bull307

Hi,
for months my brakes have had little power, i press on the pedal and it goes down really far untill stopping is effective, it kinda feels like my front brakes are whats really working, and my brake fluid is topped up so does anyone think i need to replace my brake cylinders?

rdlsz24

Have you tried replacing the pads and/or rotors yet?

Rob

bull307

the back brake pads were replaced in the inspection whick took place 4 to 5 months ago and no i havent replaced my rotors

rdlsz24

You most likely only have pads and rotors on the front so replacing them first would probably be cheaper and easier than replacing cylinders. Actually now that I think of it the first thing you should do is try bleeding them. Check out the troubleshooting section here:

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b.../2troubles.pdf

Rob

bull307

thanks for the help i think im going to work on it today

Barbarossa

Pedal fade, then yes definately bleed them.

Why go out and spend money that you might not need to? Work your way up to the expensive things when working on a car. That way you not only save money but do a thorough job on it too (just how I work, and my 2 cents on this matter).

drew303

flush the system with new fluid

obviously rebleed the brakes.

pedal fade isnt a brake caliper or cylinder problem its water, air and/or debri in the lines. Could also be a master cylinder that needs replacing.

but usually you just need new fluid =)

bull307

thanks everyone for you help
yesterday i tried to bleed the brakes but nothin was going well so i just put it all together put some more fluid in and i must have messed something up because now the brakes dont work so whatever this is only the first job that has been out of my hands so i have no problem sending it to a mechanic

jcfb

Hey! Don't take it to a mechanic just yet!

Did you keep the reservoir topped up while you were bleeding? If not, you could have just effectively bled more air into the lines.

Try this: Get a turkey baster and use it to suck all the fluid out of the master cylinder. then wipe down all of the inside for the dirt, everything. Make sure it is clean. DO NOT PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL AT ALL WHILE THE MC IS EMPTY. Then fill the master cylinder and proceed to bleed through new fluid. Start at the wheel furthest from the MC and work your way towards it. Have a friend get in the cab, pump the brake pedal 3 times and hold. Then open the bleeder and wait until it stops. Then close it, have your friend pump 3 times and hold, and do it again. Then just work your way forward!

Oh and if you don't have a brake bleeding bottle, I'd highly suggest making one! Just get a standard water bottle, cut a small hole in the cap, and take a bleeder screw of similar size up to the local hardware store. Buy some hose that will fit over the bleeder screw tightly and buy about 2 feet of it. I'd suggest using clear hose. Then just run the hose through the hole in the cap, fill the bottle with a little brake fluid, and keep the hose submerged in the brake fluid in the bottle while you're bleeding!

maxpower_hd

Another thing to look at once you get the brakes bleed as good as you can. If you were getting a low pedal rather than the pedal fading, the rear brakes may need adjusting. If this has been happening since the new rear brakes, that would be my guess. Get hold of a service manual. They are like $20-$30 at the parts store or look at one of the online free ones. That will describe it in detail. Basically there is slot with a rubber plug in it. If you remove that, you can adjust the brakes with a brake spoon. Pretty easy really. Once that is done, you should have a bit higher pedal.

dropzone

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