First, I just replace the MC (OEM - bench bleeded), Goodrich ss lines, new calipers, new rotors and new pads.

Now for my problem. I went to load the car on the trailer and when I fired the car, the brake pedal went to the floor. The brakes would stop the car but it took all it had to stop it. I know the car isn't going to stop very good because of the new pads and rotors but I should have some kind of brake pedal pressure. I can't think of what the problem is because I have a pedal when the car is off but when I start the car, the brake padel goes to the floor. Did I forget to connect vacuum line? Help

 

If the booster is bad the pedal feel will be very hard -

 

My old Integra did this in 2001. The pedal got ridiculously soft and would go almost all the way to the floor with the motor on.
We chased a bunch of things, and in the end I punted and gave it to Tom and said "fix it." Turned out that it WAS the booster. A new one fixed the problem.

If you aren't losing any fluid anywhere and the system is bled, its the booster.

Scott, who says "yeah, I know what the FSM says, thats why I couldn't find the problem."

 

Catch and RJ,
Thank you both for the advice. I'll do the test from the sheet and see but it sure sounds like it's the booster.

 

I know of several people who also had soft pedal issues when the rear pads were incorrectly installed. In both cases they missed getting the pin on the pad into the slot in the caliper piston. It's worth double checking. It is also possible to get a bad master cylinder even if new. You say it is oem so I would say that is highly unlikely.

 

This sounds just like the MC I did on my brother's Civic last year. We slapped an Integra MC on the car and the pedal was VERY soft after the install. Everyting was properly bled at the calipers and at the MC. Also, nothing was bad at all before the MC swap (he just wanted a bigger MC) so we knew it was not the booster.

We then bought another MC thinking it was a bad unit from the NAPA we got it from. Same thing happend, soft pedal. So we went back and bitched one more time and got another MC. Installed it. Same thing happend, soft pedal.

So, we ended up bleeding as much as 6 cans of fluid through the system and said "ferget about it" since he had work the next morning...

After 3-4 days the pedal pressure built up and has been stiff ever since the install. (SS lines, etc.)

Other HT members have also experienced this weird occurance...
Just a situation you may be going through as well.



Modified by JOEY F. at 3:38 AM 10/20/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GBRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">First, I just replace the MC (OEM - bench bleeded), Goodrich ss lines, new calipers, new rotors and new pads.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can check the Booster as mentioned above. I know I did.

In my experience I replaced and had Exactly the same symptoms as you. The pedal was very soft and then sunk to the floor.

I think I must've bled at least 6 cans of fluid as mentioned above as well till I got a firm pedal again, maybe even a few more. I'd bleed, bleed and bleed again after you check the booster and all line fittings.

Something else that also helped me was a Motive power bleeder that maintained positive pressure. It was amazing how much air I saw come out of the lines when I used it for the first time.

 

Thanks for sharing those experiences. At least I wasn't the only one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1GreyTeg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Something else that also helped me was a Motive power bleeder that maintained positive pressure. It was amazing how much air I saw come out of the lines when I used it for the first time. </TD></TR></TABLE>

The problem with the Motive power bleeder is that it introduces moisture-laden air to the fluid, adding moisture to fresh brake fluid. Remember brake fluids are hygroscopic and will absorb moisture at every opportunity. A vaccum bleeder would work be better for a home mechanic that tracks his/her car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by El Pollo Diablo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> A gravity bleed would work be better for a home mechanic that tracks his/her car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Fixed that

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Fixed that

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, except you're still exposing the brake fluid to moisture laden air for an extended amount of time, so no, not really.

 

Pull the master off the booster and check to make sure that you only have one rubber washer in between the booster and master. A lot of times, the old rubber washer will stick in the booster, and you install the new master with the new washer on it. This won't let the master seat correctly, and it flexes the ears of the master, which pinches the bore towards the back. This could be holding the piston in the bore, which could result in incomplete bleeding and your low pedal.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LBHgti &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Pull the master off the booster and check to make sure that you only have one rubber washer in between the booster and master. A lot of times, the old rubber washer will stick in the booster, and you install the new master with the new washer on it. This won't let the master seat correctly, and it flexes the ears of the master, which pinches the bore towards the back. This could be holding the piston in the bore, which could result in incomplete bleeding and your low pedal. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That could be a possability. I don't have my car right now but I do have my old MC at home. I'll check it when I get home today.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by El Pollo Diablo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yeah, except you're still exposing the brake fluid to moisture laden air for an extended amount of time, so no, not really.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Leave the cap on while it drips? I've never had a problem gravity bleeding.

 

So how do you gravity bleed a system. Is it just as simple as opening the bleeder and leaving it open for x amount of time?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GBRacing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So how do you gravity bleed a system. Is it just as simple as opening the bleeder and leaving it open for x amount of time? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Put a t00b on the bleeder, and the bleeder in a catch bottle, then crack it open - wait and drink beer. I like to use 1L liquor bottles (i.e. "handles") for this purpose. They're heavy with a wide base, so they dont tip over, and they hold about 4 cars' worth of fluid Once the fluid is moving out and filled the t00b, I give it a few very slow pumps from inside the car (bleeder open).

 

Did you adjust the rod on the booster properly with the adjustment tool. I don't think it would cause your soft pedal bu it may cause a sticking issue as it did with me at Homestead, Expensive weekend. But I think everyone is right when I drained the system and replaced everything it took a long time to bleed the system properly
P.S.
I'm trying to contact you about next weekends CRX Meet but my emails keep getting bounced back.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VenWood &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you adjust the rod on the booster properly with the adjustment tool. I don't think it would cause your soft pedal bu it may cause a sticking issue as it did with me at Homestead, Expensive weekend. But I think everyone is right when I drained the system and replaced everything it took a long time to bleed the system properly
P.S.
I'm trying to contact you about next weekends CRX Meet but my emails keep getting bounced back.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hum. What email are you using? You should be able to reach at any of these two email accounts.

richygonzalez _AT_ hotmail _DOT_ com
gbracing _AT_ gmail _DOC_ com