Brakes completely failed today

[merc]

I was leaving the house today and within a mile my brakes completely failed. Lucky for me I was not in traffic. The peddle went to the floor and the brake light turn on. I was able to limp the car home without any additional issues, but this was a scary experience. Any suggestions for what to inspect? The brake fluid levels looks normal. Currently using factory brake components.

[Got_1]

its a hydraulic leak for sure if the pedal wen to the floor and there was no braking. start looking for leaks

[Bluerauder]

I was leaving the house today and within a mile my brakes completely failed. Lucky for me I was not in traffic. The peddle went to the floor and the brake light turn on.

:eek: Haven't heard anything at all like this happening :eek: Glad you were able to get it stopped without incident.

[Pat]

A defective Vacuum booster would be my first choice.

[Marauderman]

:eek: Haven't heard anything at all like this happening :eek: Glad you were able to get it stopped without incident.

+1 here as well--I think this is the first ...ya think?

[Got_1]

A defective Vacuum booster would be my first choice.

if the booster failed the pedal should have been very hard

[merc]

its a hydraulic leak for sure if the pedal wen to the floor and there was no braking. start looking for leaks

I am going out to look for a leak.

[ImpalaSlayer]

if the booster failed the pedal should have been very hard

exactly. has to be a leak Mark. i lost my brakes in 09 on my way to carlisle, wasnt fun at all

[TFB]

If it doesn't have a leak(likely, but was said to be full), then the problem is almost surely the master cylinder it's self... Booster will cause a hard pedal, not total failure...

[merc]

exactly. has to be a leak Mark. i lost my brakes in 09 on my way to carlisle, wasnt fun at all

I found the problem in the rear passenger side wheel. I am going to take pictures of the damage. I think there is aftermarket brake lins in the rear that touched the widen wheels and caused a rip in the line.

[Marauderman]

I found the problem in the rear passenger side wheel. I am going to take pictures of the damage. I think there is aftermarket brake lins in the rear that touched the widen wheels and caused a rip in the line.

Apparently there was no visual evidence beforehand or you would have seen it--like in the garage or driveway--right?

[merc]

Apparently there was no visual evidence beforehand or you would have seen it--like in the garage or driveway--right?

No, this happen on the road. I park in the same spot and notice no problems beforehand.

[DOOM]

First bald tires down to the threads now no brakes.

What's next a blown motor???

[SpartaPerformance]

When is the last time you took the car in for basic service? Wearing out of brake line due to over sized tires would have been seen during regular service such as an oil change, if the shop is good they will do a multi point safety check.

[merc]

When is the last time you took the car in for basic service? Wearing out of brake line due to over sized tires would have been seen during regular service such as an oil change, if the shop is good they will do a multi point safety check.

It looks like the line were after market in not correctly installed. Someone used a plastic ty rap to hold the brake line away from the wheel on the drivers side rear. On the passenger side the ty rap was not present thus causing the brake line to rub against the wheel.

[F8LBITEva]

yikes! glad you didnt get into an accident.

[merc]

yikes! glad you didnt get into an accident.

I was thinking the same thing. I called Todd at TCE and a new set of lines are on the way. If it were not for bad luck I would have no luck at all.

[Motorhead350]

I am really sorry for all of the recent bad luck. :(

[GAMike]

Look at it this way Mark. Brake lines are probably the cheapest fix out of all the fixes you may have had to perform.

Things are lookin up brother:o

[Marauderman]

Look at it this way Mark. Brake lines are probably the cheapest fix out of all the fixes you may have had to perform.

Things are lookin up brother:o

+ your post here has many folks learning what to look out for---its appreciated.

[justbob]

My god Marc! Sorry to hear of everything going on with you this year! Dude, things HAVE to get better for you.

Glad to hear you are not banged up again Bud.

[merc]

On the up side no one was hurt. The bad news is the brake fluid damaged the finish on the wheels. After further investigation, the aftermarket brake line looked too long for the application. That's why the installer used ty rap.

http://gallery.me.com/mwhite26/100513/DSC_0003/web.jpg?ver=12896932910001

http://gallery.me.com/mwhite26/100513/DSC_0024/web.jpg?ver=12896932940001

[jabird56]

Luckily no accident, and you found the problem.

Back during the Memorial Day weekend I had a similar thing happen to me with my 99 SuperDuty. Got in the beast and started it up, as soon as that PowerStroke started up and I had vacuum the brake pedal went right to the floor. The culprit was 12 years of exposure to weather and winter road salt with the metal brake lines to the rear. With the age of the SuperDuty, the Friendly Neighborhood Ford Dealer had to manufacture the brake lines that were replaced.

[musclemerc]

Glad your OK Marc

[Shermanator]

Damn, Mark, what next? I've got a lot of parts for repairs if you need.

[merc]

Damn, Mark, what next? I've got a lot of parts for repairs if you need.

With all we have is parts. Let put our parts together a build a full race marauder with a donor frame. :lol:

[FordNut]

That's all we have is parts. Let put our parts together a build a full race marauder with a donor frame. :lol:

H e l l Y e a h !

[Shermanator]

Don't need the donor, we'll do a back half. But, I'm too old to drive, and don't suggest Chris or Pam.

[merc]

Don't need the donor, we'll do a back half. But, I'm too old to drive, and don't suggest Chris or Pam.

So you are thinking about putting Anthony back in the game.

[FordNut]

So you are thinking about putting Anthony back in the game.

You know how to drive....

[Shermanator]

Hey, that might work. It's either him or Marty.

[Joe Walsh]

Wow Mark.....That is some scary stuff!

I'm glad that you are OK, "no sheetmetal was bent", and that you quickly found the problem.

BTW: Does anyone manufacture brake fluid that does NOT eat away paint/finishes so aggresssively?

[fastblackmerc]

Wow Mark.....That is some scary stuff!

I'm glad that you are OK, "no sheetmetal was bent", and that you quickly found the problem.

BTW: Does anyone manufacture brake fluid that does NOT eat away paint/finishes so aggresssively?

Silicone brake fluid (DOT 5) doesn't affect paint. You'd have to flush all the DOT 4 out of the system before using DOT 5 as it's incompatible with any other DOT fluid.

[NATEHAWK]

Sorry to hear this man. Did you hav spacers?

[Ms. Denmark]

Close call Mark! :eek: Glad you're OK and figured out what went wrong!!

[cascade]

^^^^^ What you described would do it, but I would check your master cylinder too, for leaks, just to be safe.


Who would do a thing like that to you? Where on earth was this repair done?

I would expect this result from a repair in Peru or Bolivia but not in the USA (or Canada) !

By some chance, was the mechanic that worked on your car in the last stages of tertiary brain syphilis??

That's your LIFE at risk here!!

"I swear to god, it's like I live in a trailer of common sense, and stare out the window at a tornado of stupidity." >'='<

[ctrlraven]

^^^^^ What you described would do it, but I would check your master cylinder too, for leaks, just to be safe.


Who would do a thing like that to you? Where on earth was this repair done?

I would expect this result from a repair in Peru or Bolivia but not in the USA (or Canada) !

By some chance, was the mechanic that worked on your car in the last stages of tertiary brain syphilis??

That's your LIFE at risk here!!

"I swear to god, it's like I live in a trailer of common sense, and stare out the window at a tornado of stupidity." >'='<
Should of seen his worn down front tires, I guess the person who did the inspection on that was totally asleep. He put widen wheels on the car and didn't check to make sure everything cleared. Not every car is exactly the same. Luckily he discovered the issue.

[GetMeMyStogie]

Are the front and rear brakes not separate hydraulic systems, like they used to be way-back-when? Before, if one brake line ruptured, you'd at least have half of the cars brakes remain functional - even if it were just the rear brakes, that's better than no brakes at all.

[tbone]

Are the front and rear brakes not separate hydraulic systems, like they used to be way-back-when? Before, if one brake line ruptured, you'd at least have half of the cars brakes remain functional - even if it were just the rear brakes, that's better than no brakes at all.

yep............

[computertech]

I was leaving the house today and within a mile my brakes completely failed. Lucky for me I was not in traffic. The peddle went to the floor and the brake light turn on. I was able to limp the car home without any additional issues, but this was a scary experience. Any suggestions for what to inspect? The brake fluid levels looks normal. Currently using factory brake components.


Man are you lucky I had that happen to me this past summer with 4 other people in the car,brake line failure in the midst of heavy traffic on the freeway......With only seconds to react I never thought of the emergency brake, did as best I could to swerve without hitting the car to the right of me ,and still took out 1/2 the rear end of a 2008 Altima..
My 1999 Buick survived and no one was hurt,thank god......

I`m glad you were able to make out without incident/accident
good luck on repairs,If fluid is full, booster ??

[merc]

All good now and the Willwoods are installed to perfection. Once you have big brakes it's hard to go back to the stockers. Hopefully no more issues for the year.

[SILVERSURFER03]

sop we hope sir but there are 23days left this year

[knine]

Glad you or your car wasn't hurt.

[merc]

Glad you or your car wasn't hurt.

That would have sucked.