No brakes

91 olds cutlass ciera

i have no brakes. they just went out of the blue. was almost stopped at a light and the car just jumped it does when you skid.I got it home and looked under the hood and the brake reserver was EMPTY.when it went i got a light that said brake IP what does that mean. if its just out of fluid and not a leak do i have to bleed the brakes. how do I bleed the brakes. i will see if i can get a service manual from the library.

 

Inspect the wheel cylinders and calipers for leakage.

Inspect the hydraulic brake system for leaks.

Inspect the master cylinder for leakage

Bleeding:

Ensure that the master cylinder reservoir is at the proper level.
Add clean brake fluid as required.
Attach a clear plastic hose to the bleeder valve.
Submerge the other end of the bleeder hose in a clean container partially filled with brake fluid.
Slowly open the bleeder valve.
Pump the brake pedal until no air is seen in the fluid.
Close the valve when the fluid flows without any air bubbles.
Repeat on all 4 wheels, start with rear.

 

"if its just out of fluid and not a leak"

Hydraulic brakes systems don't use up fluid. If it is low enough to loose braking - there is a leak!!

 

ok if i have a leak or damaged brake line how hard are they to replace. front is $12.99 rear is $11.99

 

First you need to determine what/where the leak is.

If the back wheel area is wet/dark - it's probably a wheel cylinder. There is a hard line that runs to the back brakes, sometimes they rust out or otherwise get broke. Check the entire length including where it runs fron the front along the frame rail to the back axle.

The front has a hard line to a point and then a hose to the wheel. You also need to look at the master cylinder to make sure it isn't defective.

There are many areas to loose fluid, you need to figure out where your leak is and then we can advise you want needs to be done to repair it.

 

ITS A LEAK. i filled it with fluid and pumped the brake and looked under the car. the leak is by the rear passenger door. also when i pump the brakes i hear a spraying sound so its spraying into the driveway. I got the emergincy parking brake on for now.soon as i get the money will have it towed to a shop.

 

It sounds like a busted brake line. If you can get under the vehicle you should be able to see where it's leaking. If you or someone you know that's halfway handy, it isn't a real big deal to replace.

You would first need to remove the bad line and get a new one atleast that long [they only come in certain lengths] Then it is just a matter of bending the new line [they come straight] to resemble the one you removed. You can't just bend it by hand [it might kink] It's best to use a tubing bender but you can use a can or any rounded object to help you bend the line. The brakes would need bleeding after replacing the line.

The brake line, fluid and labor would probably cost less than a tow bill.



sorry 'tow guy' just trying to put you in a lower tax bracket

 

They also make a splice kit for this tubeing. If rusty replace it from front to rear. If not you "can" put a splice kit in. Like Marksr said it's not real hard. Make sure when you fix line you bleed from right rear first. Then left rear. Also invest in some flare wrenches. Saves rounding bleeder screws and lines.
Hope this helps!

 

well towing is free up to 5 miles. the shop is around the coner somewhat. tommorrow i will jack up one side of the car and look under it and see what it looks like.

 

the only type of splice repair that is acceptable is to cut the tubing where the leak is, flair the cut ends and install a threaded union or if the cut section is more than a half inch, then a short piece of new tubing (they come already flared) and 2 unions. do NOT use or allow someone to use a compression style fitting for brake line repair. my .02 worth...sounds like you have a good plan.

 

Towing is ALWAYS a good plan.

 

I do the same splice kit that carguyinva does. That is the only kit I have ever used. Good Luck!
David C

 

never had a steel brake line to burst unless from age/rust. that being the case, i WOULD NOT trust MY LIFE to old brake lines. i am worth NEW brake lines all around. if the steel is that bad, what must the rubber be like?????

 

well i called a shop thats close buy and said give me the worst case EST. about $200 but most of its under $200 it could be as low as $64 with labor.

 

well jacked it up and had a look. the whole main brake line is shot. its rusty as all heck. i have a guy over here working on it will let you know how it goes

 

Ok replaced the brake line(comes in 2 5 foot sections and spliced together) and then hired a mobile mechanic to bleed the brakes.had him replace the dog bone engine mount got a used exhaust manifold from a pick your part junk yard for $16(old one had a crack in it) and a new muffler. all for around $200 with labor thats a good deal. but something grinds when going in reverse. could this be from the mechanic not knowing the parking brake(emergency) was on while attempting to move the car. its coming from the rear(rear brakes are drum brakes)it only happens in reverse.

 

It now sounds like that is exactly what you might have in store for yourself again. Then grab the wheels and spin them both ways and see.

 

Does it grind or click? The back brakes adjust themselves when in reverse.

 

it sounds like a grinding sound. it sounds like its coming from the back. the brakes were bled without removing the wheels.a engine mount was replaced. it was the one that they call the dogbone cause before the engine would shift while putting the car in reverse.maybe its always done this and i never heard it before until the exhaust manifold and muffler were replaced making the car quieter

 

It is common place to bleed the brakes with the wheels mounted. Does the sound go away if you drag the brakes while your backing up? have you gotten a chance to jack it up and spin/ shake the wheel?

 

its still grinding. And i found out it about the grinding after the car was lowered. im wondering if something got damaged cause the emergency was on when the mechanic tried to move it a few feet to test the brakes after bleeding.it can be heard from inside the car.Would it have anything to do with replacing the dogbone engine mount on the top of the engine.

 

While driving with the parking brake engaged doesn't do any good, it shouldn't have harmed anything. How old/miles are your rear brakes? if your fairly certain the noise is coming from the rear brake, you need to pull the brake drum to investigate further.

The 'dog bone' keeps the motor from flexing too far when increasing engine speed. It shouldn't cause anything to make a noise.

 

i think its coming from the front(maybe transmission) it only happends in reverse. Today it was louder then it has been and jerking while trying to get out of the drive way(engine had lost some power for a little bit) go forward all is fine try reverse again the car JUMPS like when you switch direction while still moving a bit only a little worse. after that it went to the regular noise and decided to work. What you think. maybe its the front brakes. they might be sticking.that parking brake had to have something to do with it as when it was engaged the rear wheels still turned by hand when it was up in the air.

 

If the rear wheels can be turned by hand with the parking brake engaged - it either isn't engaging or you have no rear brakes!

I don't know much about front wheel drive transmisions but it might be time to have a tranny expert check it out.

 

i will look for some shops and see if i can it looked at for free. will try 3 places so i can't get more then one opion. when its not used for a day and it goes in reverse its like delayed then it jerks or jumps into reverse. i still think that parking brake did something cause after the brakes were fixed the parking brake like was on for a mile (the brake was released)then after i jiggled the release handle it went away.the emergenct brake works on the front. (the back wheels turned when there was no fluid)

 

If that's the case it comes under the heading of "learn something new everyday". Never heard of a front-wheel parking brake.

Wheel bearing, CV joint, tranny, caliper, engine mount(s). Lots of possibilities for your symptoms.

 

The emergency brake is only on the rear wheels. The transimission would hold the front wheels when in gear [standard] or in park.