brake problems help ! !!

[turbo john FL]

just went to leave and i noticed fluid coming from under car it was brake fluid . opened hood and the motor on the master cylinder was smoking . sounds like it was running non stop put my hand on it and it was hot as hell !!
it was pumping fluid out somewhere around the top of the master cylinder and running hot

any ideas or anyone had this problem before ?? motor bad something else ? should the motor keep running like that ??

thanks in advance for any help as i am supposed to be driving this p.o.s. to georgia thursday morning

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

The best price on a rebuilt power master is probably Kirbans at $450 plus core charge which I believe was $80. It will never get there before your trip. Price it locally and it is too high rent a car and call Kirbans. Good luck. Brad

 

[SVORay]

Gbody.com has a Vaccum kit for 175.00 used and 350.00 new.

 

[QUIP'6']

vaccum the way to go 15 psi off the brakes

 

[zeus87gn]

No, the motor should not run that hot. No, the motor should not run continuously. If it is pumping fluid, it may/may not be bad now that is has run hot. The system should not have any leaks whatsoever. If it is leaking, don't drive it...anywhere. You won't have any brakes to speak about.

If you don't know anything about the PM, get some help. They are a little tricky, but actually quite easy. I don't know where in Ga you may be going, but feel free to contact me directly. I will be glad to help if I can. I am online most of the day.

It may be a simple fix...depending. Send me your phone number and we can get to the problem quicker.

WAHOO! I'm over 500 posts now!

 

[scottyb]

Is the pump itself leaking? It may be a line leak, and the pump is running constantly trying to maintain pressure. IMO, switch to vacuum, but if you want to keep the PM, check the lines/connections.

 

[Paul Clark]

Did you by any chance recently fill up the brake fluid reservoir?

 

[turbo john FL]

thanks for all the info so fgar guys i am leaving in the am . rented a car for the trip

as soon as i get back i will pul it off and look things over to figure what is leaking and from where

will let you know on tue or wed when i get back

thanks everyone
john

 

[turbo john FL]

well just got back and took a look at the master cylinder. i brake cleaned it off and pluged in the harness and found that it was pumping out around the sensor switch on top. the o ring was shot so i replaced it and re bleed the brakes and all is good . i was not looking forward to the swap or the 450.00 price tag on a rebuilt unit

thanks for the help guys , JOHN

 

[zeus87gn]

Glad to hear you got it back in order.

Remember that when you bleed your system, it is good to get all new fluid throughout. That includes the high pressure side. Keep good clean clear fluid in it and it will last longer. The PM doesn't like dark dirty fluid.

I just flushed mine again this past weekend. Besides adjusting the rear brakes only 3 clicks, I now have a new found stopping power. I am throughly convinced that good fluid at least once a year or so will keep the PM alive. I haven't had a problem in 6 years now.

I will probably hate the $$ if I ever have to rebuild again.

 

[bison]

Glad to hear you got it back in order.

Remember that when you bleed your system, it is good to get all new fluid throughout. That includes the high pressure side. Keep good clean clear fluid in it and it will last longer. The PM doesn't like dark dirty fluid.

I just flushed mine again this past weekend. Besides adjusting the rear brakes only 3 clicks, I now have a new found stopping power. I am throughly convinced that good fluid at least once a year or so will keep the PM alive. I haven't had a problem in 6 years now.

I will probably hate the $$ if I ever have to rebuild again.

Great info. I do this on every car i get. With the powermaster you can simply suck out the old fluid on the pump side of the reservoir with a big syringe. Usually i take the accumulator ball off and shake out all the old brown fluid. Then i wipe out and rinse the reservoir with fresh fluid and then i suck it out with the syringe again. Then fill it with more fresh fluid and let the pump come on and pressureize the the ball. Your good to go on the powermaster pump side at this point. To get it even cleaner, repeat the procedure after a few days of driving. You can do the same on the master cylinder side, but its harder to get all the crap out of the feed/exhaust holes on the cylinder. Get as much out as possible and fill with fresh fluid. Then bleed the brakes starting with the right rear, then left rear. Do the right front and finally the left front. Now you have fresh fluid everywhere.

 

[zeus87gn]

Bison,
Glad to hear someone agrees with me.
You do what I do only I have a dedicated turkey baster!

I also like to cycle the accumulator side of the PM twice. Gets a better sample of good fluid into it. When I did it yesterday I got some froth the first time, and crystal clear the second. Takes me 11 pumps to depressurize now.

 

[bison]

Bison,
Glad to hear someone agrees with me.
You do what I do only I have a dedicated turkey baster!

I also like to cycle the accumulator side of the PM twice. Gets a better sample of good fluid into it. When I did it yesterday I got some froth the first time, and crystal clear the second. Takes me 11 pumps to depressurize now.

I used to rely on the turkey baster but got my hands on some 60ml syringes. Auto techs use these for a lot of things on cars. I just put a short section of hose on the end and suck out the fluid with no dripping anywhere. The baster used to drip a little.