HELP BRAKES DON'T WORK

[sethyboy85]

My brakes were fine when I bought the car and in the past 3wks they got worse alittle pump here and there fixed the problem.  Now jab the brakes in my car and 90% of the time they work great, slowly apply the brakes and your foot will go all the way to the floor and barely anything happens... it also feels uneven, like front left and both rear or something like that.

So my conclusion after changing the gaskets on the vacuum pump and pump lines is that it must be the master cylinder. Pump will suck your finger in with no top hose on it so it is working.

any thoughts on this?


while I get the master cylinder replaced (too cold outside now to be screwing around with my brakes) what else should I get done?

oh yeah best place to buy a master cylinder... cheapest I can find is $65

[sethyboy85]

when I changed the gaskets on the pump it was oily inside, I cleaned it up as best as I could but I didn't remove the pump from the car. Is this my problem?

Do I have to take the pump out and redo what I did again and could this possibly solve my problem or do I have master cylinder going?

I don't want to throw money at a new booster or cylinder if it's just another $10 for gaskets and doing it over again...

[dubCanuck1]

Examine your wheel cylinders. I had a similar problem where one of the cylinders was shot and it would leak. Once you've checked them all and the master cylinder, bleed your brakes as per your service manual (if a MKII, go from furthest to closest to the master cylinder... RR, RL, FR, FL).

[dieselweasel]

Have you been losing any brake fluid?  Do you have any leaks?  If not, replace the master cylinder.  The brakes will still work even with no vacuum...you just have to push the pedal harder to get the same braking effort.

[sethyboy85]

I should of posted, I fixed it. Master cylinder seems to of been the culprit.