off the tires and checked the brakes like a half hour ago and they were all good not sticking or anything so I am kind've confused on what is wrong here. Thanks.

 

First thing to do is bleed the system and get all the old fluid out. See if you get a good pedal then. If not, is the pedal hard, but then drops slowly, with no leaks visable? Then you need a new master cylinder. Fluid is either bleeding back through the master or going into your booster(any wetness under the master on the booster?) It could be as simple as air in the system or one circuit in the master cylinder is bad. If the master is real bad you can see turbulence in the fluid when you push hard on the pedal as the fluid rushes back.

 

I only see fluid in the part where you fill it, it's dark out but there might be a little bit in the master i'm not sure I ever saw it full ever since I got this thing.

 

Flush the fluid, it should be almost clear. You may have boiled it a bit and have some air in the system. Also if you have drum brakes in the rear you may have an adjuster problem. The rear shoes may be pulling back so far that it takes most of the pedal to get them out to the drums.

 

How do I go about flushing the fluid and checking the rear brakes. I am not framiliar with drum brakes at all.

 

To flush the fluid just bleed the system until you pump out most of the old fluid. Do you know how to bleed brakes? Then BEFORE you empty the resevoir top it off with fresh fluid, pump that through and repeat the refill. Start with the wheel furthest from the master cyl. and work your way closer. Find somebody who has done it before to help you if you havn't tried it, it is easiest with two people anyway.
If you have drums in the rear, pull the drums off and make sure the pads are adjusting themselves out to be close to the drum. You can check before you take them apart by spinning the wheel as someone pushes the brake pedal down. If the pedal has to travel far before the brakes drag in the drum, you need to do a rear brake job or at least make sure they are still adjusting. If you do have to do a rear brake job only take apart one side at a time so you have a referance on how it goes back together.

 

Well I never bled my brakes before so if you can tell me how that would be great I will try that. Also like I said I never dealt with rear drums before so I woulnd't have a clue on how to put them back togeather let alone take them apart. This is my daily driver so I can't exactly leave it sitting in pieces for any period of time.

 

Take it to a brake shop if you're pressed for time. Watch what they do if you can and learn something there. I'd hate to explain the process here, leave something out because I've done it so many times, and have you run into something. Brakes are sorta important to have working properly ya know!

 

it sounds like your brake cylinder is bad, to make sure hold the brake pedal and see if it creeps down if it does you need a new cylinder. Im going thru the same problem.

 

Can't take it to a brake shop. I don't have money to blow. Anywho I will check out to see if my cylinder is bad bumble and can someone explain how to bleed my brakes?

 

I'll try to help with bleeding the brakes. It is pretty simple but some things are very important. Bear with me if I go long on this. First get the car up in the air, and take off all the tires, or you can do one at a time depending on how many jacks and jack stands you have. Start with the passenger side rear. Look for the bleeder screw, it will be an 8mm "bolt" sticking out on the back side behind the drum,(it might not be 8mm, but it is small.) Get a good socket, a 6 point is best or a box end wrench, not an open end, make sure you get a good tight fit. Start to looosen the bleeder, it might be wise to soak with wd-40 overnight if possible, don't get carried away with pressure, if it doesn't break free fairly easily, I have found that TAPPING the wrench with a hammer helps to loosen the rust. Just tap it , don't hit it hard. Once you get it free, take it all the way out and hold it up to the light, you want to be able to see through the center of it. If not use a wire or commpressed air to clean it up. Put it back in and snug it slightly with the wrench. Then see if you can get about a 6 inch long vacuum line to fit the top of the screw. this will cut down on the mess. Also have a container to catch brake fluid in. Make sure the reservoir is full of fluid, and have a friend get in and pump the pedal a few times then hold pressure on the pedal while you open the bleeder screw. A mixture of air and fluid will come out. when it comes out the pedal will go to the floor. At this point snug the screw back up and repeat the process of pumping the pedal, holding the pedal and you opening the screw. ALWAYS make sure the reservoir has enough fluid in it otherwise you will be pumping air back in the lines, defeating the purpose. After a few times, you will notice less air and more fluid. Continue until you have only fluid. Then tighten up the screw and move to the drivers side rear wheel and repeat. Then go to the passenger front, followed by the drivers front. That should fix the problem unless like mentioned before your master cylinder is leaking. When mine went out you could see the moisture between the reservoir and the master cylinder. It wasn't leaking really bad, it was just wet looking. Its all pretty simple just time consuming. The worst thing that could happen is you might break off a bleeder. If you do you will have to take the caliper off and get it out with an easy out or replace the caliper. One other thing, dont let your buddy let up on the pedal until you have retightened the screw, otherwise it will suck air back in the line, defeating the purpose.

 

Alright thanks kennedy. I checked to see if my cylinder was bad by holding down the brake and seeing if it went down more and it didn't so I take that is a good sign right? Before I bleed my brake system is there any other thing it could be or is this pretty much what probably is going on? Also how did I end up with air the lines after changing my brake pads and filling up with dot3 fluid. Also one last question. There is a resavoir container next to thing where you fill up the brake fluid well on my car it's empty and I am taking it's not supposed to be? Any ideas whats up with that or is that how it's supposed to be? I see a min and a max on it so I figured it is supposed to be full?

 

if it its clear, but like a cylinderical shape, then that would be for the cold start assist.

 

That would be your clutch fluid resevoir. Yes it should be full or soon your clutch pedal will go to the floor and stay there.

 

Looks like good news for you on the brake master cyl. You won't get air in the system from a standard brake job. More likely if your fluid is really old it has absorbed to much moisture and boiled if you were "testing" your new brakes a little to much. When the fluid boils the moisture in it turns to steam and you have an air bubble(and a squishy pedal). Its good to change the fluid at least once a year. Racing we bleed fluid a little between sessions on the track if there is any sign of a soft pedal.

 

What should I fill it up with and how full?

So do you think my brakes need to be bled?