Brake trouble! - pedal to the floor

MaDz

Member
:
mazda protege es 2003
Hello everyone,

I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction here.

All of a sudden, my brake pedal starts getting lower and lower while I was driving my gf to work, and by the time I got back home, I almost had no more brake left! I mean, I could probably "push" the pedal with two fingers all the way to the end.
Also, If I "pump" my brakes 2 or 3 times, and don't let it release too long, the pedal is back to normal. but as soon as I release it, (or, stop using the brake pedal for maybe 5 seconds, then it's back where there's no resistence in the pedal.).

Prior to this, I did had brake(or caliper) noises coming from the front, but the car would stop on a dime, and I had plan to change pads/ grease the calipers this summer..

Where would you guys start? bleeding? checking vacuum lines?
Any info on steps to be taken would be nice,

thank you very much!
(2003 protege es, 5 speed)
 
I would start by checking brake lines not vacuum. Also check the fluid level if the fluid level is good move down to the next section. Check the connections at the back of each caliper, as well as the bleeder valves for any "wet" looking spots as brake fluid tends to stain. Then check under and around the master cylinder. If you don't find any move on.

If the fluids full then you will need to either rebuild the master cylinder as the seals have probably failed around the piston or replace it. Either works its up to you.
 
Thank you DocB,
I didn't get a chance to look at it today, as I have another vehicle but I will update as soon as I have more information on this.

Quick question, since i'm able to "pump" the pedal a few times and then the brakes seems rock solid(for a few seconds that is), could it be pinpointed to something more specific?
Ie: "since i'm able to pump them and they get real hard, the idea of a bad caliper is out of the equation"

Thanks again for the help, appreciated!
 
yep probably going to be a failure in the master cylinder. I would guess that the seals inside around the piston have failed. you can do a rebuild or replace either works.
 
had this issue the other day. i had to get a rebuilt caliper from autozone for 37 bucks. the piston was stuck. its also a good idea to replace pads at this point as well
 
had this happen a couple times, it was the master cylinder. may be time to check your whole brake system.
 
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