Hi,
I have been having brake trouble and am looking for some help. Here is the situation:
I have a 2000 Dakota 4x4 4.7l when I push the brakes in they go all the way to the floor and feel spongy (for lack of a better word). The will lock up the front, but no response on the rear. I took it to a local garage and the checked all the brakes, rotors, ect. Everything looked good, they changed all the fluid, still did not fix it. They then changed the master cylinder. Still no fix, I had them stop because they are shooting in the dark and charging me to do it. ($270 so far). Does any one have any suggestions? I have a fair amount of mechanical ability, but thought when dealing with break issues it would be better to go to an "expert". So much for that!I saw there are two valve bodys mounted below/infront of the master cylinder. The brake lines run into these, is there a possibility they failed? There aren't any check engine lights on. What are these valves?
Any help/Suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dennis

 

spongy brakes means the brake lines need to be bled.. if your fronts just lock up, your rears both dont do absolutely anything, they could be out of adjustment.. the way the systems are set up is one front brake is on the same system as one of the rear sets * idealy left front on same system as right rear* this is the general concept, it maybe different for our trucks, i never really paid attention... hopefully someone came chime on in and correct me

 

bleeding your brakes should fix the problem, next time when you need to brake try pumping the brakes and see if your brake pedal gets stiffer. I honestly think that brake shop was just ripping you off.

 

I tried pumping them, but they do not get any harder, I also bled them with a vacum pump, same results.
Thanks
Dennis