hey guys i have been driving my 89 lx around and the brake pedal goes almost down to the floor usually, but yesterday my brakes completely failed 3 times and i had to throw the emergency brake. now i checked the pads when i bought the car cuz the guy said it needed brakes but the pads and shoes are still in great condition. i thought it was the brake booster all along but now that i experienced the brake failure i need to figure out what is wrong. is there any for sure signs that it is the booster?? i have been asking my friends with civics and they each say different things. one said booster, one said master cylinder, one also said could be a vacuum hose is leaking. any help would be great. and just a note i am still driving the car as the brakes still work, it was just the other day that i experienced this and have not had it happen since nor happened before in the 2 month n a half i have been driving it. thx
brake booster/master cylinder problem??
- Thread starter willskillz805
- Start date
if its your booster you should be able to hear a vaccum leak when some one is pressing it. but it has to be running, so you should be able to use a hand held vacuum pump to get some vacuum in there. If thats not it make sure you got enough brake fluid, and also check the fluid to make sure its not full of water
wouldn't i just buy a new one or can you restore lost vacum with the pump?? and also as i was checking the engine bay today i noticed it sounds like air is leaking from somewhere near my firewall. i will check what you said and see if anything happens. thx
d0000d@
your master cylinder is probably shot if the pedal goes down to the floor, that or you have a lot of air.
if your brake booster was bad than the pedal would be very stiff and higher up. if your problem progressively got worse then it's mostly like the master cylinder
your master cylinder is probably shot if the pedal goes down to the floor, that or you have a lot of air.
if your brake booster was bad than the pedal would be very stiff and higher up. if your problem progressively got worse then it's mostly like the master cylinder
Before you go and possibly waste all that money, check your brake fluid level, if its low, top it up of course.Then get under the car and check brake caliper/drum lines at all for wheels for leaks,if you see any wet in any wheel wells make sure its brake fluid and replace as nessesary. If all the lines are good, THEN you can start thinking about replacing the master cylinder. If you had a problem with your booster, the car would require more effort from you to stop. But your pedal is going to the floor, either you have a leak in one of the caliper/drum lines, a bad master cylinder, or a bad proportioning valve(unlikely)
possibly you have a small hole/cut somewhere in your brake lines and you lost fluid, or maybe air possibly got in the line somehow and they need to be bled. give those options a try first.
yea the brakes were bad when i bought the car so as for as it being a progressive problem i wouldn't know. but i do have to push the pedal pretty hard for me to stop. i have checked the brake lines when i checked the brake pads and the wheel wells are clean so no leaks there. and the fluid has stayed level so i know i'm not leaking anything. i never thought about bleeding the lines. i will try that first and if that doesn't help i'll swing by the junk yard and check out some master cylinders. anything else that could be a problem?? thanks guys for the help so far
nope nope nope
if your brake boosted is bad, your foot goes to the floor quickly. the only way to keep braking is to make the vacuum your self. so since he said he wa hearing air, i would say check all the lines goin to and from the brake booster. other than that, i bet there is a crack in the housing if its not a disconnected line
not to smash on anyone but all the searching i have done if your pedal is hard to push its the brake booster, and if it goes down all the way its a leaking line or master cylinder. like i said i'm not trying to be a smart ass as some people on the forums are but i took everything that was told to me in consideration, did some research and ordered me a master cylinder. sorry man but if you google bad brake booster signs you'll come up with hard to push pedals. thanks guys for steering me in the right direction for the fix.
do you even know how the booster works? its like a big diapghram, vaccuum goes on one side and pressure on the other.. if there is a tear in the diapghram then it isnt effective and so you have no assist so the pedal becomes stiffer... make the vacuum yourself? ..what the f**k....
yes willskillz, if you didnt have any leaks in the lines you did the right thing probably
hi guys! totally new here, actually I am from Mazda circles but no one can help me there whatsoever. really desperate to figure this out it's been bugging me for two years.
I'm getting a very soft pedal, nothing except new fluid and brake lines (converted to SS) was replaced. brakes do bite but mainly I have to plan out my brakinig so I don't rear-end into someone.
now we all agree a harder pedal means bad booster unit. I am suspecting my check valve because my pedal feels light but does not drop down dramatically. the travel is something you would call "normal". there's just one little thing I noticed this far and I find it a bit important ... when I'm driving down the motorway at high speeds (or revving it up dramatically on an open road at some speed) my brakes are nice and firm, depressing the pedal makes brakes bite immediately but eventually they fade again very quickly.
I'm guessing the check valve is stuck open or something and I think that vacuum created in there simply start "turbulenting".
It also depends on the day ... sometimes I get good performance, but most of the time it's too soft without enough biting force.
For long time I was suspecting my MC but now I have a chance to gut a crashed Mazda and first I'll go for that vacuum hose.
Pads are totally healthy too. of course I cannot block my fronts (no ABS) for that matter ... But I would like to, my nice set of hydragrips aged badly with 5mm of threads still on! I wanna burn them off already.
any clues, guys? thanks and sorry for bumping a historical thread. I'm really googling for any single page or forum I could find on this issue.
I'm getting a very soft pedal, nothing except new fluid and brake lines (converted to SS) was replaced. brakes do bite but mainly I have to plan out my brakinig so I don't rear-end into someone.
now we all agree a harder pedal means bad booster unit. I am suspecting my check valve because my pedal feels light but does not drop down dramatically. the travel is something you would call "normal". there's just one little thing I noticed this far and I find it a bit important ... when I'm driving down the motorway at high speeds (or revving it up dramatically on an open road at some speed) my brakes are nice and firm, depressing the pedal makes brakes bite immediately but eventually they fade again very quickly.
I'm guessing the check valve is stuck open or something and I think that vacuum created in there simply start "turbulenting".
It also depends on the day ... sometimes I get good performance, but most of the time it's too soft without enough biting force.
For long time I was suspecting my MC but now I have a chance to gut a crashed Mazda and first I'll go for that vacuum hose.
Pads are totally healthy too. of course I cannot block my fronts (no ABS) for that matter ... But I would like to, my nice set of hydragrips aged badly with 5mm of threads still on! I wanna burn them off already.
any clues, guys? thanks and sorry for bumping a historical thread. I'm really googling for any single page or forum I could find on this issue.
i didnt take the time to read what other people write i just red the problem and if its not the master cylinder..booster...maybe the hosts are leaking or theyre just too old
park your car in a dry spot and pump it about 20 times then move your car...if you leave with a lil puddle in any of the areas the tires were at its the cylinder on that tire....if theres no leak booster i would say...
goodluck
park your car in a dry spot and pump it about 20 times then move your car...if you leave with a lil puddle in any of the areas the tires were at its the cylinder on that tire....if theres no leak booster i would say...
goodluck