Brakes went out completely

So....This morning,my brake pedal starts feeling a lil "spongy"

get home,park it,bear down on the pedal,look underneath,no leaks.

OK....maybe some air got in the lines ?

take it down to a shop,pads and rotors OK,cant bleed the lines....only a dealer can do that with a scanner.They put they're scanner on it....thing lights up like a xmas tree,maybe half doz codes related to brakes n sensors.

All of sudden.....NO BRAKES AT ALL.

had to drive her home using side streets,puttin in nuetral,using the emergency brake.

Damn....jus put a lot of $ into her on that vinyl wrap n suspension

Press on the pedal and hold it down. Does it sink to the floor? Sounds like a master cylinder failure.

most of the time yea,,,goes right to floor,no brakes at all

sometimes....it "wants" to work....but doesnt.

There's a piston with rings in the master cylinder that's shot. Not too big a job.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/s...ear=1998&make=Dodge&model=Ram+1500&vi=1502268

yea...thats an easy one allright

If !.....thats what it is ?

Is there a way you guys know of to check master cylinder operation ?
open the lid,,,apply brake pressure,,,see if it "squirts" ?

cj5orion said:

yea...thats an easy one allright

If !.....thats what it is ?

Is there a way you guys know of to check master cylinder operation ?
open the lid,,,apply brake pressure,,,see if it "squirts" ?

Click to expand...

push the brake pedal down and have someone crack one of the lines coming out of the MC and see if fluid comes out

If you aren't low on fluid, and it isn't leaking anywhere, and the pedal drops to the floor……..there really isn't anything else it could be. You're losing pedal pressure because fluid is leaking past the piston instead of getting forced down the lines. Disconnecting it to see if it "squirts" won't work because even a bad cylinder will push some fluid until it hits back pressure.

NYCruiser said:

If you aren't low on fluid, and it isn't leaking anywhere, and the pedal drops to the floor……..there really isn't anything else it could be. You're losing pedal pressure because fluid is leaking past the piston instead of getting forced down the lines. Disconnecting it to see if it "squirts" won't work because even a bad cylinder will push some fluid until it hits back pressure.

Click to expand...

but he also said he was unable to bleed the brakes so it's possible he has air in the lines or wheel cylinders?

i had a 98 civic a few years ago that the parking brake got stuck on without me knowing it. i drove about 20 miles and by that time i had boiled the fluid in the rear cylinders and lost all my brakes.

just a thought.

Going to have to agree with NYCruiser on this one. No leaks, no bleeding, no brakes = no master cylinder pressure.

yeeeaaaa,,,and if the master was "going out" that might explain the spongy pedal I had jus before I lost ALL brakes !

repost...the guy at the shop told me I had to have a dealer bleed the brakesOBD scanner,reset pcm,etc,etc,usual runaround,they also quoted me a $500+ estimate jus to replace pads ! front disc=rear drums AND THEN another $350 te replace not resurface drums n rotors,both of which have plenty of metal left to resurface !even without a micrometer
and oh yeah 1 more lil thing...that $500+ quote to replace pads,,,called Oreilly's..new pads front-rear...around$87-97 bucks,another 10 for fresh fluid thruout on the bleed.

anyway,It didnt sound right to me either about the bleeding,checked the manual,they recommend it (of course),but then the manual tells ya what you need to do...usual procedure....vacuum boost helps...not needed though...usual stuff

Jus a lil nerve shattering how fast it all happened,shook me up I guess
today is Saturday,Friday everything was fine

no brakes.....LIL scary !


cheez........ jus noticed "junior member" 19 post....guess I gotta GET ON THE BALL A LIL

I have never heard of anyone needing a scanner to bleed brakes on a 2nd gen Ram. Having two people helps but that is about as comprehensive as a brake bleed goes. I think you need to find a new mechanic too bro, the prices you are getting quoted are rob-you-blind prices. Sounds to me like someone is trying to fix your truck with one hand in your wallet.

Agreed !

simple mstr cylinder replacer ! no problemo !

ALLS WELL

I work for Fire5tone complete auto and u do not need no ecu reset nor a scanner. We charge like 20 to 30$ to bleed breaks. They are robbing you. I highly recommended Firestone for bleeding breaks. Cause we make sure you leave with breaks at least. Lol. The scanner crap is scammer crap lol

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We stick with the old 2 man job. Pump, pump, pump, hold, and bleed. Then repeat till all air is out.

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jbmobbs said:

I work for Fire5tone complete auto and u do not need no ecu reset nor a scanner. We charge like 20 to 30$ to bleed breaks. They are robbing you. I highly recommended Firestone for bleeding breaks. Cause we make sure you leave with breaks at least. Lol. The scanner crap is scammer crap lol

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Click to expand...

I think I was jus "really shook up" from the brakes going out COMPLTELY while I was in traffic !!!! nerve racking event
really BAD feeling when that brake went to the floor !
E=braked her home

yea,,,I knew it when/what they quoted me;
$500+ for pads all around,another #300 for drums/rotors
went to Oreilly's.
,pads all around=$87 bucks
$8 bucks for qt of brake fluid
$45 bucks new mstr cylinder
drums/rotors were fine
bled the whole system

they have treated fairly in the past....BUT this !

I'll be talking to their boss

all good now