I have a problem with the brakes on my 01 Durango. Awhile back I mistakenly put power steering fluid in the reservoir for the brakes, I know don't laugh too hard. I didn't realize my mistake until the brakes started to act up. Now the ABS and brake lights are on and I have no back pressure. I bled the system with new brake fluid but still no back pressure and the lights are still on. I disconnected the battery and reconnected but still no pressure and lights still on. Any suggestions?

 

Ok I have been digging around the site and found out about the speed sensor on the rear differential and I will look into that. I would like to replace the differential fluid while I am there does anyone know how to do this and the best kind to get? My biggest concern is the brake pedal going all the way to the floor even after bleeding the system. Will this return to normal back pressure when the sensor is replaced? Also has anyone figured out how to check the sensor before spending the money on a new one? Any help will be much appreciated.

 

Back when I was in school I remember the instructors saying in a pinch, you can use water as a temp "get home" fix when you were out of brake fluid. Brake fluid is water soluble and when you get home, you can fix your leak, flush the system and if the water hasn't been in there long enough to cause things to rust, you should be fine. He also said the rubber seals in the wheel cylinders and master cylinder would react to any petroleum product and eventually cause them to fail. That sounds like the boat you are in. I would hate to give any wrong advice when it comes to brakes and if you ran it for very long, you may have done damage to ALL the seals in the system. I don't mess around when it comes to brakes. I'm not sure of your mechanical ability, but if it were me, either buy rebuilt wheel cylinders or kit the ones you have, whichever is cheaper. Same thing goes for the master cylinder. I'm not even sure what kind of seals are in the anti-lock portion of your brakes but that needs looked at too. All of that along with flushing about three quarts of fluid through the lines and you should be fine.

 

Brake fluid, water, and power steering fluid are all 3 different animals! DON'T install water in brake fluid!


Take it to a shop as they will have to hook up to the ABS to fully open it to flush the fluid. Most likely a dealer......Sorry!

 

yup you never mix fluids, or put water into them and you need the dealer only computer control unit to flush the abs module

 

How can you tell if the wheel cylinders are bad, do they leek? What about the master cylinder? Can I just replace the seals or will I have to replace the whole master cylinder and wheel cylinders?

 

ok if I take it to the dealer and have them flush the system will I still need to replace seals etc?

 

Please don't get me wrong, I agree, DO NOT MIX FLUIDS! That would just be a get you home trick.
As far as changing the seals, I would change them. The oil gets into the rubber and you can't get it out. It starts to soften the seals and no amount of flushing will remove it. They may not leak now, but they might start at any time and when they go, it might just be a catastrophic failure. Not a word you want associated with brakes.

 

I certainly don't want a failure. Ok so I bled the brake lines and removed all the fluid, my question is, what is the difference between bleeding the brakes and flushing the abs system? When I started I removed all the fluid from the reservoir and refilled it with good fluid. Then bled the lines until all the old fluid was removed as well as any air bubbles. Right now I have no back pressure on the pedal. If the seals aren't bad yet wouldn't I have back pressure?

Thanks for all the replys

 

Like Hydrashocker said, I have heard of cases where you need to tie into the ABS system to fully flush it. If not, you never get all the air out.