Hey people I have a 92 civic cx hatchback and I knew i needed new shoes on the back drums because they were grinding really bad and i saw the gold-orange brakedust around my rims...about a week after i noticed this i was driving last night and a stop light turned from yellow to red and i had to stop short and my car made a noise...stalled out and the brake pedal went to the floor...i started back up and drove about a block or 2 and then i went to turn and my brake pedal was still going to the floor and would not stop! I know the piston in the drums in the back aren't squeezing because i dont hear the rubbing sound from the shoes anymore...what do u think it is? master cylinder maybe or busted line? any comments help!! i needa get rolling to i can get back n forth to school! Thanks!

 

oh yea and my brakes do work a LITTLE very LITTLE when i Pump Them quickly...but my pedal is super soft i can kick it to the floor and it slowly sinks back up...

 

Busted brake lines (but check your master cylinder, or have it checked, for reassurance)

 

no its not going to be a line or the master, its the "wheel cylinders", thats the small cylinder that sits on top inside the drum, when the brakes wear so much the pistons in them have to come out farther and the seal is right behind them so when they come are too far the seal cant hold and you start to leak fluid sometimes bad sometimes not so bad, look at the inside of your rear tires, if you see fluid its your wheel cylinders, but im 100% sure it is. also driving around that way will cause the master cylinder to go bad eventually from the piston inside it traveling farther than normal also so dont waste time getting it fixed. oh by the way, im ASE certified and do about $30k in brake jobs a month if that matters.

 

ok yea thats wut i thought it was form the start....the little "thumb Sized" piston in the drum...how much do those go for? do they both go at once? because i have no grab with the brakes?

 

at my shop we replace them in pairs, normal list cost shouldnt be more than $20 each.

 

your the man but 1 more thing....my fluid level is still almost full...

 

I've gone thru like 3 set of wheel cylinders since i've had my car *shrugs* and I never e-brake slide either, they just bust on me all the time

 

bubbleboy, if you arent loosing fluid quickly i doubt your problem is wheel cylinders, but check it out anyways. excelon, if you keep blowing wheel cylinders your drums are probably very worn letting the wheel cylinders come out to far. bubbleboy, look at the other brake thread, it is more detailed at finding the problem.

 

No **** man, thats the reason they get replaced along with a full drum rebuild everytime and i really dont care lol, car stops and thats all that matters