Brakes Not Working

[FantomForceCustoms02]

So my car has been on jack stands since November. I disconnected all the brakes (calipers, rotors) and had them powdercoated. I put everything back on and bled the brakes. Only problem is I have no pressure. I'm thinking maybe the powdercoating needs to wear off where the pads touch. So I go around the block doing about 10, push in the pedal and nothing, nothing, bam they lock up when my foot hits the floor. It took about 20 feet plus(just a guess not sure of the actual distance, but a lot longer than it should be) to stop from 10 mph. Before I put it away I would have stopped immediatley at 10 mph. I do this a couple more times until the rotor is bare where the pads touch. So I bled the brakes again, checked all the fuses, no idiot lights lit up on the dash and still the same problem. I also checked for leaks and there's nothing. I am completely stumped. The brakes will catch but not until my foot hits the floor.

[AftermathAlero]

Keep bleeding them, still lots of air in the lines. Thats would ABS systems are a pain in the ass to bleed once you kept the lines open for so long. Unless you have a OBD2 scanner to open the ABS ports to bleed easier.

But just keep rebleeding them like 10-15 times. It just takes a longer time for ABS system to be bled after they been fully open and exposed for a long period of time.

after 10-15 times still no work.. your master cylinder may have been gone bad.

or you can take the master cylinder off of the car and bench bleed it. It sounds like you got a bunch of air in the master cylinder and you probably will not be able to bleed this out.

[FantomForceCustoms02]

Ok well I bled the lines again, then the master cylinder itself, then each caliper twice. Still no pressure in the pedal. It will build pressure with the car off, but once it is turned on the pedal goes straight to the floor. If I pump the pedal multiple times very quickly it will build some pressure, but if I stop for a few seconds and push down again all of the pressure is gone. The brake fluid never dropped below the min line in the resevior either. I've narrowed it down to a bad master cylinder, something electrical(I checked the fuses they are all good), or air is still somewhere in the system.

Originally posted by flalero@Mar 28 2006, 12:13 AM
or you can take the master cylinder off of the car and bench bleed it. It sounds like you got a bunch of air in the master cylinder and you probably will not be able to bleed this out.

Quoted post

I'll have to try this next. I didnt take the MC off completely when I bled it.

[AftermathAlero]

ya sounds like definately the master cylinder went bad. Cheapie fix though. cuz they don't cost too much.

[FantomForceCustoms02]

Well atleast it will be a cheap fix then. It's still under warranty for another 2000 miles but I don't want to take it to the dealership. They always give me a hard time telling me my mods caused the problem.

[FantomForceCustoms02]

A little update on my brake situation. So I took the car to the dealership and they told me when it was powdercoated, the heat from the oven messed up the seals inside the caliper. They wanted 700 bucks to replace just the seals. I turned down their gracious offer and replaced the master cylinder and bought new calipers at the auto parts store. $300 for all of that. So I bleed everything again and still the same problem. Now the only other parts to replace would be the power booster and all the brake lines. I'm not getting any kind of leak though from the lines so it has to be the booster. I'm not sure if I want to take it back to the dealership and have them do it or do it myself.

[Cliff8928]

Was there any fluid leaks? If the seals on the calipers were messed up, it would normally leak. The master cylinder can fail and have no leaks though. The power booster's usual mode of failure is just a lack of assist. It really seems like your ABS pump may be just filled with air.

http://home.comcast.net/~cliff_scott/brakebleed.pdf

[FantomForceCustoms02]

Those directions are the same as in the Haynes manual. I did all that more times than I care to remember. Do you have the directions to the "ABS Automated Bleed Procedure" from the 3rd page?

There were no leaks from the calipers or lines anywhere. I questioned the techs at the dealership about why it wasn't leaking and they insisted it was the seals. They also hooked up the lines to the vacuum and said all the air was out of the lines. So after replacing everything, it still feels the same. No idiot lights light up on the dash either.

[ptrudel]

that is friggin weird man...i'm gettin worried mine'll do this as it'll be on jackstands for a while all disconnected too...

hope you get 'er fixed man

[Cliff8928]

Well, doesn't look like this one is a user-friendly procedure without the Tech 2.

http://home.comcast.net/~cliff_scott/ABSBleed.pdf

[FantomForceCustoms02]

Thanks Cliff. I can probably get a hold of that scan system. If this doesn't work, I'm just going to drive it and hope it fixes itself.