Brakes went out

[Sniper82]

Well my brakes went out on the way home from the hospital couple nights ago but luckily it was late at night and no one was on the road. Anyway I am trying to figure out why. I think it might have something to do with me driving home(about 15 miles) with the parking brake on. My car doesn't alarm me when its on and it doesn't work that great anyway but worked good enough to eat my rear brake pads up.

When I got on the exit ramp and went to hit my brakes it went to the floor and pumping them only made the car studder like it wanted to stop till it finally did. Checked the back brakes today and there was alot of dust. What I'd like to know is would this cause the brakes to go out completely even right now the brake pedal goes nearly to the floor. Would replacing the back brakes fix the problem?

Like I said the parking brake barely worked because I would have really noticed it while driving had it worked good since this if a front wheel drive car. It was also pouring the rain if that matters.

 

[Gillbot]

First, check the reservoir to be sure it is full of fluid. If it is low, top it off. You may need to re-bleed them if it got air into it. Wait a few days and recheck it later, you may have a line leaking.

 

[Sniper82]

That was the first thing I checked next day(was late when I got home). It was full, I should note I had my oil and fluids checked later that day. I did take it out and drive it around my apartments slowly today and the brakes work but the pedals go down farther then normal and it seems like only the front brakes are grabbing because I can feel the front end drop more then it use to when stopping. I should also note when my brakes went out my parking brake was on if that matters.

 

[Analog]

If the pedal goes down too far, then either you have low fluid, or air in the lines. Low fluid could be caused by a leak, but you said that you had full fluid? I would probably get the lines bled out to make sure there is no air in there.

 

[Eos]

That's a horrible experience. Make sure a qualified mechanic goes through the entire system if you feel you're not qualified.

Mine went out on a 69 Nova approaching a 'T' intersection. Luckily no one was coming from either side and I smashed into the ditch. Broke my thumb on the steering wheel.

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: eos
That's a horrible experience. Make sure a qualified mechanic goes through the entire system if you feel you're not qualified.

Mine went out on a 69 Nova approaching a 'T' intersection. Luckily no one was coming from either side and I smashed into the ditch. Broke my thumb on the steering wheel.

Yeah I went to brake/yield coming off a exit because I was going right but the car just kept going so I immediately cut the car deep and pulled straight on the shoulder of the road because I didn't have enough time to look to see if anything was coming. Luckily it was raining because I would have probably been going alot faster. Whats more scary is I had my two son's in the car(1 and 2 year old). They won't be back in that car until I've driven it alot after its fixed and am confident its safe.

But yeah I'd prefer a mechanic look at it but I will likely have to get it towed is the problem and they can charge me about any amount they want if they ain't honest since they know I ain't able to drive it. I've helped my dad several times in my life bleed his brakes and hes in his 50's so I think I might have him come take a look. If I get things fixed I may take it by a shop and let them look over it for any signs of problems.

Curious should I bleed the old fluid out and put fresh in or just try and bleed the air out? This is a 96 model so its a older car.

 

[HiTek21]

Might not be the pads, usually you'll hear the wear indicator screaching when it reaches a low point and if it gets really bad you'll hear and feel grinding in your pads.

Might be the master cylinder going bad. I had an issue where my brake pedal would gradually creep to the floor as I was braking, I would have to let off the brake pedal and press it again to get it to slow down. Replacing the master cylinder would require you to re-bleed your entire brake system which takes a long time unless you have a power bleeder.

If your car still has the original or old brake fluid in it you might want to flush out the entire system and get some fresh fluid in it. Over time the fluid will oxidize and absorb water causing a spongy feel in your braking. It should be a clear color if its turning brown or already dark brown change it.

The parking brake might just need an adjustment, usually over time it needs an adjustment as the pads wear down.

BTW what year / make / model is your car so we can determine if your car has drums or discs in the rear.

 

[Sniper82]

Its a 96 Geo Prizm it has discs in the front and drums in the back. Is there a way to test to see if its the master cylinder?

 

[kumanchu]

master cylinder failure will be indicated by leaks around the master cylinder. the master cylinder is usually located in your engine compartment below the brake fluid resevoir. check for signs of leaking fluid around the master cylinder and possibly around your brake pedal inside of the car.

most likely, your rear brakes got hot enough to boil all of the fluid in the rear lines. you will need the lines bled at the very least. its probably been a while since you changed your brake fluid as well, so it wouldn't hurt.

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: kumanchu
master cylinder failure will be indicated by leaks around the master cylinder. the master cylinder is usually located in your engine compartment below the brake fluid resevoir. check for signs of leaking fluid around the master cylinder and possibly around your brake pedal inside of the car.

most likely, your rear brakes got hot enough to boil all of the fluid in the rear lines. you will need the lines bled at the very least. its probably been a while since you changed your brake fluid as well, so it wouldn't hurt.

Now that you mention it the brake drums was VERY hot because I could hear a slight sizzling noise as the rain hit the drums when I got home. As I got out of the car I could smell a slight burning smell which I'd say was the pads burnt up.

I was so stressed from being at the ER for 3 hours I just didn't pay any attention while driving that the parking brake was on. On our Grand Am the car beeps like crazy if I try to drive it with the parking brake on which is what I'm use to hearing when we leave it on.

 

[Sniper82]

is it possible the back brakes only need bleeding or should I go around all four? Thx

 

[mwmorph]

I think you just experienced extreme brake fade.

Bleeding the brakes of the air bubbles formed from boiling off the fluid will help, so will replacing the probably faded and glazed rear pads.

 

[Sniper82]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Do the brakes work now or are they still out? I think you just experienced extreme brake fade.

Bleeding the brakes of the air bubbles formed from boiling off the fluid will help, so will replacing the probably faded and glazed rear pads.

They still work but the pedal goes farther down and it seems only the front brakes catch because I notice the front end drop more then it normally did.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Sniper82

Originally posted by: mwmorph
Do the brakes work now or are they still out? I think you just experienced extreme brake fade.

Bleeding the brakes of the air bubbles formed from boiling off the fluid will help, so will replacing the probably faded and glazed rear pads.

They still work but the pedal goes farther down and it seems only the front brakes catch because I notice the front end drop more then it normally did.

You can fix this at home then. Bleeding the brakes is a 2 person, 20 minute procedure but installing new brakes is a 1 person 2-3 hour procedure andboth are about as easy jobs as you can do.

 

[steppinthrax]

when you drove home with your parking brake on it overheated not only the pads and wore them down it possibly overheated the caliper and caused the brake fluid to boil (creating bubbles and dirt). If your brake fluid it BLACK I would flush out the system completely. You might of burnt the seals on your rear brakes. Is it rear disc or drum.

 

[Sniper82]

They are drum. Curious is there any decent one person bleeder/flush tools that don't cost a arm and a leg?

 

[steppinthrax]

Originally posted by: Sniper82
They are drum. Curious is there any decent one person bleeder/flush tools that don't cost a arm and a leg?

There are a couple. I think if you go to any autozone you can pick up a "one man bleeder" it's a clear tube with a one way check valve on the other end. You don't need to submerge the tube in brake fluid. Attach the tube and pump the brakes. The tube is long enough so that you can see the results in the tube. The need to "exchange the bad fluid that you have in your system right now with good fluid. I think the best way to do this is first pump out all the bad fluid in your resevior leaving a little at the bottom and filling with clean fluid. Finally do full bleeding on all 4 wheels. You need to check the resivior periodically to make sure it's always full of clean fluid. Brake fluid is so cheap and it's such a small quantity It wouldn't be a bad idea to do this multiple times in your case.

 

[Sniper82]

what type of brakes should I buy or does it matter? Advanceauto has some for $13 and up for a pair.

 

[HiTek21]

We have a mityvac (sp?) for bleeding the brakes. Only problem its not vehicle specific so the fittings may or may not fit onto the bleeder nipples. Had some trouble getting the hose to seal on a 2000 Tacoma. Ended up bleeding the brakes twice because I was never sure if I got all of the air out with the mityvac. It actually worked though because the second time around I never saw an air bubble doing it the old fashion way.

Edit: Mityvac

 

[nweaver]

I got the cheap $7 kit at autozone, and it worked fine for one man bleeding. It's nicer and much faster with 2, but doable with 1 man.

 

[Sniper82]

My local store had one of these:
http://www.partsamerica.com/Pr...1658&CategoryCode=3378

Do I just hook the hose to the bleeder nipple then to the bottle? What are the little black adapters for?

 

[cardiac]

Those adapters are usually for different bleeder valves. Alos, make sure you get the right brake fluid for your vehicle. It will say in the owners manual. It will be one of 3 different kinds:
DOT 3 = Regular petroleum based fluid
DOT 4 = Semi-synthetic fluid
DOT 5 = Full synthetic fluid

And they don't mix well, so get the right one.....

I agree with a few of the others; you definitely overheated the drum/wheel cylinder and boiled the fluid. It does at the very least need flushed and replaced.

Bob