no brakes?

[smileitspaul]

hi there! *dusts off name tag*
it's been a little while since i've poked my head in, but i'm back.. and i will have a flurry of questions to keep you all busy, if you'd be willing to lend some advice =]

this particular post concerns my brakes. the car...

97 legacy 2.5GT sedan, auto trans. swapped a 2.2 into it.

the problem...
when i bought the car, the brakes barely worked. it took a major mashing of the brake pedal to get sufficient stopping power, and it still wasn't truly safe for highway driving. several months later, i'm working on the car again. now the brakes pretty much don't work at all. i can push the pedal to the floor, it feels like. at first, i thought leak.. but the brake fluid resevoir is still at the proper level. can't be a leak then, right? the emergency brake is pretty much all that i have :/

any thoughts? i can't even bomb around my backyard very well with no brakes :smt022

thank you muchly for any input!

-paul :smt026

[Wiscon_Mark]

Bad master cylinder? No power assist?

Does the brake pedal feel the same when the engine is off as when it is on? Or is the pedal different with engine on?

[smileitspaul]

when the engine is on, it definitely feels like it's being assisted. when the engine is off, it tightens up with each pump, as it should.. but i can still [just barely] press the pedal to the floor, and that's what concerns me. after maybe 3-5 pumps, it should be rock solid. but if i push really hard, i can still push it to down, almost to the floor.

i was wondering if it was a bad master cylinder :(
how expensive/difficult of a fix is that for a DIY?

how can i check to see if that's the issue?
could the brakes perhaps just need to be bled really good?

[httrdd]

When i did my Wrx brakes i had to bleed the rears as well to get any feel. I did not touch open or remove the rears though.

[smileitspaul]

so you'd suggest a good bleed? for all of the brakes? the previous owner did nothing with this car, just let it sit for several months.. and the owner before that person claimed to put a bunch of new brake hardware on, and i feel he didn't take the time to properly bleed all of the air out of everything.
i guess bleeding would be smarter than trying to mess with master cylinders and all that?

perhaps that'll be my first try. thanks for everything so far, guys =]

i might as well open this up to a question of preference on brake pads and rotors? what brands of each do you guys prefer? i'm looking for a reasonable mix of price, and life of these parts. i'm sure there are other threads full of this, but it's an add-on here. thanks!

[Huffer]

Bleed the brakes. Get pedal feel back first, then buy the cheap rotors and a decent set of pads. Hawk hps pads are a good pad.

[httrdd]

Calipers may also be seized. If it sat that long the cylinder may of rusted up in the caliper. Try the bleed first then further investigate.

[Okin DaVanh]

Calipers may also be seized. If it sat that long the cylinder may of rusted up in the caliper. Try the bleed first then further investigate.


I was thinking the same thing.





I got a set of Brembo blank rotors through R1 Concepts (a couple years ago) for a reasonable price.

[Garrison]

I 3rd the motion for brake bleeding. If the calipers do end up being seized a pair from your local junkyard shouldn't be too pricey, and you'll have the advantage of being able to clean them thoroughly (and even paint them if you please) before install.

[smileitspaul]

grand!

didn't have a chance to do a proper bleed tonight. probably this weekend. i've kept it in my mind to look for calipers at the yard, they're usually a decent price. thanks for the advice, guys!

i'm going to try bleeding first. then, indeed, investigate further if i have to. updates soon =]

[Huffer]

I never buy junkyard brakes. Unless you plan to rebuild them or customize them, they're just not worth the hassle of possible failure. I go with reman'd calipers all the time. They come to my door, boxed and ready to go.

[Garrison]

I never buy junkyard brakes. Unless you plan to rebuild them or customize them, they're just not worth the hassle of possible failure. I go with reman'd calipers all the time. They come to my door, boxed and ready to go.
pre-loaded?

[Huffer]

^ Depends on the application. Sometimes I buy fully loaded (calipers, brackets, pads), sometimes I buy semi-loaded (calipers, brackets, no pads). Depends on who's car I'm working and what they want. Most people are fine with the cheaper pads and cheap rotors.

[smileitspaul]

So..
today i attempted to bleed my brakes. everything went fine on the rear passenger side. but the on the rear driver, the bleeder screw is broken off.
on the front passenger side, i seated my socket over the bleeder screw and.. wouldn't you know.. it broke clean off, with not much effort =(
so i'm letting the front driver's side screw soak with wd-40 overnight [i need to get some PB Blaster soon] before i even touch it.. major let down today =(

does anybody have any experience in getting replacement bleeder screws? curiously, the front bleeder screw on the passenger side is smaller [8mm head vs 10mm head] than the rear passenger side. i didn't check the size of the front driver side yet, and the rear driver's side screw.. AWOL. is this normal, for them to be two different sizes?
and would you recommend poking around the junkyard, or buying them new to start off fresh and rust-free? ebay searches have been kind of sketchy; should i just try the parts department at a dealer?

thanks for keeping up with me guys, trying to get this taken care of soon =]

[httrdd]

There is a guy on rs25 selling a full set of
04 wrx rotors, pads calipers and brakets for 175. I can post link if interested.

[Garrison]

Speed bleeders are a godsend if you're looking for a cheap replacement.