Brake Problems

KilianDowning

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
Messages
4
Location
Mississippi
Hey yall I have been getting air in my brake line and I think I found the problem but wanted to make sure before spending money.

Long story short there is air in my lines and I have bled the brakes a few times and still no change in the way the brake pedal feels. I did notice that when i was looking at my lines I saw what is in the picture below - where my two rear lines meet. I'm sure that I need to replace these and that's fine but is there anything else i need to look at? The master cylinder seems okay and so does the brake booster.

Maybe I'm just over thinking this and need to swap those lines out and I'll be good to go?

IMG_0446.JPG
 
Some sort of fluid is on those lines, but those lines themselves have no fluid in them. They're just for the parking brakes on each wheel. Is your rear axle pinion leaking by chance? It could be throwing diff fluid up there. As far as the spongy brakes, there could be air in the master cylinder itself, or the soft lines are old enough that they've broken down some on the inside, allowing them to bulge out some when the brakes are applied.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MaloStapalo
Hey yall I have been getting air in my brake line and I think I found the problem but wanted to make sure before spending money.

Long story short there is air in my lines and I have bled the brakes a few times and still no change in the way the brake pedal feels. I did notice that when i was looking at my lines I saw what is in the picture below - where my two rear lines meet. I'm sure that I need to replace these and that's fine but is there anything else i need to look at? The master cylinder seems okay and so does the brake booster.

Maybe I'm just over thinking this and need to swap those lines out and I'll be good to go?

View attachment 89567

If air gets in, fluid can usually get out. Have you had some one press the brakes and see if you can see fluid leaking from near the calipers? Mine was a bad seal from the new brake line where it met the caliper and copper crush washer.
 
If air gets in, fluid can usually get out. Have you had some one press the brakes and see if you can see fluid leaking from near the calipers? Mine was a bad seal from the new brake line where it met the caliper and copper crush washer.

Yeah dude I have done that as well, I even used some soap and water at some conection points. I feel like its my master cylinder at this point. The brakes get very "squishy" when the engine is running.

Thanks for the help my friend. Brakes are new for me so I am learning as im going on this on.
 
Some sort of fluid is on those lines, but those lines themselves have no fluid in them. They're just for the parking brakes on each wheel. Is your rear axle pinion leaking by chance? It could be throwing diff fluid up there. As far as the spongy brakes, there could be air in the master cylinder itself, or the soft lines are old enough that they've broken down some on the inside, allowing them to bulge out some when the brakes are applied.

Thanks for the heads up on the soft lines. I have a new master cylinder that ill put on at some point this week and if that doesn't help ill start with those guys. I feel like i have checked everything I can think of.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the soft lines. I have a new master cylinder that ill put on at some point this week and if that doesn't help ill start with those guys. I feel like i have checked everything I can think of.
A diagnostic would work a fair bit better than feelings.
Air in the system is pretty easy. Pump the brake pedal several times with the engine off until the pedal requires more effort to depress. That is the booster without any boost or assistance or hard pedal. With your foot on the pedal with about the same pressure used to hold yourself from rolling at a stop sign, start the motor. Note how far pedal drops. If less than about 2", you don't have air. If more than that, you have air, find it.

A bad master will present as a slowly dropping brake pedal height with steady pressure while the engine is running. Really bad will do the same with the engine off. If there are no visible leaks, two possibilities exist. One is that the cup seals are just bypassing and not holding pressure. The second is the rear seal is leaking fluid into the booster. If that happens, the booster will have to be replaced.

So, what do you mean by a "squishy" pedal? When is it squishy? What brand of parts did you use when you replaced everything? What brand is the master? What condition are the rotors/drums in? Any rust, light, heavy, flaky, etc.?
 
  • Like
Reactions: jeeper99
A diagnostic would work a fair bit better than feelings.
Air in the system is pretty easy. Pump the brake pedal several times with the engine off until the pedal requires more effort to depress. That is the booster without any boost or assistance or hard pedal. With your foot on the pedal with about the same pressure used to hold yourself from rolling at a stop sign, start the motor. Note how far pedal drops. If less than about 2", you don't have air. If more than that, you have air, find it.

A bad master will present as a slowly dropping brake pedal height with steady pressure while the engine is running. Really bad will do the same with the engine off. If there are no visible leaks, two possibilities exist. One is that the cup seals are just bypassing and not holding pressure. The second is the rear seal is leaking fluid into the booster. If that happens, the booster will have to be replaced.

So, what do you mean by a "squishy" pedal? When is it squishy? What brand of parts did you use when you replaced everything? What brand is the master? What condition are the rotors/drums in? Any rust, light, heavy, flaky, etc.?

Okay so as for rotors and drums there is a little rust nothing crazy. I replaced the master cylinder and the brake booster with o’reilAly house brand ( I just need the brakes to work so I can give my wife her car back , so not the best parts ever made). The big problem is after I bled the brakes I cranked the Jeep up and had almost half of the reservoir flood into the brake booster.
 
Okay so as for rotors and drums there is a little rust nothing crazy. I replaced the master cylinder and the brake booster with o’reilAly house brand ( I just need the brakes to work so I can give my wife her car back , so not the best parts ever made). The big problem is after I bled the brakes I cranked the Jeep up and had almost half of the reservoir flood into the brake booster.
That makes sense. The seal on the back of the master is gone. As soon as the engine starts it produces vacuum and sucks the fluid out of the reservoir. The booster will be junk if the fluid is in there for more than a few hours or however long it takes the brake fluid to ruin the rubber diaphragms.