Chris-280ZX Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 so i'm driving down one of the busiest streets in tallahassee around rush hour. i'm doing around 45 MPH and am coming up to a stop light. i press the brake pedal...it goes to the floor! i try it again...same result. i pump it 5 times real fast and it finally builds pressure and brakes. i baby it home...while continuing this action combined with downshifting and e-brake. i'm thinking...low brake fluid or brake master cylinder is busted or something. i get home and check it....its full. so im thinking its the brake lines...either built up with air or losing pressure/fluid. i cant see a visible area that is leaking or wet. i have no lift or access to one...so i'm going to have to take it the nissan dealership tomorrow. any thoughts/comments? thanks...dont want to get ripped by nissan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nic-Rebel450CA Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 I'd bleed them out completely and see how that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 ...i pump it 5 times real fast and it finally builds pressure and brakes... i'm thinking...low brake fluid or brake master cylinder is busted or something. i get home and check it....its full. Just because the master cylinder is full doesn't mean that it's working properly. From the sounds of it, it's probably your master cylinder, since it was still full. I would replace it or rebuild it. You don't want to chance your braking system. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Normally I wouldn't tell this on myself, but after a week of driving a rental car (auto tranny), I returned home, and at the airport parking I got into my Z, came up to the lot's corner, leaned on the brake pedal, and NOTHING (repeatedly, each time I hit the pedal). Fortunately I was going slow and a quick pull of the emergency brake kept me out of trouble. Then It dawned on me that I was pressing the clutch pedal instead of the brake. How embarrassing . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-280ZX Posted December 9, 2003 Author Share Posted December 9, 2003 lol...i wish that was my problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 There is a post in here somewhere in which someone talks about the clip that holds the pedal to the master cylinder fork coming loose. They did all kinds of stuff thinking it was aleak or bad master etc.. I think it was when he went to replace the master is when he found that the pedal was no longer attached to the master. Just a thought. I wouls stay away from the dealer. They will charge you $75 just to look at it. But if you don't have any friends that are mechanics or if you don't know a reputable one then I suppose it might be the best place to go. Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Then It dawned on me that I was pressing the clutch pedal instead of the brake Now that's funny! I had something similar happen, but I wasn't driving and also wasn't the one in the drivers seat. I needed someone to help me bleed the brakes on my old Dodge Ramn 50 (what a beater, but ran awsome), so I asked a buddy of mine to come over and help out. He popped over driving a '96 Vette (manual transmision [remember this]). I asked him to jump into the drivers seat and pump the brakes when I told him to. I got setup to bleed the pass. rear and told him to start pumping... told him to hold it, opened the bleeder, but nothing came out Instead of trying to figure it out, I told him to do it again. This time I heard a slight 'twang', a noise that I sometimes hear from the spring when pushing in the clutch pedal. I went to the drivers door and asked my buddy to pump the brakes for me... I think you can figure out what he was doing . I couldn't stop laughing. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moridin Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 How the hell did he drive his Vette? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Having grown up poor with POS cars I couldn't afford to fix, I can tell you every time that has happened to me it was the master cylinder. Either the MC is rusty, or the rubber cups that slide along the cylinder walls ard old and have gotten hard. The harder and faster you hit the pedal, the more likely the rubber cups are to flair out and make solid contact with the MC walls. It only scares you the first couple of times it happens. After that you know to plan ahead cause you may have to "double clutch" the brake pedal to stop. Either way flush all of the existing fluid through all 4 corners before installing a rebuilt MC, then flush another can of fluid when bleeding the new MC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 When you hit the brakes, did you hear a sound like air escaping as it went to the floor? If so the master is bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Z Turbo Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Chris, call me and I will take a look at it for you. It should be an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-280ZX Posted December 9, 2003 Author Share Posted December 9, 2003 now im real confused...i went out this morning to see if i could find any leaks. well no leaks found...but when i went to press on the break pedal....it has pressure. didnt go drive it or anything....dont want it to go south on me again. i didnt hear any air escaping or anything like that Mike. Brakes confuse me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Chris, If I were in your place I would just replace the master. It's cheap insurance. It could be that overnight fluid gravity drained into the bore of the master and the air was displaced, thus giving you pedal pressure. Many times when I have trouble bleeding a slave cylinder, I will just leave the bleed nipple loose and let it sit overnight. The fluid slowly gravity drains and bleeds itself. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-280ZX Posted December 10, 2003 Author Share Posted December 10, 2003 fixed for the moment!! thanks to james that is. went over there today and bleed the whole system and replaced the brake fluid. seems to be braking fine now. maybe just a temporary air build up or something....who knows. we'll see if it lasts thanks guys. P.S. James = the Man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. G. Olphart Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Having driven "experienced" automobiles all my life, I must agree with Tim... look at it this way: Unless you pulled a Terry, when you pushed your foot down, brake fluid went somewhere. When all is normal, the brakes work. When there is an external leak, you can usually spot the leaking fluid on the inside of the brake/wheel/tire where the leak exists (plus the fluid level will drop over time). If neither of the above apply, then the only place the fluid could have gone was past the cup/seal in the master cylinder. The next time your brakes fail, you may be approaching someone's $75,000 Mercedes at 70MPH (or a kid in a cross walk)... Master cylinders are VERY cheap insurance, no matter what the parts house wants to let them out the door. One Rant, No Charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwink25 Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 I pulled a Terry once...sorta. I had just gotten my 1994 Probe GT earlier that day and was leaving Autozone I think. I was in 2nd gear and about to shift into 3rd...I changed the radio station and moved my hand to shift into 3rd but, instead pulled on the e-brake! Why the heck I did that I have no idea. Scared the piss out of me...I was like...what the hell?!?! Then it danwed on me. Oh, and the truck behind me didn't like it much either, he he. Good thing his brakes worked well. I quickly released the brake and drove on. Boy did I feel dumb. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwink25 Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Pulled a Terry...that's becoming a catch phrase. Just teasing you Terry Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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