The X has no brakes....Somebody stop me....

[XFactor]

Ok. Drove from EAFB to FTWW CDC. No problems. Hit the brakes a minimum of 8 times in the trip. No problems. I get into the X from dropping my daughter off. Back up. No problem. Stop at a stop sign. No problem. Get to the stop sign at Gafney on FT WW. OooOOooOOps..Problem. I go through it. My brake pedal went all the way to the floor. Well I drove the 2 miles to work at 10 mph and braked about 250-300 feet ahead of normal braking to be able to stop. I got to work and popped the hood. I checked the master cylinder. Its not completely full, but it is about 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch above the minimum level line. I could not see any leakage, but hey its dark and I had bad lighting to look at it with. If the X is off, I can pump a hard pedal. If I turn the X on it gets all soft and goes to the floor. I am going to add some brake fluid later this afternoon, but are there any other suggestions as to what it may be. I think its quite odd for it to work for 2 months and now caput. Thanks for the tech advise guys.

[STOMPR]

First thought, I think you have a leak somewhere pump it a few times and look with better light.

[naturalbornmudder]

check your brake lines at the wheel cylinders. Usually the culprit is a leak in one of the brake lines or the brake booster goes out.

Do you have discs or drums on the rear of the X?

The brake system is relatively simple to understand. Master cylinder, booster, lines, proportioning valve, bleed valves, and brake cylinder/calipers.

[XFactor]

I have drums in the rear, disks up front. It kinda sucks, I am dressed for work so I cannot roll around on the ground and under the X right now. ;D I am going to go out there now and see if I can see anything with my mag light, but if I cannot see anything, hopefully topping off the brake fluid will be enough till I can get home and tear it up. Thanks for the input guys.

[STOMPR]

If it is above the minumum line and you have no brakes dont drive it man !!! You are losing fluid somewhere and therfore have no pressure in the system and no brakes keeping it full of fluid will just equate to a bigger puddle on the ground.

[naturalbornmudder]

JOhn is correct.

If it was so low that air got in there, you are going to have to bleed it anyway.

[STOMPR]

Your master cyl should have two resovoirs a large one and a small one (disk/drum setup) is one side noticeably lower than the other ? most likely it is which will tell you which side of the system to look for leaks in.

[naturalbornmudder]

well, yes and no, most are set up that way, which is the best way to do it. My heep is set up with a single reservoir setup which is a little less effective

[STOMPR]

:o WOW I didnt think they could do that. In theory with a two sided M C it is creating two circuits thus allowing one to operate indipentantly from the other creating a failsafe. Are you sure your single fill MC is not divided internally ?

[XFactor]

I have 2 resivors. Neither looked noticably different. I did find minimal fluid(very minimal) coming from the lines just off the master cylindar. I borrowed a wrench, but they are all tight.

[XFactor]

Just checked the master cylinder again. The front (small) is about an inch above the minimum line. The rear (largerst) is nearly empty.

[naturalbornmudder]

now of that, I am not sure. I imagine it would be internally seperated, but still if both seperated parts draw fluid from the same source, it would still screw up bopth sets of brake lines...right?

Hmmm....now I am thinking first thing in the morning...

[naturalbornmudder]

fluid is escaping somewhere in the rear. YOu can trace the line pretty easily from the MS to the wheel wells. I would bet it is at the wheel wells, but check it out.

[STOMPR]

The larger resovoir should be for the front disc brake circuit I believe check your front brake lines.

[STOMPR]

If it is a internally seperated MC it will have two circuits, it just appears that you are filling up one resovoir but it is seperated internally by a wall that has a spill over set at the minimums. This way if one system gets low it will be filled by the full side until the full side hits its minimum then it will stop shareing. Does this make sense?

[STOMPR]

That being said Dave in theory you should be able to drive home with one side working but if it is only your rear system that does about 20 percent of braking it will not be very safe. i would not recommend driving on ice with any brake issues.

[XFactor]

The front has to be the rear. I have very limited brakes. Thats what I get for putting Chevy parts on a Jeep axle on an Xterra lol....I am going to call Mousee in a bit to see if I can get over to his place and get it fixed.

[STOMPR]

So did you find anything leaking in the front sytem ? Brake lines ?

[XFactor]

I did not see anything, but it was wet from melted snow. I am going to take it to Damiens at 2 pm to get a look see. Thanks for the advise. If I wasnt dressed so pretty I would be all over the ground, but I have to maintain a professional appearance at work 8)

[LowNSlowNeon]

I got a leak in my brake system too :(

With the zuk off I got pedal pressure.. when I drive it almost goes to the floor... :(

[XFactor]

I will let you know whats wrong with mine and maybe you can use that info to find yours lol...Hey I think the Jeep guys are trying to sabatoge us lol.

[4x4_MMMH_4x4]

the rear resevoir should be for the front dave and the front should be towards the rear... it should be pretty easy to spot a leak on that thing... its brand new...

[canchaser]

l...Hey I think the Jeep guys are trying to sabatoge us lol.


dang it I thought this was supposed to be kept a secret

[STOMPR]

the rear resevoir should be for the front dave and the front should be towards the rear... it should be pretty easy to spot a leak on that thing... its brand new...

Well with his disc/drum setup and the bigger resovoir towards the back yes this is true that the rear resovoir is used for the front axle as the disc setup needs more fluid, but it is not always the case that the rear resovoir goes for the front axle.

[STOMPR]

And yes I know I am spelling resovoir wrong but thats the way I spell it so :P

[4x4_MMMH_4x4]

you say potato i say pototo its all gravy like train

[madmax]

If it's not leaking fluid check the booster,i think with the rig running you can spray WD-40 or starting fluid around the booster and it will idle up if it has a vacum leak,it's been a while but i beleive thats what i did.

[XFactor]

Well I found out what was wrong. My tire was rubbing on the braided line and well it ruptured it. So Mousee was kind enough to drive me to the Alaska Rubber and Rigging? to get a new one. This time they charged $10 more than last time. We got back got it on and are good to go. THANKS DAMIEN

[LowNSlowNeon]

Well I found out what was wrong. My tire was rubbing on the braided line and well it ruptured it. So Mousee was kind enough to drive me to the Alaska Rubber and Rigging? to get a new one. This time they charged $10 more than last time. We got back got it on and are good to go. THANKS DAMIEN


Now come fix my problem pwease Damien :(

Zuk should be running soon so Im a need some brakes! :laugh: :laugh:

[XFactor]

Just JB weld it. Seal the leak, call it good lol. :laugh:

[mousee]

When I had SAS'ed it, I ran the line out of the way... apparently it inverted itself and started rubbing the tyre. Just keep an eye on them Dave, if there is a problem with this, we can use springs to pull 'em out of the way. I had the same problem with mine after the full width swap, I just springed 'em and it does fine now.

LNS I KNOW what the problem on yours is, I am just having trouble getting there. Are you going to the meeting tomorrow? If so then I can hitch a ride with ya' onto base so I don't have to deal with the guard station...

[LowNSlowNeon]

When I had SAS'ed it, I ran the line out of the way... apparently it inverted itself and started rubbing the tyre. Just keep an eye on them Dave, if there is a problem with this, we can use springs to pull 'em out of the way. I had the same problem with mine after the full width swap, I just springed 'em and it does fine now.

LNS I KNOW what the problem on yours is, I am just having trouble getting there. Are you going to the meeting tomorrow? If so then I can hitch a ride with ya' onto base so I don't have to deal with the guard station...


Yes I am but afterwards going to dinner with a buddy... :(

[mousee]

Thats ok, I really don't have time tonight anyway. I am pushing it going to the meeting...