I bought my '89 EF hatch a year ago. The master cylinder was failing so I had it replaced by a local shop. The old brake fluid was flushed at the same time.

Six months later my pads were shot and I had those replaced.

I've always kept an eye on the fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir, and checked for leaks, spills under the car and under the hood. It has been good and the brakes have been working fine.

Two weeks ago on the interstate I had to brake, hard, from 70mph to a full stop. The brakes did the trick. But now it seems they are a lot softer - the pedal goes lower.

A friend told me the brake pads may have crystallized? These are ceramic pads (I was told Carquest Blue). The brake fluid is also visibly dirty, a lot darker than say two months ago.

So I'm planning on flushing the brake fluid and seeing if that makes a difference. Is that normal? Dirty brake fluid after 1yr with 10,000mi put on the car?

I also have a guaranty on the pads - they were supposed to last 50,000 mi so I can't imagine they're bad. Can heavy braking really ruin the brake pads so easily?

Is there anything else I should check?

 

try adjusting the rear drums. just enough to where you are have "little" drag

 

oh and about the brake fluid thing it is recomended to flush every 25-30k. the dirty MC can also make it look alot more black

 

The seals in the MC are starting to go. I suggest looking at swapping in a new MC and call it a day.

 

I changed out my dirty brake fluid for fresh DOT-3. It has helped a lot, so I guess I boiled my brake fluid making that hard stop on the interstate.

I didn't have a turkey baster, so a friend told me to use a rag to soak up brake fluid in the master cylinder reservoir (while being careful not to take the fluid level too low). Worked great.

 

But you are still circulating the same old fluid in the lines. Do a gravity bleed and purge the system of the old fluid. At the same time change out the master cylinder. Those rubber seals are on their way out..

 

I think that's what I did. I pulled out most of the dirty fluid from the master cylinder reservoir, and poured fresh fluid in. Then I cracked open each bleed valve, one at a time, pouring new fluid into the reservoir as the old fluid came out. I closed each bleed valve after I saw clean fluid running out instead of dirty fluid.

The master cylinder itself is new, 1 yr old. Is there something in particular that makes you think the seals are going? Is it because the fluid is dirty after only 1yr & 10,000 mi?

I had a bad master cylinder a year ago...the pedal would slowly sink to the floor at a stop. My pedal isn't doing that at all. It was just soft. I needed to push the pedal much further down to stop my car. I think the new fluid fixed this problem, but if I'm missing something please let me know.