brakes wont work, duster almost smashed

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74slnt6

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I was driving around town yesterday, and the brakes went all the way to the floor. nothing happened, except for the parking brake light came. I pulled out the emergency brake as far as it would go with little resistance ( I assume since the parking light came on when the peddle was floored they were already on) I let off the brakes and when I went to push them back down, they stopped where they normally would of, and i went into a bad skid. I almost rammed the back of a tow truck hauling a load of slag. I've been driving around my neighborhood, and it is starting to get worse. about every 1 out of 5 time you go to hit the brake it just goes to the floor, and the emergency brakes come on. the fluid looks good in it, ( DOT5 ) and the lines dont look bad... so bad cylinder maybe? any ideas? Im pretty new to the topic of brakes
 
If the fluid level is normal, I would say the master cyl is going bad. The emergency brake not working has me worried, I'd pull the rear drums and see if all is well! If you find nothing bleed the front and back, look for trapped air.
 
if you have put dot 5 in a dot 3 system you probably have destroyed alot of the seals in your system. another problem is if you even had the slightest bit of dot 3 left in the system when you put in dot 5 you will also have a sludge like buildup in the calipers, wheel cylinders, etc. yes dot 5 is great for alot of reasons but unless you have a system made for it you should stick with a dot 3 or 4.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
You need a master cylinder. The fluid is by-passing the cups in the MC.
Click to expand...



100% right. When they go bad you have to pump them (wish I had a dollar every time I did it). If you go out and slowly press on the brake it will go to the floor, if you pump it once or twice then press on it the brakes will feel normal and work normally. Get a new Master Cyl.

Now, the rears. Pull the drums and you will probably find shoes soaked with grease (or brake fluid). Replace them and turn the drums(if possible, if not replace them). Clean the backer plates with brake clean or similar product. Now, where did all that mess come from. 2 possibilites, brake fluid (replace the slave cyl.) or rear end oil (replace the seals, I always do when installing new shoes).
Adjust the emergency brake, bleed the entire system (Longest line first, RR/LR/RF then left front. you might have to do this 2 or 3 times till all the air is out) then your good to go.

That's my $.02.
Hey guys, if I'm wrong correct me. Brakes are nothing to play with.

Jim
 
Yeah you need to replace the master cylinder and soon.
The fact that a master cylinder will fire a few warning shots before it kills you is one of those odd type blessings we've recieved. :)
 
I think your confusing the dash light coming on with the "emergency brake light" They have nothing to do with your problem. Your proportioning valve has a wire that runs from it. it's function is to light the dash brake light on when the balance is different between the front brake circuit and the rear circuit. This moves the valve forward or backward to turn the light on to let you know there is a problem in the brake system. And as mentioned by MVRCorp, The brake system is not something you want to "put off" I would pull all four drums off and inspect everything.
 
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