[02_z_x_3]

hi ladies and gentlemen. i just got done doing an svt swap and now i have no brakes. i piched the little reservoir on top of the brakemaster cylinder. i have brakes until the car is started i should say. then i only have brakes at the floor. can anyone tell me why? maybe a bad booster or master? any help would be appreciated as its the only thing stopping me from driving my car

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

just to clarify you did an svt motor swap into a zx3 focus or you did the rear wheel disk svt swap. and also do you mean the pedal goes strait to the floor with no resistance or is the brake impossibly hard to push down

 

[whitefox]

Sounds like you need a master cylinder or maybe need to bleed the air out of the lines.

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

ok if the pedal is soft and goes strait to the floor be sure to bleed it out really good and get all the air out of the lines. if you are 100% certain there is no air in the lines you need to have the master cylinder replaced. if the pedal is impossibly hard to push there is a hard plastic vaccuum line on the bottom of the intake manifold that could be cracked or partially disconnected. this is a long shot if the car isnt running like crap. if it is running rough and tries or succeeds to die alot then this is really likely. jack up the car and support it on axle stands and crawl under the front with your head about at the lowest part of the exhaust manifold's downpipe and look up. you should be able to see the intake manifold which is the part the throttle body is attached to which is what the intake is attached to. near the bottom on the driver side you will see the little bung the line attaches to. make sure its attached and check it for and damage cracks or leaks. good way to check for leaks is to crank the car after it has been cooled off for awhile and crawl under there quickly and spray carb cleaner. when you get close the the leak the revs will climb. but like i said this is a long shot unless the car is running like crap.

 

[02_z_x_3]

sorry

sorry i forgot to clarify. i just done a svt motor/tranny swap. i also put the svt axles and brakes on the front. i dont have the abs box that all the lines go to because my car was a non abs car and i didnt have the rear discs. its not impossibly hard to push, in fact it goes to the floor effortlessly once its started. im pretty sure its bled thoroughly, i got a foot long hose of fluid that came out all fluid. no bubbles. and the calipers clamped when the car was not running but as soon as i start it i have nothing until the floor and even then its minimal stopping power. i just bought a new master and im going to try that and the booster. the master worked before the swap and i think why it doesnt after is because i pinched the end of that plastic piece on top of the master that the line goes to from the reservoir

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

if you have the svt abs box i would suggest you put it on. those svt brakes will lock up on you very very easily without ABS. im leaning torward bad master cylinder. keep us posted

EDIT: drums in the back still then it wont be so bad and no need to sweat over not having ABS

 

[iminhell]

I'm going with a missing check valve on the booster.

 

[whitefox]

I haven't been that deep into any of the brake systems on the on our cars, but iminhell, you could be right.

 

[02_z_x_3]

parts

i got my new reservoir and master today. i will switch the parts out this weekend and get back to you guys. iminhell i have three boosters now and one of them should work. i bought a wrecked car and used the booster off that. could be why the car was wrecked. thanks for the help and like i said i will get back to you this weekend with the results of the changes.

 

[02_z_x_3]

no luck

ok I changed everything and now at first the pedal was firm and I still had no brakes. I continued to bleed the brakes and then the pedal got soft. the pedal is still soft but I can lock the tires up. any other suggestions? I thought about trying to adjust the rod in the booster that I seen on another post by illinopo

 

[02_z_x_3]

new problem

now my brakes are locked up. to the point that it made the inside of my car smell like burnt brakes. anyone have any suggestions? I didn't even touch the brakes when it happened. I was just cruising along and put it in sixth and it started slowing down. I pulled over and discovered the brakes. I let it sit for maybe a half hour and they released enough to get it home

 

[02_z_x_3]

something simple

i pulled the brakes apart to look at them and see if i couldt figure it out only to find out i couldnt open the caliper even with a c clamp. i thought this didnt seem right so i looked at the pedal where it hooks to the booster and the tabs off the booster is bent causing the clip to come loose and keep the brakes somewhat engaged