So I was driving last week, and I stepped on the brakes for a traffic light.. and the pedal went all the way to the floor, significantly farther than I usually need to press on it to brake. And my brake/ABS lights have been on since. It seems like I don't have all my braking power I used to. Since than, the brake doesn't need to be pressed all the way to the floor, it's getting a little closer to normal. But the brake and ABS lights are still on. Any ideas?

Regards,
John

 

First and foremost I would verify that you have the correct level of brake fluid. Given that this appears to have happened abruptly, my concern is that you have a leak in a brake line and you are losing fluid. If it is low you need to find out where it is leaking, shouldn't be too hard to do. A word of caution, don't get any fluid on your paint, it will remove it in a hurry. If your brake cylinder is full, then on to step two... figuring out why you lost pressure.

 

While checking the fluid level, take a look at the brake power booster (big round thing the master cylinder sticks out of). There's a plastic popoff valve on it, make sure it's still good. The end would be popped off if it's bad.

 

I hear of wheel cylinders going out on these a lot, probably what it is here, you'll notice fluid on inside of wheels/tires if you've got a bad one

 

It would be nice to know what year it is atleast ? But if it's an older model and you mainly park on a dirt or gravel driveway, check the steel lines from front to back. Make sure its full and have someone press the pedal while you look underneath.

 

check the fluid level in the master cylinder first, if its ok then itsmost likelya sticking caliper or wheel cylinder. even if there is no fluid leaking from either, one or more of themcould be bad and starting to seize up. i spend a lot of time off road and in a lot of water soi had to replaced both calipers once and the wheel cylinders twice on my 89 with the same problem. i did find a solution, i flushed out all the regular brake fluid with denatured alchoholand replaced it with silicone based brake fluid and the problem went away.

Paul

 

zman17, I have a gravel driveway. Only parked on this the whole life of the truck. but I don't understand why this is significant. It's 1995, 110k miles.

 

it does not matter if you park on pavement or in a lake, you have an older truck with low milage, calipers and wheel cylinders can start to seize from sitting long periods of time without being used. check the front calipers for movement with the brake applied, if they move ok then it's the wheel cylinders. i worked on a late 80's nissan that the brakes went straight to the floor. i rebuilt the master cylinder and checked for leakage everywhere. no luck. finally i replaced the wheel cylinders, bled the brakes and they worked good, but there was not a drop of fluid leakedanywhere. codydakota is probably right, only you don't always have to see a fluid leak from a wheel cylinder for it to be bad, they will start to seize and not loose fluid.

hope this helps john.

 

I only say that because alot more moisture comes out of the ground when it is dirt or gravel , compared to concrete or hot top. That moisture makes everything underneath rust quicker , and pin holes can develop in the steel lines.

 

So this truck has been on gravel driveway it's whole life... and underneath is pretty damn rusty everywhere. Although surprisingly there are no rust holes in the body of the vehicle anywhere yet. My brake lines were rotted from rust, and leaky..this was the problem. That's why my brakes were squishy. Also my muffler was rotted as well. I got an inspection done, and it wouldn't pass inspection with the brakes. So inspection + oil change + new brake lines + new muffler, the damage was $365. And I think I'll do my transmission pan gasket when I get home, to stop that leak.

o yea, I did my front brakes/rotors as well, since they were worn, I did those Sunday. But there wasn't any problem with them, besides the fact they were worn down.

Thanks a lot for the help everyone, I really appreciate it.

Regards,
John