99 se grand am brake pedal goes to floor when car is on

K

Katsr86

New member
Joined
Jun 16, 2012
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
rochester nh
So I got a 99 pontiac grand am se from my mother. it had brake problems and needed two new hubs and some engine work. I took care of the engine work. I replaced the two front hubs abs and trac off lights went off. Discovered the two front calipers seized onto the rotor when pressed. heating the rims of the tires. So I replaced the calipers. Bled them figured why not replace the back shoes. took them off turned the self adjusters so that there was enough room to fit the new shoes in the drums. bled the rear.
went to put the car on ramps in the rear tires in reverse.............. blew rear brake line to passengers side rear. Went over ramps....... Everyone thot it was funny had a few good laughs. landed perfectly on jacking point so nothing got broken or damaged. So I replaced the rear brake line. Bled the rear brakes again. Brakes work real good when the car is off. I turned it on and the pedal goes to the floor. So I figure air somewhere in the lines. So I bled them all 3 more times. didnt work. So I bought some clear rubber hose tubeing. Slipped it over the bleeders and the other end in brake fluid. got all the air bubbles out one at a time swapped out all the old fluid. Still no results. Did I do something wrong???? Or am I looking at a new master brake cyl ??? PLEASE HELP. The brakes do work whil drive just at the very bottom of the pedal. There perfect when the car is not on. Thank you
 
does the car have abs, if so any bleed screws on the abs unit? have you tried gravity bleeding starting with right rear, then left rear, right front, left front. If no air doing it that way I would say master cylinder.
 
This couldnt be from using dot 4 brake fluid could it? I gravity bled them with no result.
 
DOT 3 or above is fine. Try replacing the master.
______________________________
 
Got the same problem. Didn't show it until I opened the cap to the fluid res. to check the level. Air bubble you think?
 
opening the cover to the reservoir should not cause an issue
 
I notice what looks to be brake fluid on the garage floor this afternoon where the passenger rear wheel was located. Could it have had a small leak and when I open the cap, the fluid evacuated? Either way I'm looking for the leak tonight when the car gets here.

I'll keep you posted.
______________________________
 
Looks like the pressure line after the rubber line on the passenger side is split. Had trouble with a couple local shops finding the exact replacement. Pictures in the morning.
 
either a dealer has to order it or try www.gmpartsdirect.com or get a piece of line bend it and splice it into the existing line
 
New brake line did the trick!
______________________________
 
Replaced master cyl today it had no effect on the problem. No leaks. No air. Still I only have brakes at the end of the pedal. new rear brake shoes new front calipers and new master brake cyl and still no brakeing power. Am I suppose to be bleeding with the key on the on position? Does it matter?
 
Key has nothing to do with it. Did you bench bleed the master before installing? Are the rear shoes properly adjusted? If the car has ABS did you check for bleed screws on the ABS unit? Read this article.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/abs_bleeding.htm
 
master was bench blead...Dont know how to bleed the abs........ Book sucks its for six other cars... How do you adjust the rear?
 
The link above tells you how to bleed your system with ABS. Rear shoes are adjusted by turning the self adjuster star wheel with the drums on through a slot on the back of the spash shield till you get a slight drag and then back off.
______________________________
 
I can offer a couple of suggestions. First, have you checked to see if maybe your rear wheel cylinders might be weeping/leaking? Next I have seen cars that have a low pedal after changing pads out which I assume you did when you replaced the calipers. What I always do when that happens, and there is no air in the system is to take the car out on a road with little traffic and put it through a series of semi hard stops from around 40 MPH to help seat the new pads in. After doing this, usually within a couple of days the pedal will return to normal. I had this issue after replacing the pads on my other car (Ford Escort), and it is fine now.
 
One cyl in the rear is new. Theres no leaking anywhere now. Theres no air in the system. The brakes work but its like the pedal is in the wrong spot. Like the rod from the pedal through the booster is too short. Im not sure if thats possible. Or for that matter if ther is a rod. But you can feel when there is air in the system I noticed it after the caliper and the secound time when I changed the master. But it doesnt have that now. This is more of a pedals in the wrong spot feeling. I cant stop and slow down but I cant stop on a dot I cant lock up the tires. When I have the vehicle in the air turn the tires and press the brakes they all stop. When the car is off brakes work good. but the secound I turn it on. Its at the bottom of the pedal. Its like the car is trying to piss me off. Its begging me to run it over with my jeep. If it keeps going like this I may remove the car and make a go cart with its parts. I miss old cars when we left electronics out of brake systems. How many idiot lights and idiot systems do we need? If your not smart enough to decide when to lock up your brakes or not why are you driveing? Sorry for the outbursts cars got me mad. Thank you for the help.
 
Sorry it's giving you fits. One other thing, you say you replaced the master cylinder, was it a re-man? I have seen master cylinders that have a bad seal on the pistons letting some fluid bypass as you press the pedal and cause that issue. Other than that, just give the pads time to seat well, and you should get your pedal back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top