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sudden brake malfunction

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Old Mar 17, 2007 | 02:23 PM
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Default sudden brake malfunction

...just a couple of hours ago i went over a hole on the road and i felt like a 'hit' in the front left wheel, not too hard but enough to be felt clearly...brake red light went on and after a few seconds i felt the brake pedal loose...i had some brake power only when fully pressing the pedal until the end. i've checked, there is no oil leaking on floor nor on the front wheels and all the front brake sistem 'seems' to be ok to me. last detail: the brake pedal, when kept pressed transmit some vibrations to the foot.
what kind of damage do i have there?
i'd appreciate your ideas, thanks/Giu
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Old Mar 17, 2007 | 02:26 PM
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Hey Panic...gotta swerve them holes man.

Did you check the fluid reservoir for fluid level?

Which tire hit the hole, or which tires?
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Old Mar 17, 2007 | 02:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Durango_boy
Hey Panic...gotta swerve them holes man.

Did you check the fluid reservoir for fluid level?

Which tire hit the hole, or which tires?
front left...
nop, i didnt check oil reservoir but it must be there, there was no leaking whatsoever...

i missed to see this hole, it's the con of having a high hood (and not beeing myself too high either... )
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Old Mar 17, 2007 | 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by panic
front left...
nop, i didnt check oil reservoir but it must be there, there was no leaking whatsoever...

i missed to see this hole, it's the con of having a high hood (and not beeing myself too high either... )

I used to have a really bad leak, where I would fill the reservoir and drive and twenty minutes later the brake light would be on and I would have no fluid in the rear of the master. I never found any leaking fluid or puddles...it was just gone. I have no idea why and cannot explain it...but a good step would be to check the fluid level in the master.
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Old Mar 17, 2007 | 02:41 PM
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It sounds like you may have knocked the proportioning valve to one side. This would send the brake light on. You'd still have rears working.
Pump the pedal and look for leaks, equal pressure front and rear will reset the valve.

Valve is mounted to frame below master cylinder.
I gotta go get subs for the gang- I'll be back to check on this- I'm bleeding out my system today so I'll be in the "BRAKE" mode.

Last edited by Restorod '79; Mar 17, 2007 at 02:44 PM.
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Old Mar 17, 2007 | 02:49 PM
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Come on man,.. check the fluid level. You obviously have some damage and need to pull that corner apart for careful inspection.
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Old Mar 17, 2007 | 03:20 PM
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i will check carefully fluid on monday...vette weekend seems to be over anyway.

thanks
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Old Mar 18, 2007 | 12:22 AM
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Now I know where you got your nickname.
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Old Mar 18, 2007 | 05:31 AM
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i've found the problem, brake liquid level was well under the line in the reservoir, i've filled up and pump on the pedal, there was nearly no pressure in the line and liquid went out from the rear left wheel (it could then be a braided hose un-screwed?)...i was looking at the front left because it was there where i got the hit...
now, the inside of the hoosier (sport car dot-ply) tire got all wet with this stuff, do you think it could have damaged it?
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Old Mar 18, 2007 | 08:28 AM
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Originally Posted by panic
i've found the problem, brake liquid level was well under the line in the reservoir, i've filled up and pump on the pedal, there was nearly no pressure in the line and liquid went out from the rear left wheel (it could then be a braided hose un-screwed?)...i was looking at the front left because it was there where i got the hit...
now, the inside of the hoosier (sport car dot-ply) tire got all wet with this stuff, do you think it could have damaged it?
Do yourself a favor. Put the car on a lift or 4 jack stands and take all 4 wheels off to inspect all calipers and lines for any leaks. For your master cylinder to be low chances are you have a leak. If the pedal went to the floor I would suspect one. Check inside the calipers. One of the piston seals or more could be leaking. A cracked brake line hose could also be the problem. If replacing any of these items I am talking about you will need to bleed your brakes again completely around to have a good pedal again because air has entered the system.

Brake fluid won't damage your tire. Just wipe off the excess and clean the tire. Years ago believe it or not some people use to use brake fluid to put a shine on the outside of their tires. Not a good idea today. Some say it caused the tires to crack over time.

Last edited by ffas23; Mar 18, 2007 at 08:32 AM.
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Old Mar 18, 2007 | 08:36 AM
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Glad you found the proper corner. I agree that pulling all four wheels and inspecting all four corners is a good idea. Find the leak, and replace or fix that problem. Then, inspect the other three corners and verify their integrity.
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Old Mar 18, 2007 | 12:34 PM
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this is what i'll do tomorrow...i've found the leak but i'll check the four corners anyway.

the car has a pretty firm set up on tarmac but the hit (on the hole) wasn't that hard anyway, can't understand how come could i have broken (or damaged) a brake line when the whole sistem is new, upgraded, well tested and correctly tightened...
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Old Mar 18, 2007 | 05:13 PM
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Originally Posted by panic
this is what i'll do tomorrow...i've found the leak but i'll check the four corners anyway.

the car has a pretty firm set up on tarmac but the hit (on the hole) wasn't that hard anyway, can't understand how come could i have broken (or damaged) a brake line when the whole sistem is new, upgraded, well tested and correctly tightened...
Not for nothing but why do you guys call it checking the four corners? I might be old school but I never heard the term before here when refering to checking the brake calipers on the C-2 and C-3 Corvettes.
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Old Mar 18, 2007 | 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted by ffas23
Not for nothing but why do you guys call it checking the four corners? I might be old school but I never heard the term before here when refering to checking the brake calipers on the C-2 and C-3 Corvettes.

It's just handy that's all...easily describes the four wheels, calipers, whatever...being that if looked at from above would look like a square.
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