newbie with a brake problem

[KLRSHRK]

Great way to start out on the forum huh..with the dreaded brake problem. what I'm experiencing is my pedal is stuck to the floor. I worked on the brakes about 2 months ago..went through the bleeding process and all was working fine..parked it about 2 weeks after that. Went out to take it for a spin and brake pedal was on the floor..you can't even pull it back up. Plus...there are no brakes..I can put the car in nutral and push it around. I';ve replaced the mater cyl and the booster..no luck. Any ideas what to try next.

Thanks for the help guys.

Tim

 

[bill81vette]

first of all welcome to CAC Tim !!

next,If your pedal went to nothing that fast then you've lost some,or all of you brake fluid.So check your calipers to see if any are wet,if any are wet then you've found your leak!if not then get jack up the vette and check the brake lines to see if you have a leak on one of those.
Do you know if your vette was sitting for an extended lenght of time before you got it.eg..several years or more??
and what year is it??
good luck!

 

[GTR1999]

Check:

1-M/C for fluid level
If low find the leak- leaking caliper,hose,M/C seal or cap. The dash brake light should have come on if you have a major leak.

2- If the fluid level isn't low you may still have air in the system. There are several ways to bleed these brakes but the best is toinvest $60 in a Motive pressure bleeder and this will solve bleeding concerns.

3- Did you check the rotor runout or have the rotors replaced? The spec is .005" through 360* if you get over .0035" you'll start to have soft brake problems as the calipers will act as an air pump.

4- The replacement PB boosters offered now are not all the same. THe push rod must be the same length as OEM or you'll have problems. I know a guy htat went crazy with a PB booster from Autozone because of this.

 

[KLRSHRK]

From what I can tell there are no leaking calipers but the fluid is alittle low. The car sat up for a while but about a month before this happened I went through the brakes and oringed/rebuilt the fronts. Rotors ahve been on there for year and the brakes were fine but just alittle soft after my work on them...I think they just needed a rebleeding.

I'm going to check the booster rod length problem...I just pulled the whole interior out of the car and without carpet I can push the pedal a good bit..I''m going to gest if this activates the brakes now....if it does I could have a rod length problem. I'm also going to power bleed the brakes to see if that helps. When I pulled the old booster off the rod that went into the master cyl. just fell out with the seal..I think that was the start of the problem :eyerole Thanks for the help guys and I will check back in.

Car is in the sig...its now undergoing a revamp. Gonna lower it some, put 17s on it, have sidepipes on it now and going to paint viper steel grey. Installing a t-56 manual in it and going to put a hot rod air setup on it also. Whole new interior/weather stripping to go in it when it is put back together. Here is a pic with the old rims/exhaust http://www.ipsb.net/herringt/76corvette/rear2.jpg

 

[I_R_DA_ONE]

Tim
I believe that you have a bad power brake booster.....the lenght of the rod, once it is set, it should never need to be changed.... It sounds to me like a seal in the master cyclinder either disolved or rolled over.... If the booster goes bad,,,, normally the break pedal is just very low and it takes more force to operate...... if this is what is happening,,, check for vaccumm leaks......you should be able to hear them...a loud squealling sound......Also look for a leak between the master cyclinder and the booster.. If the master cyclinder is leaking the fluid could go into the booster....this will cause the diaphram in the booster to disolve.... leaving you with next to no brakes.

A lot to check
Mike
Oh and you have a nice house

 

[Hib Halverson]

(snip)

Went out to take it for a spin and brake pedal was on the floor..you can't even pull it back up. Plus...there are no brakes..I can put the car in nutral and push it around. I';ve replaced the mater cyl and the booster..no luck. Any ideas what to try next.

Thanks for the help guys.

Tim

When you say you can't "pull it back up"...do you mean you forceably (ie down on your knees outside the car and reaching in with your hands and pull the pedal up) can move it?

If so, the first thing I'd do is look for a mechanical problem with either the master, the booster or the pedal assembly.

Also, unless the brake system is low mileage and used regularly, I'd overhaul the entire system on a car that old. If you don't already have them, install stainless-steel sleeved brake calipers during the job.