No brakes!, Brake pedal went to the floor Options

[mburkhart]

So I was out for a cruise around the neighborhood the other day and things were going great until the brake pedal went to the floor. I was able to pump it a few times and restore pressure and crawled home in a low gear. Each time I used the brakes the pedal would go to the floor until I pumped it a few times. Scary!

Once home I looked under the car and inspected the soft lines at each caliper but they looked fine and no leaks. The brake fluid reservoir is still full. I'm not sure where the problem is.

What should I be looking for?

[billh1963]

I'll throw out another possibility....

One day while while driving the 6 conversion in my avatar, I came up to a stop and much to my chagrin I discovered I had virtually no brakes. Fortunately, my emergency brakes worked quite well and I was able to stop. (BTW...when driving my older cars I ALWAYS slow down early and give the brakes a little test tap. It's a habit I developed early in life when driving another car that experienced brake failure.)

Anyway, as I sat waiting over an hour for a AAA tow for some reason I hit the brake pedal. I had brakes! I drove the short distance home and as I walked around the car I could feel the heat coming off the right front wheel. The right front caliper was dragging so badly that the fluid was boiling ..causing a loss of braking. I replaced the rubber brake hoses (in case they were collapsed) and with a set of rebuilt calipers a few days later I was back in business!

That may not be your problem. But, worth a check especially if you aren't seeing any fluid loss.

[mburkhart]

I'll throw out another possibility....

One day while while driving the 6 conversion in my avatar, I came up to a stop and much to my chagrin I discovered I had virtually no brakes. Fortunately, my emergency brakes worked quite well and I was able to stop. (BTW...when driving my older cars I ALWAYS slow down early and give the brakes a little test tap. It's a habit I developed early in life when driving another car that experienced brake failure.)

Anyway, as I sat waiting over an hour for a AAA tow for some reason I hit the brake pedal. I had brakes! I drove the short distance home and as I walked around the car I could feel the heat coming off the right front wheel. The right front caliper was dragging so badly that the fluid was boiling ..causing a loss of braking. I replaced the rubber brake hoses (in case they were collapsed) and with a set of rebuilt calipers a few days later I was back in business!

That may not be your problem. But, worth a check especially if you aren't seeing any fluid loss.

Any idea how to check for this without going out for another scary drive? This sounds like a possibility since the brakes went out about 15 minutes into my leisurely drive. I checked the pedals for fluid yesterday and the brake pedal had pressure (and no fluid leaking)...

[VaccaRabite]

I'll throw out another possibility....

Anyway, as I sat waiting over an hour for a AAA tow for some reason I hit the brake pedal. I had brakes! I drove the short distance home and as I walked around the car I could feel the heat coming off the right front wheel. The right front caliper was dragging so badly that the fluid was boiling ..causing a loss of braking. I replaced the rubber brake hoses (in case they were collapsed) and with a set of rebuilt calipers a few days later I was back in business!

Any idea how to check for this without going out for another scary drive? This sounds like a possibility since the brakes went out about 15 minutes into my leisurely drive. I checked the pedals for fluid yesterday and the brake pedal had pressure (and no fluid leaking)...

That one is easy.
Look at your pads and see if one pair is wearing WAY FASTER then the other. The four front pads should be similar, and the 4 rear pads should be similar. Also, if pads are stuck on the rotor, the rotor is probably also worn more too, if not scored and warped.

Zach