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I need your help ...

S

Sham

New member
I'm not a mechanic, nor do I particularly want to be although it might save me a lot of money if I were, but I'm having the following issue(s) with my '98 Grand Prix SE

  • losing brake fluid and have to fill it every 2-3 days
  • brakes go almost to the floor but still work, kinda


This started about a month ago. Up until today topping off the fluid kept my brakes relatively okay but today that hasn't worked. Doing a bit of research, it doesn't appear that the master cylinder is malfunctioning or leaking and I'm beginning to think that maybe it's just that I need new brake pads/rotors.

Does that sound reasonable and would pads/rotors cause the brake fluid loss so often?

Sorry if I seem like what I am .. a car illiterate .. I just would like to have some idea of what to expect when I ask someone to fix it.

TIA,

Char
 


top off your brake fluid and have somebody get on the ground and look underneath while you pump the brakes with the car on. then u can see where its leaking. i have a brand new master cylinder in my tool box i can sell you if your interested.
 
If you have to keep filling, something has sprung a leak.

At this point it seems you've refilled quite a bit and should be able to spot the wet area pretty easily. If not.. Fill it and pump the brakes many times hard. Then look under the car for the puddle. That'll be the area where the brake line has rotted out.
 
If you do what the above two people stated you should be able to find the leak.... If you aren't very mechanically inclined and you do find that leak I would suggest you either A: have your car towed to a shop and have the lines replaced or B: have a friend (if they're mechanically inclined) help you replace them and you can learn from it. Brakes are nothing to mess with if you aren't sure what you're doing.
 
To update .. I took the car into Meineke and as bandits said, it was a rusted brake line. They replaced it and now I have brakes although I still need a proportional something for the right rear, which I should be able to get this week.

Thank you all for your help! It feels much safer now that when I put my foot on the brake it doesn't go almost all the way to the floor!

Now to get the radiator and tie rods fixed :)
 


Get the tie rods fixed asap if they break you will loose all steering and possibly wreck your car.
 
Sham said:
To update .. I took the car into Meineke and as bandits said, it was a rusted brake line. They replaced it and now I have brakes although I still need a proportional something for the right rear, which I should be able to get this week.

Thank you all for your help! It feels much safer now that when I put my foot on the brake it doesn't go almost all the way to the floor!

Now to get the radiator and tie rods fixed :)
Click to expand...


They're probably talking about the proportioning valve.....

How worn are the tie rod ends? Is there a lot of play or just a little bit? Tie rod ends should be taken care of as soon as possible... Having worked in a shop over the years,.... you see weird things like people holding their tie rod ends together with shoe laces and shi*t load of tape.....

How I miss working as a mechanic sometimes......
 
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