Re: HOLY S#$%&T BRAKE FAILURE!

Posted by 55PackardGuy On 2015/1/6 19:53:20

Quote:

Any resolution to this, or is the car now tucked away in storage?

Congrats for getting the Parking Brake engaged. This is something all Crash-O-Matic owners need to practice regularly before the pedal goes to the floor. Good for you, too, for having a working Parking Brake (called an Emergency Brake for good reason in these situations) and make sure you check it regularly.

As for what happened, I'm no expert (see below) but I have had brake fluid "sucked into the engine" and this will result from having fluid leaking into the "vacuum side" of the MC. Not a good sign. If you get a significant puff of white smoke out the tailpipe right as the brakes give out (ask your mechanic if he saw any before you made your emergency maneuver) then this fluid sucking is at least part of what happened. I don't think you need to see any smoke to have the brakes fail, though, it's just a "bonus."

I have the impression (though not an expert opinion) that two things happen in a failure like this: the valve in the reservoir gets stuck and the fluid leaks into the vacuum section, sending the fluid pressure into the vacuum line instead of the brake line.

Whether or not that is exactly how it happens, you have trouble.

I have had this same situation, (total failure with fluid smell, but no fluid on the ground) after which the brakes worked a couple of more times before they went out completely. As PackardV8 said, check the fluid and see if it's lower than it was before the incident. Even if it looks like the level is the same, you've got trouble with the MC that won't go away by itself!

Get the MC rebuilt or replaced (great time to do it when you're not using the car) or you will be saying HOLY S#$%&T BRAKE FAILURE! again soon, or worse yet, you or somebody else might not be able to say anything at all.