brake problems

[slashnick]

today when i was driving, the parking brake indicator came on. soon after i was aware the brakes wernt working as good as usual. when i got stopped, i opened the hood and rear brake fluid reservior was completly empty and the front one was completly full. i took some out of the front and added some to the rear. what would be causing this? what is the fix? thanks.

matt

 

[Moonunit 451]

The first thing I would do is pull the rear wheels and look for fluids. You might even be able to see some on the wheels while on the car, most likely on the inside of the wheel. You probably blew out a caliper. Find the problem and replace it if it's the caliper.

 

[Jeffvette]

The first thing I would do is pull the rear wheels and look for fluids. You might even be able to see some on the wheels while on the car, most likely on the inside of the wheel. You probably blew out a caliper. Find the problem and replace it if it's the caliper.

I agree, check the seals on the calipers. If they have never been replaced, they are probably toast. Check the rubber lines as well at the fittings.

 

[slashnick]

will do

 

[slashnick]

well i took off the back tires and checked the calipers. the back passengers side looked like it had a crack in the hose, but there was no sign of any fluid leaking.

why would the front one be completly full? a few months ago i had to remove some fluid from it because it was all the way up and overflowing when i took off the cap. now it happened again, only this time the rear was completly emplty. are the front and rear reserviors connected at some point or are they indpendent of each other? i dont know much about brake systems, please bear with me.

 

[Jeffvette]

Front and rear are independant.

Take a rag and some simple green and clean up the calipers, the hoses and the general area. Fill up the resevoir (make usre to bleed it to get all the air out) and see if you can get any signs of it leaking.


The other issue is it may be leaking out of the actual master cylinder.

 

[bob eshleman]

brake leak?

Hi, the problem may be in the master cylinder.Fluid may bypass the primary and secondary seals. That is the only way I know that fluid can escape to the fronts. thanks bob.

 

[OSU-VETTE]

If the rear was empty under the hood, you may not find a leak until you refill it.