Brake problems

today I was going to park at school and I lost all brake pressure and my pedal went straight to the floor. After trying a few things I noticed its only at full steer to the right and after I straigten the wheel I can pump my pedal to get pressure back... I figured since its only at certain times and it works under normal driving it cannot be the whole system... I also have no visible leaks and full fluids. the soonest I can get under her is tonight in the dorm parking lot. Keeping in mind I will be working with a maglight and a very small jack what should I look for?

Sounds like loss of fluid.

thats what I thought too but I havent lost any and theres none leaking out

Yeah dude you got a leak somewhere check your master cylinder if it is still full then i dont know but something is fishy...

Check the simplest stuff first.
Fluid.
Check the level, look for spray on the inside of your wheels. Leaking hoses, lines, rear cylinder.
Booster Vac Line - is it there - attached to manifold? frayed, cracked, broken?

But seriously, brakes are just one of those systems that you don't want to poo-poo.
If that all checks out and you still have a problem, take it in to a good shop and have them look at it for you! You should seriously not drive with iffy brakes for the safety of yourself and someone else.

yea agreed... I just have to drive cross campius tonight and then shes staying there til its all sorted out
I just dont understand why it's only on when turning one way at full steer... leads me to believe its a fitting or a hose on that side

Fluid doesn't compress, so it's either leaking, or more likely you have a blown MC piston seal. Depending on how bad the seal is, you may be able to "pump the brakes up."

Mark the fluid level in the MC, then pump the brakes a bunch of times. If there's no fluid missing, you need a new MC.

Good luck.

Isn't there the possibility of air getting into the system and then being "pushed" back out?

Fluid would eventually come out the same hole if you pumped the brakes up.

That part just plain doesn't make sense unless fluid is coming out. Is the pedal truly going to the floor only when the steering wheel is turned?

MC cylinder would be every application of the pedal

yea it's right after I make a full turn.. it only does it right after I pull into or outa parking spot and only then when I turn right into it or back out to the right and then bam I go to press on the brakes and no pressure straigtht to the floor...

just like you replaced the brake pads and had to push the callipers back to get the new ones in... first couple times you press the brakes the pressure goes from nada to normal


on a lighter note MSU XJ where do you wheel when your at school or at home?

I'm out of school now and working in the auto industry. I don't wheel my xj much, but get to work on jeep programs and go to places all over the country. The closest local places I can think of would be Silver Lake (by you), Clio mounds (sucks), or Badlands offroad park in Attica, IN.

yea I've wheeled the mounds a few times and Silver opens next week

know of anybody dependable around here to take the heep to and have them check it? I'd really like to do the work myself but dont want to go replacing stuff if i dont have to yet

sounds like a brake hose, stopping fluid from returning to the master cylinder

losing the booster vacuum would stall the engine, and/or make the brake pedal go hard

be safe!, get a floor jack and jackstands, and a level patch of firm pavement,

Anywhere but a dealer. Don't kill yourself driving it anywhere though. Good luck.

If you've got a bad brake hose, you're in for replacing both right left hoses. if one hose is shutting off flow back to master cylinder, the other hose is likely decaying as well.

not exactly a beginners job, since brake fittings are easy to destroy.
lots of us here have done it, but its not the kind of thing to experiment with, unless you can test drive in a large field, and your ebrake works well!

the lining of the hose probably peeled away, and is blocking the thing up, you wont see it externally

you can easily see the brake hose stretching from the wheel well to the brake caliper. you might look for cracking or oil soaking it.

(i changed my brake hoses without jacking the jeep up at all. It does give you room to work, but it bugged me being under a jackstand in a parking lot, with ricers and motor cycles screaming by.)
There are 3 problems to overcome when taking apart your brakes.

breaking the fitting loose on the steel line
breaking loose the bleed screw]
breaking loose the hose from the caliper

all of the connections are going to be seized, at least partly corroded, and made of soft metal you could easily destroy with one slip.

i use a vice grip pliers over a flare nut wrench.
i also NEVER use PB blaster or any oil based penetrating oil on brake fittings. you get any of that into your brake lines, and it will swell the rubber seals throughout the system
use brake fluid as the penetrant.

I used cheap as flare wrenches and crushed them in my bench-mounted vise to make them fit tight as hell, then squeezed them around the brake fitting with vise grips. the fitting comes out perfectly, zero slippage.
but, if the fitting is seized onto the brake line it may twist it. That can be unavoidable depending on how rusty your heep is.

yes, there are hopeless scenarios where you HAVE to destroy another part to finish the job. be ready for that one.

Im on 3"s of lift so can I replace my outer right line with a YJ line to increase the hose length? It says the right one is more expensive but I dont have ABS so can I just get the one for the left... And I figured it was possible in the parking lot job.. I've broken enough stuff to be past that whole begginer stage...

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